SS Shieldhall
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| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | Shieldhall |
| Owner: |
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| Port of registry: |
 Glasgow
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| Builder: | Lobnitz & Co., Renfrew, Scotland |
| Cost: | £291,000 |
| Yard number: | 1132 |
| Laid down: | October 1954 |
| Launched: | 7 July 1955 |
| Completed: | October 1955 |
| In service: | 16 October 1955 |
| Identification: |
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| Fate: | Preserved as Museum ship |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 1,792 GT |
| Length: | 81.69 m (268 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 13.56 m (44 ft 6 in) |
| Draught: | 4.11 m (13 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power: | 2 triple-expansion steam engines of 800 IHP each |
| Propulsion: | Twin screw |
| Speed: |
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| Capacity: | 1800 tons of sludge and 80 passengers |
| Crew: | 12 |
SS Shieldhall is a preserved steamship that operates from Southampton. She spent her working life as one of the "Clyde sludge boats", making regular trips from Shieldhall in Glasgow, Scotland, down the River Clyde and Firth of Clyde past the Isle of Arran, to dump treated sewage sludge at sea. These steamships had a tradition, dating back to the First World War, of taking organised parties of passengers on their trips during the summer. SS Shieldhall has been preserved and the accommodation is again being put to good use for cruises.
The 1,972-ton Shieldhall was laid down in October 1954, built by Lobnitz & Co. of Renfrew who also constructed the two triple expansion steam engines which are set vertically in a similar way to the much larger engines on the RMS Titanic. By the 1950s Lobnitz usually built its engines with enclosed crankcases but the Shieldhall was deliberately fitted with traditional open-crank engines. Glasgow Corporation had long allowed day-trippers access to the engine room of its ships while at sea and the older-style engines allowed passengers to see the workings of the engines in operation.
She was built on the classic lines of a 1920s steam tanker with a traditional wheelhouse of riveted and welded construction, a slightly raked stem and a cruiser stern. Her length is 268 feet (82 m) and breadth 44 feet 7 inches (13.59 m). Accommodation was provided for 80 passengers. She entered service in October 1955 and was operated by Glasgow Corporation to transport treated sewage sludge down the Clyde to be dumped at sea. She and her sister shps were jocularly known as Clyde banana boats as the livery resembled that of a well known banana shipping company.
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Wikipedia