paddlesteamers.info  :  The Internet's leading website for Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
PV Bhopal   /  The Bengal Paddle :  Former paddle steamers converted to diesel 2019/20
Kolkata (Calcutta), India

PS Bhopal, seen at Khidirpur Dock, Calcutta on 13th December 2014. Photo by kind courtesy of Tim Willasey-Wilsey
Built : 1945 by Wm Denny & Bros, Dumbarton, Scotland
Yard no 1390
205.6 ft x 60.7 ft x 8.9 ft
Triple expansion diagonal 44, 27 and 17 in x 66 in, engine no 1134

One of many paddle steamers built by the Denny company for operation in Bengal, Bhopal was built for the India General Navigation and Railway Company
Remained in India following the partition of Bengal into Indian and East Pakistani (later Bangladeshi) parts
Used as a museum and training centre until 2018
A proposal was made in 2019 to reactivate the ship for service
as a restaurant  - but with diesel engines replacing steam, and the paddles turned for show rather than propulsion
The original steam engines have been retained aboard for educational purposes
The ship was moved to dry dock for refurbishment
Owned by the Singhee family-owned Eastern Navigation Private Ltd - a major local marine services provider and towage operator
Returned to services as The Bengal Paddle in October 2022

For more on the historical context of PS Bhopal, follow this external link to work by Tim Willasey-Wilsey published on the internet by the Indian Railways Fan Club (IRFCA)
http://www.irfca.org/articles/steamboat-bhopal.html

Return to :
Operational Paddle Steamers / Diesel conversions