paddlesteamers.info  :  The Internet's leading website for Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers


PRESERVED PADDLE TUGS

PT Oscar Huber                      At the Museum der deutschen Binnenschifffahrt at Duisburg 


Oscar Huber, dating from 1922 and the last paddle tug on the Rhein, forms the centre-piece of the Museum of German Inland Waters Shipping at Duisburg-Ruhrort


Above : Oscar Huber preserved in Duisburg in 2007. Photo by G Sawatzki kindly put  in wikicommons under CC 3.0 licence  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en 

Built in 1922 by Ewald Berninghaus at Duisburg
Length : 75 m
Engine : Triple expansion
Coal fired until 1955 then oil

Built for the H P Disch company of Duisburg and named  HP Disch VIII - Wilhelm von Oswald
When the company folded, the tug went into the Raab Karcher fleet as Raab Karcher XIV and from 1927 Raab Karcher XIV - Fritz Thyssen
Renamed in 1940 to RK XIV - Oskar Huber
Scuttled near Oberwesel in March 1945
Raised in 1946 and put back into service in 1947
Converted from coal to oil in 1955
Withdrawn from service in 1966
Preservation society established in 1969 to keep her in operational service
Operated passenger trips for three years but without financial viability
In 1971 ownership was taken over by the city of Duisburg. After restorationny Berninghaus in Cologne she was moved to Duisburg-Ruhrort
In 1974 a shipping museum was established aboard Oscar Huber 
In 1977 an expanded museum was established in the redundant buildings of the Duisburg-Ruhrort town hall with the tug 
as the main exhibit

Oscar Huber's Engines : Photos by kind courtesy of Chris Allen




Other Raab Karcher paddle tugs

Raab Karcher I- Willy Huber (Berninghaus, Duisburg 1898-1962). Sunk but hull re-used at Utrecht and still in static use (2023)
Raab Karcher II - Albert Vogler (Berninghaus, Duisburg 1899-1959)
Raab Karcher IV - ex Drachenfels (1898-1935)
Raab Karcher V : (Koopman, Dordrecht 1898) ex- Catherine III. Converted to motor power in 1954
Raab Karcher VI- Emil Kirchdorf  : (Germaniawerft, Kiel 1922-1955) Converted for use as a houseboat
Raab Karcher VII - Carl Huber (Sachsenberg, Koln 1907-1947)
Raab Karcher VIII (Berninghaus, Duisburg 1913-1972) Converted to motor power in 1948. Withdrawn in 1972
Raab Karcher X  (Koopman, Dordrecht 1914-1958)
Raab Karcher XI (Schichau, Stettin 1888, ex Waldemar III, ex H Paul Disch  I, (1924) purchased by Raab Karcher in 1927. Sunk in 1943. raised and scrapped in 1947


Return to
Preserved Engines
Paddle Tugs