TS King Edward
part of the Clyde Turbine Steamers website from
paddlesteamers.info
Built in 1901 by Wm Denny
and Bros. at Dumbarton
Engines : 3 direct drive steam turbines by Parsons Marine Steam
Turbine Co of Newcastle
Dimensions : 250.5 ft x 30.1 ft
551 Gross Registered Tons
A
truly revolutionary vessel - the world’s first passenger steamer
driven by turbines.
Owned by the Turbine Steamer Syndicate (later Turbine Steamers Ltd)
originally as an experimental venture
Speed and economy made turbine propulsion an instant success
Her speed was very useful on her regular long run to Campbeltown from
Fairlie
Her speed also allowed Inveraray to be opened up as a regular cruise
destination
Originally 5 screws (2 on each eing shaft), she was converted to three screws in 1906
Sailed as a troopship on the English Channel between 1915 and 1919
and also visited the While Sea in the Russian arctic.
After the war she was restored to the Cambeltown route, starting from
Greenock and Gourock
From 1927 ran from Glasgow to Rothesay, offering cruises from the
Bute resort for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers
Remained on the Clyde during World War II undertaking tendering
duties
In 1946 she was back on the Rothesay route, remaining until her sale
in June 1952
Four days after her sale she arrived at shipbreakers at Troon
One of her turbines is preserved at the Riverside Museum in
Glasgow (low pressure) - another at The Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine (high pressure).
King Edward : Model of the ship placed alongside
the ship's bell and in front of one of her turbines in the Glasgow
Riverside Museum (2012)
Photo by kind courtesy of Kenny Whyte
Above : The high pressure turbine displayed at The Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine. Photo by Gordom Stewart
Bibliography
King
Edward
By Leo Vogt
Published in 1992 by the Clyde River Steamer Club
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