PADDLE STEAMERS
Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 15
Maid of the Loch at Balloch in- (Nicholas Leach)
Maid of the Loch, last in a long line of Loch
Lomond paddle steamers dating back
to the early 19th century, made her fi nal
commercial sailings on 31 August 1981 and
has since lain at Balloch Pier undergoing a
lengthy restoration, which is now coming
close to being achieved. The ultimate
objective is a return to service under her
own steam.
The choice of a paddle steamer when a
replacement for the 1898-built Princess
May was under consideration caused some
surprise, with justifi cations including
the need for a shallow-draught vessel
to be able to use the pier at Luss, which,
ironically, was then closed before Maid
of the Loch was completed. The order for
what turned out to be Britain’s last large
new paddle steamer went to Waverley’sLOCH LOMOND
VETERAN
MAID OF THE LOCH
Approaching Tarbet, Maid of the Loch with the white hull
and buff funnel colour combination carried throughout an
operational career that ended in 1981.OWNER Loch Lomond Steamship Company
BUILT 1953 by A and J.Inglis, Pointhouse, Glasgow,
for British Railways (Scottish Region). Reassembled
on lakeside at Balloch.
DIMENSIONS 193ft x 28ft 1in (hull), 51ft 3in
(over paddles)
GROSS TONNAGE 555 (295 net)
PASSENGERS 1,
MACHINERY Two-cylinder compound diagonal by
Rankin and Blackmore, Greenock; oil-fi red boiler
SPEED 14 knots01 Paddlers_Britain_NL.indd 15 17/04/2018 09: