PADDLE STEAMERS
Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 53
in the restoration of a traditional outward
appearance. The work was undertaken by
the De Biesbosch Works, near Dordrecht in
the Netherlands, with a return to Germany
late in the 1996 summer season. The steamer
continued daily from Koblenz to Rudesheim
and returned through the Rhine’s most scenic
stretches. After a decision to bring in diesel-
hydraulic machinery, work took place during
the winter of 2008-09. Goethe has continued
on daily trips to Rudesheim, setting off from
Koblenz at 0900 each morning from early
March to mid-October, and getting back
just after 2000. During 2013 there were
special cruises through the Rhine Valley, now
recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site,
to celebrate Goethe’s 100th anniversary.MAINZ
OWNER Rheinmuseums, Mannheim
BUILT 1929 by Christof Ruthof, Mainz-Kastel
MACHINERY Two-cylinder compound diagonal engine of
960hp from builders converted to oil fuel 1955
SPEED 1.2kmhr against current, 30km/hour with current
DIMENSIONS Length 83.6m, width 8.7m (hull), 18.2m (over
paddles)
PASSENGERS Originally 2,680.Mainz, the last paddle steamer built for Rhine
service, was kept in reserve for several years
following an engine failure in 1980, but since
October 1986 she has been impressively
preserved as a museum ship, reflecting Rhineshipping history and industrial technology,
being berthed on the River Neckar close to
the centre of Mannheim. The keel of Mainz
was laid at the Ruthof yard in Kastel, near
Mainz, in October 1928, with her launch and
commissioning as an express saloon steamer
marked in May 1929 by a special sailing from
Mainz to Dusseldorf, her city of registry.
Used exclusively on fast services, Mainz
was licensed to carry a staggering 2,860
passengers, with saloon seats for over 200 and
upper deck places for a further 445. Mainz
survived World War II with only superficial
damage, and from 1945 to 1948 was moored
in Dusseldorf as an administration centre
for the occupying American forces. Released
early the following year, she reopened the
direct Cologne-Mainz service on 14 April 1949,
continuing on longer trips until these were
halted by technical problems on 1980.ABOVE Goethe near the Loreley, after steam gave
way to diesel-hydraulic propulsion. (Phil Barnes)ABOVE Blue paddle boxes were a fresh feature
after Goethe was re-engined in 2008-09.ABOVE Heavy traffic in the Middle Rhine as Goethe
heads for Rudesheim.ABOVE Berthed in Mannheim, Mainz, still looking like a traditional Rhine steamer, could carry 2,680
passengers at one stage of her operational career.RIVER WESER
WESTERSTOLZ
OWNER Hal Over Gesellschaft
BUILT 1940-49 by Praga Shipyard, Lodenice, Prague
ENGINE 150hp Compound Diagonal built by CKD, Prague,
with coal fired boiler; reboilered 2000
DIMENSIONS Length 55.8m, width 5.1m (hull) 9.10m (over
paddles)
PASSENGERS 500World War II intervened after keel-laying
at the Praga Yard in Prague during 1940 for
a vessel to have been named Morava, and
it was nine years before she made a service
appearance as Labe, being used primarily on
the PPS company’s route from Prague to the
Slapy Dam. Labe had an open bridge and black
funnel, which had to be lowered and raised
several times to negotiate bridges on the Slapy
run. An after deck saloon was built in 1977,
with the vessel withdrawn from service in 1987.
Offered on long-term charter, Labe moved
to the River Weser at Minden, Germany, being
sponsored by a local company involved in
economic development and youth training.
She sank at her moorings in September 1997,
spending four weeks under water until she
was taken to the Laubegast Yard at Dresden in
1998 for attention to the hull before returning
to Minden. Work was undertaken with the
involvement of unemployed young people,
with ownership by the economic development
company MEW (Mindener Entwicklungs-
und Wirtschaftsforderungsgesellschaft)
before a return to service in 2001 under the
name Wappen von Minden, operated by the
Mindener Fahrgesellschaft until 2010.
She was used as a static restaurant ship, but
after being purchased in 2012 by the private
Flotte Weser company, Weser River trips
continued from Minden but without financial
success. Early in 2015 the steamer was bought
by Flotte Weser, then immediately resold to
the Hal Over Gesellschaft and moved to a new
base in Bremen, operating short trips from the
city and occasionally going as far as Minden
after renaming to Westerstolz.ABOVE On the Weser as Wappen von Minden, the
former Prague steamer is now running from Bremen.07 Paddlers_Germany_NL.indd 53 17/04/2018 12:09