ABOVE A close-up of Helvetie’s bow figurehead
when the vessel was in dry dock at Lausanne.74 I World of Ships I Paddle Steamers
Lake Geneva pioneered the use of diesel-
electric propulsion for paddle vessels in
Switzerland - and probably the rest of the
world - when the 1896-built steamer Geneve
was taken in hand during 1934 for the
replacement of her original two-cylinder
diagonal steam machinery, with a Sulzer diesel
engine powering Brown-Bouverie electric
propulsion motors. The vessel had found
herself in the international spotlight earlier in
her career when, in September 1898, Princess
Elisabeth of Bavaria was stabbed while
boarding in Geneva to travel to Montreux.
Geneve sailed, but the Princess’s condition
became life-threatening and the vessel turned
round to land her at the Hotel Beau Rivage,
where she died soon afterwards.
Geneve remained in regular service until
the 1960s, but was then used increasingly
infrequently until being withdrawn in 1974 and
sold for use as a reception centre and youth
hotel close to the Jardin Anglais in Geneva.
She sailed under own power to Lausanne and
back for a refit in 1992. Now owned by the
Geneve Association and serving in summer as
a restaurant, she was towed to Lausanne and
back for a more recent dry docking.
The first paddler built with diesel-electric
propulsion from new was the London and
North Eastern Railway’s Talisman, which
joined the Craigendoran fleet on the Clyde in- The original diesels were replaced in 1954
before Talisman spent her final 14 years on the
Millport run, being broken up at Dalmuir in- Encouraged by the success of Geneve’s
conversion, CGN put diesel-electric machinery
in steamers Lausanne (1900), Montreux
(1904), Vevey (1907) and Italie (1908) between
1949 and 1962, and, although Lausanne was
scrapped in 1978 and Montreux is now steam-
powered once again, Vevey and Italie are still
in service, albeit with new diesels.
Vevey, built and engined by Sulzer
Brothers and delivered in 1907, remained a
coal burner until being taken out of service
in 1954 to become the third diesel-electric
conversion, reappearing in 1956 fitted with
a modern white funnel, which was replaced
by a traditional stack in 1987. Newly raised
capital allowed CGN to undertake the repair
work to keep Vevey in service. Although plans
for a major rebuild were announced in 2010,
finance required from the Canton of Vaud
was not forthcoming. After lying in Geneva
alongside Geneve from 2010, Vevey returned
to Ouchy under her own power in May 2012
to commence renovation, and after 15 months
reentered the water on 6 September 2013.
One other vessel with diesel-electric power
remains in the Lake Geneva fleet, although
the 1,500-passenger Helvetie, built in 1926,
has not sailed commercially since 2002.
When completed by Sulzer, she was a sister
to Simplon and (with La Suisse) completed
CGN’s line-up of three grand saloon steamers.
In the 1960s Helvetie operated a prestigious
first class ‘Translemanique’ service, which
made a circuit of the whole lake from Geneva
in six and a half hours, calling only at principal
piers. This was dropped after 1974.
With CGN unable to finance a new boiler,
Helvetie was then laid up until being fitted
with diesel-electric machinery acquired
second hand from Austria’s DDSG, which had
powered 1914-built steam paddle tug Goliath,
converted in 1954. Helvetie’s triple uniflow
steam engine went as an exhibit to a museum
in Nyon, but the replacement combination of a
1,600hp MAN diesel powering an Elin-Weicz
electric motor was not a complete success
after Helvetie reappeared in 1977. By the late
1980s she was used for little more than a
couple of summer evening dance cruises from
Geneva each week.
During May 2011 Helvetie went to Bellerive
for conservation measures including some hull
repainting and the fitting of anodes to reduce
further deterioration. From 2012 Helvetie
started to serve as a floating annex to the
nearby Museum of the Olympics in Lausanne.
CGN remain optimistic that restoration can
be undertaken as a long-term project, but
nothing is expected to start before 2020, and
the plan is to have the vessel back in service
powered by a new steam engine in time for her
centenary in 2026.ITALIE
BUILT 1908 by Sulzer Brothers, Winterthur
DIMENSIONS Length 78.5m Width 8.5m (hull), 15.9m (over
paddles)
MACHINERY 1908-55 Compound diagonal by builders,
1,400hp; 1956-2005 Sulzer diesels (700hp) powering Brown-
Bouverie electric motors; 2016 diesel-electric machinery fitted
SPEED 28kmh (15.4 knots)
PASSENGERS 900VEVEY
BUILT 1907 by Sulzer Brothers, Winterthur
DIMENSIONS Length 78.5m Width 8.5m (hull), 15.9m (over
paddles)
MACHINERY 1907-1954 Compound diagonal by builders,
1,400hp. 1956 - BBC diesels (700hp) powering Brown-Boveri
electric motors
SPEED 30kmh (15.5 knots)
PASSENGERS 900HELVETIE
BUILT 1926 by Sulzer Brothers, Winterthur
DIMENSIONS Length 73.8m Width 8.5m (hull), 15.9m
(over paddles)
MACHINERY 1926-1975 Triple diagonal by builders,
1,600hp. 1977: MAN diesel (1,600hp) powering Elin-Weicz
electric motor
SPEED 28kmh (15.4 knots)
PASSENGERS 1,400LAKE GENEVA DIESELS HAVE THEIR DAY
ABOVE Helvetie’s appearance remained unchanged after steam power gave away to a secondhand diesel
installation in 1977.12 Paddlers_Switzerland_NL.indd 74 17/04/2018 12:21