Midland Railway - Ships

Ships

The Midland railway operated a number of ships from Heysham serving Douglas and Belfast.

Ship Launched Tonnage (GRT) Notes
Antrim 1904 2,100 Built by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, the first of a series of 4 similar ships. Was the first vessel to use the new facilities at Heysham and made her maiden voyage in September 1904. She was the first cross channel ship with wireless. Requisitioned between 1914and 1919 being used mainly for cross channel trooping. Transferred to London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). Sold in 1928 to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and renamed "Ramsey Town". Scrapped at Preston in November 1936.
City of Belfast 1893 1,055 Built by Laird Bros., of Birkenhead. Bought from Barrow Steam Navigation Co Ltd in 1907. During war service she was named "HMS City of Belfast". Transferred to LMS in 1923. Sold in 1925 to a Greek owner, renamed Nicolaos Togias. Renamed Kephallina in 1933. Sank on 13 August 1941 off the Egyptian coast.
Donegal 1904 1,997 A sister of "Antrim" built by Caird and Co., of Greenock. Requisitioned during the First World War for use as a hospital ship. Torpedoed on 17 April 1917 and sunk near Spithead.
Duchess of Buccleugh 1888 838 Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan for London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and named "Rouen". Sold to J.W. and R.P.Little for the Barrow S.N. Company and was renamed "Duchess of Buccleugh". Served the Barrow-Douglas route. Absorbed into Midland Railway Company fleet with the takeover of 1907. Sold for scrapping in 1909, the final paddler on the Barrow route.
Duchess of Devonshire 1897 1,265 Built by Naval & Armament Construction Co., at Barrow for James Little and the Barrow S.N. Company. Taken over by Midland Railway Company in 1907. Requisitioned for war service and was used as an armed boarding vessel. Suffered a boiler explosion in 1919 which killed 3 persons. Sold in 1928 to Bland Line, Gibraltar, renamed Gibel Dersa and requisitioned again in 1940 based principally at Gibraltar as an accommodation ship. Sold on to Dalhousie Steam and Motor Ship Co., of London in 1943 and again in 1947 to A.Benamin and Co., of Gibraltar. After 9 years of inactivity was scrapped in 1949 at Malaga, Spain.
Londonderry 1904 2,086 Built by W. Denny and Bros., of Dumbarton. The first ship to be fitted with Lodge-Muirhead wireless telegraphy. Requisitioned for trooping in 1914 and in 1923 transferred to the LMS. Sold in 1927 to Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace, renamed Flamand. Scrapped at Altenwerder, Germany in 1937.
Manxman 1904 2,174 Built by Vickers,Sons and Maxim Ltd., of Barrow. Similar in design to the other 1904 built vessels but slightly longer and faster. Requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1914 for trooping and purchased in 1915 by the Admiralty as HMS Manxman and converted to an aircraft carrier. Returned to Midland Railway in 1919. Sold to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1920 and converted to oil burning in 1921. Requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1941 as HMS Caduceus. Transferred to Ministry of War Transport in 1945 and worked as a troop carrier in the English Channel. Transferred to British Army of the Rhine (B.A.O.R.) military service as "Manxman", troop carrying on the Harwich-Hook of Holland service. Withdrawn in February 1949, no longer fit for use and was scrapped in August 1949 at Preston.
Manx Queen 1880 989 Built by J and G Thompson Ltd., of Glasgow for the South Eastern Railway as the "Duchess of Edinburgh". On delivery the vessel failed to perform at the contracted design speed and after a short time in service was returned to her builders. She re-entered service in May 1841 following a compromise agreement between the builder and owner but after only 5 days back in service she broke a paddle wheel resulting in the owners returning her again to her builders. The vessel was laid up at Folkestone and later Sheerness until purchased by Barrow S.N.Co., who placed her on the Barrow-Douglas service. The vessel was renamed "Manx Queen" in 1887 and transferred to Midland Railway Company service following the takeover of Barrow S.N.Co. She was scrapped shortly after by J.J. King and Company at Garston in November 1907.
Wyvern 1905 232 Built as a tug by Ferguson Bros. of Port Glasgow. Used for pleasure excursions from Heysham to Fleetwood until the Second World War. Was transferred to London, Midland and Scottish Railway(LMS) in 1923 and British Transport Commission- London Midland Region in 1948. Scrapped in June 1960.

The company operated a small number of vessels for port maintenance:

Ship Launched Tonnage (GRT) Notes
Laga 1901 562 Dredger built by J and K Smit of Kinderdijk for K.L.Kalis of Sliedrecht. Purchased by Midland Railway Company in 1905, their first dredger. Transferred to London, Midland and Scottish Railway(LMS) in 1923 and was converted for use as a hopper barge in 1927. Taken over by British Transport Commission(BTC) in 1948 and sold to Abel and Sons of Liverpool in 1958.

Scrapped in 1968 at Troon.
Hessam 1906 645 Dredger built by Wm. Simons and Co. of Renfrew with 3 Priestman grab cranes. Transferred to LMS and BTC in 1923 and 1948 respectively. Withdrawn in March 1965 and broken up at Silloth later the same year.
Red Nab 1908 537 Hopper Barge built by Wm. Simons and Co. at Renfrew. Her engines had been constructed on a stand-by basis in 1907 and when the vessel was built in 1908 she was given slightly smaller dimensions to give the vessel more power. Transferred to LMS and BTC in 1923 and 1948 respectively. Was renamed "Red Nab ll" in 1960 releasing the name to a newbuilding. Scrapped in Dublin in 1961.

The company also owned several small passenger ferries which were formerly owned by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway with which it was amalgamated in 1912. These vessels operated the Gravesend-Tilbury Ferry. Vessels acquired were: "Carlotta", "Catherine" (blt 1903), "Edith" (1911), "Gertrude", "Rose" (1901) and "Tilbury" (1883).

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