Membership Fees Revised for 2009

As of 1st January 2009 the Society have increased the membership rates:

Please refer to top left hand side column for the new rates. This is the first rate increase for around 10 years and is required to meet the ever increasing costs of running the society thus ensuring that we can still deliver value for money!

2009 is the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the PSPS and is also the 40th Anniversary of the creation of the Scottish Branch so there is a lot to celebrate this year.

Watch this space!!!

Happy New Year to all

Here's hoping that 2009 will bring some much needed sunshine and great passenger numbers to support the continued operation of our favourite ships.




A festive paddle steamer shot from Lake Lucerne with Santa climbing into the paddlebox of the former paddle steamer Wilhelm Tell which is now operated as a static restaurant.

Charles McCrossan

Festive Ice in The Sun - Chairman's Blog No 6

(click on a pic to enlarge)

For the second year in a row, our Scottish Branch Festive Cruise was held in the finest weather for this time of year. Flat Calm, Cold, Crisp, Sunny, and Bright. Our river looked like the best ever tourist brochure photographs for Scotland!

With ticket sales for this year topping out most respectably in the mid seventies, the open deck was well populated in the minutes leading up to departure, with those of us gathered on the aft end of Cruiser getting a good whiff of main engine exhaust due to the windless morning!

Leaving the Victoria Harbour promptly at eleven to the sound of our safety announcement, we set off into the river. This was soon followed by an enticement to head below decks for Tea, Coffee and Mince Pies. No sooner than we had all found a spot to have our mid morning snack than we were cornered by our Branch Raffle ticket sellers, a captive audience indeed! A fine collection of prizes including a model of the Duchess of Hamilton, Bottles of Whisky, DVD’s, Calendars had been donated again this year and this combined with the enthusiasm of ticket sellers and buyers alike resulted in a grand total of about £270 being raised. As far as my dodgy arithmetic can work out, that equates to an average of £3.60 for every passenger aboard. Well done one and all!

Although our first port of call was Blairmore, we had time to head across and stick our nose in the Holy Loch before turning to Blairmore where further treats awaited.

Negotiating the pier, still slightly frosty in places where the morning winter sun had yet to penetrate, we were greeted at the pier house by Agnes and her “catering team” who were dispensing mulled wine and mince pies to the masses. We had but 40 minutes ashore but that was plenty of time for the mulled wine, a good natter and some photo opportunities.

First prize for dedication to getting “The Picture” must go to Peter Reid for scaling the frosty slopes behind the pier, and even more impressively getting back down the frost covered slopes with out resorting to any impromptu “tobogganing”.

All too soon it was time to get back aboard where the main deck had been furnished with tables for lunch, each with the name of a Clyde Steamer on them. This is part of a cunning ploy by our cruise organiser, Deryk Docherty, where the names of the steamers are drawn out of a bag to determine which table goes in turn to the buffet. It works very well as it saves a scrum (albeit a polite one!) at the buffet table. Someone has to be last however, and this year it was the turn of that stalwart of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co Ltd (and Soc Anon di Navagazione of Genoa, apparently), PS Galatea, occupied by our very own David and Maura Edwards.

Our cruise up Loch Long and Loch Goil continued as we ate, turning just North of Carrick Castle, destination of many previous Christmas Cruises by PSPS. As we sailed north and then South again we had the slightly strange experience of observing a number of sunsets and sunrises……all of them in the West, as the sun grazed the tops of the hills on the West side of the lochs. After a quick and unscheduled call at Blairmore on the return leg to drop off Agnes who joined us this year for the cruise, we again entered the more open waters of the tail of the bank and the “real” sunset.

Having been kept occupied on the downward leg by the raffle draw and the odd nip from the collective hip flasks to stave off the evening cold, it was all too soon that we tied up at Greenock.

During the prize draw, Deryk had commented on the various committee members and regulars who had drawn the Paddle Steamer names from the bag for the buffet scheduling, mentioning the various activities we had been involved in over the last year. One person he forgot to mention….was himself! Our heartfelt thanks Deryk, for another sterling effort resulting in a great day out for all concerned.

Stuart Mears

Scottish Branch Chairman

SEASONS GREETINGS!!

A very Merry Christmas to paddle people everywhere from the PSPS Scottish Branch!!

Medway Queen - Rebuild of a Dunkirk Veteran Part 1

Part 1 - Machinery arrives in Bristol
(words by G Stewart, Photos by Dave Elms)

Back in September it was announced by the Medway Queen Preservation Society that a contract had been placed with David Abels (Boatbuilders) in Bristol to manufacture a new rivetted hull for the 1924 Clydebuilt paddler Medway Queen.

Machinery has now started to arrive at the Albion Dockyard in Bristol and thanks to good friend and Abels engineer Dave Elms the moment on Sat 6th December was captured on camera.

The following shots show the main engine cylinder block arriving and being offloaded. Medway Queen has a compound diagonal steam engine which was manufactured by her builders Ailsa.

In this shot of the Main Engine the Andrews Cameron low pressure (LP) slide valve can be seen. This valve facilitated the transfer of exhaust steam from the LP cylinder to the condenser and also admitted steam to the LP cylinder from the high pressure (HP) cylinder.

This valve would be driven via rods and linkages from the Main Engine Crankshaft.

Another view shows the engine control levers on top of the engine block. There are 5 levers in all - the throttle which regulates the admission of high pressure steam from the boiler to the HP cylinder, ahead /astern direction control lever, 2 x cylinder drain control levers which open the cylinder drains to allow any condensate which may have collected in the cylinders whilst the engine was stopped to be evacuated by the live steam entering the cylinder and finally the impulse valve lever. This lever permits the
entry of HP steam into the LP cylinder

which, due to the vastly greater surface area of the LP piston, gives the engine a "kick" of HP steam. This was used to start the engine if it stopped in a position which did not permit steam to be admitted to the HP cylinder or if a short burst of speed was suddenly required.

On the right of the photo the LP psiton rod can be seen which still has its crosshead complete with "slippers" attached. The crosshead permitted connection of the piston rod to the crankshaft connecting rod. The slippers would normally be making contact with slides which ensured that the piston rod remained supported and also was allowed to slide in and out of the engine block - the slippers are usually lubricated via grease or oil. The crosshead permitted connection of the piston rod to the crankshaft connecting rod. This connection pivots which allows the crankshaft connecting rod to rotate the crankshaft.

A shot of the Main Engine Crankshaft complete valve gear eccentrics attached. These operate the HP & LP valves which control the admission and exhaust of steam from each cylinder. In the case of the Medway Queen the rotating motion of these eccentrics was converted to a sliding motion via a rocking link. Another smaller crosshead connection is used to attach the valve rod which slides in and out of the engine block. This type of valve actuation is called Stephenson Valve Motion and was widely used in steam locomotives as well as reciprocating steam engines. Waverley's Rankin and Blackmore main engine also utilises Stephenson Valve Motion. Another method of actuating the valvegear on paddlesteamers was called Brock Valve Motion and was invented by the Chief Engine Designer at Denny Bros of Dumbarton. This type of valve motion was used for the engines of the famous Clyde paddler Caledonia and her sister Mercury.

In this final shot we can see what looks like a steam operated boiler feed pump in the foreground - perhaps built by the famous company Weirs of Cathcart. The red coloured equipment behind this could possibly be the air pump - which permits the transfer of condensate from the condenser back to the hotwell to be pre-heated prior to transfer back to the boiler via the forementioned boiler feed pump - but I am open to suggestions via the comments facility below!!

I am hopeful that Dave will continue to provide us with fascinating photos such as these as it is not every day a new paddler hull is commissioned!

Thanks Dave!

Gavin Stewart

Branch Festive Lunch Cruise 2008

Yes folks it getting towards that time of year again - you know - the one where we all eat and drink far too much, watch the Wizard of Oz and The Great Escape for the zillionth time on Christmas Day and then eat Turkey for the next month!!

Well how about getting away from all that for the day with the Scottish Branch Festive Cruise?

On Saturday 27th December the Branch have chartered Clyde Marine Motoring's mv Cruiser for our traditional festive cruise into Loch Goil via Blairmore for a short stopover while the caterers setup a delicious buffet lunch for passengers to enjoy amidst some of the Clyde's most beautiful scenery.

Cruiser will leave from Greenock's Victoria Harbour at 11am after which you can enjoy complimentary Christmas Cake.

Lunch is optional but is highly recommended!!

Right click on the booking form below and select "Print" then fill it out as required.

The form also contains further details of the day.

See you on board!!

Gavin Stewart

Vice Chairman - Scottish Branch

A Great Night - supporting PS Waverley

A quick note to thank Scottish Branch Committee Member Charles McCrossan for his part in the organisation of a new venture to raise funds for the Waverley. (A number of Scottish Branch members also assisted but I'll not try to mention them in case I leave someone out)

On 28th November a special concert was held at St Andrew's in the Square, a beautifully restored former church, designed in 1739 by Alan Dreghorn and built by master mason Mungo Naismith. It is “A” listed and is regarded as one of the top six classical churches in UK. The design is similar to St Martin in the Fields in London. The restoration was completed 8 years ago today - St Andrews Day, 30 November 2000.

For pictures of the magnificent interiors of St Andrews please visit the following website:

http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/moregpix1469.html

The audience were treated to a fine evening of entertainment. First on stage was folk singer / songwirter Duncan McCrone, formerly of the folk group 'The Clydesiders'. He was accompanied by his long term co-artist Cy Jack and the world class Shetland fiddler Chris Stout. Arguably Duncan McCrone's best known creation is the song 'Always Argyll'. We did not hear that song but Duncan delivered a fine rendition of another tale of emigrant Scots (albeit enforce leavers!), the traditional song 'Jamie Raeburn'- the tale a Glasgow baker who was transported to Van Deiman's Land for a relatively minor crime.

McCrone also sang his largely autobiographical song 'Just a Glasgow Boy' and Robert Burns' biography 'Rantin', Rovin' Robin' which the Bard wrote to celebrate his 28th Birthday.

The second part of the concert featured The Cast, a duo of Edinburgh folksingers Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis. Mairi delivered a beautiful rendition of 'Auld Land Syne', sung to the original melody for which Burns' wrote the lyrics, much different to the newer tune by which it has become a worldwide anthem. Mairi and Dave's interpretation featured prominently in the recent blockbuster movie 'Sex in the City' . To hear a chorus of the song as sung by Mairi in their album 'The Winnowing' go to the following link and click on the 'Play' arrowhead:

http://www.musicscotland.com/acatalog/MusicScotland_The_Cast___The_Winnowing_494.html

Apart from having a fine singing voice (she won the Singer of the Year Award 2007 at the Scottish Trad Music Awards last December) Mairi Campbell is an accomplished player of the viola, the classical violin and Scottish Fiddle and, when she delivered a compilation of traditional jigs and reels, not one foot in the 'body of the kirk' could stay still!

The main performer for the evening was Glasgow-born rock singer / songwirter J J Gilmour, formerly of 'The Silencers. He appeared on stage with his trademark stripped beenie. It is the first time that I had seen JJ for a good number of years and I admit that I didn't recognise him at first - the longish fair hair have been replaced by grey - but who am I to talk at least he still has some! Good to see the following entry on JJ's website. (JJ now lives in Belfast).

"I am coming home to Scotland to do a concert in St Andrews in the square in the fine city of Glasgow on November 28th. The concert is in aid of the fantastic Waverly steamboat (picture on the left) which sails up and down the Clyde. Ticket info can be found over on the Tour dates page. The concert should be great and as I have only played 4 concerts this year I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it."

Also in the audience was the renowned Glasgow-born jazz singer Carol Kidd.

The fine banner of 'PS Waverley - a National Treasure', which was premiered at Lochranza last year (see below), provided the backdrop throughout the concert.

A great performance by all the artists enjoyed, I am sure, , all that attended .

Stuart Cameron

WAVERLEY FUND RAISER REMINDER

Just a quick reminder that TOMORROW (Friday 28th December) is a very important date.
A brand new type of Waverley fund raising event is taking place in Glasgow tomorrow night.
It's a Fund Raising Concert at St. Andrews in the Square….see here for details.
A lot of people have put a lot of hard work into making this happen. It's a new way of doing things for Waverley and if ever there was a year when Waverley needed fund raising to succeed the…..this is it!
So come along and enjoy yourself and more importantly help raise some funds for Waverley.
A report on the night will follow in this blog, so don't find yourself sitting reading it and wishing you had gone.
We might even name and shame non-attendees……..am I going to far?!
Dead simple eh? So….WHAT ARE YOU STILL SITTING THERE READING THIS FOR?! GO AND GET SOME TICKETS!



Stuart Mears

Scottish Branch Chairman

Branch Stand at Model Rail Greenock

The branch will have its usual stand at Greenock's annual Model Rail Exhibition - held in the Town Hall on Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th November.

Opening times as follows:

Sat: 1000 - 1700

Sun: 1200 - 1700

A good mix of Branch Committee members and volunteers will be on the stand over the course of the weekend and there will be some different gift ideas for Christmas on sale along with Waverley, Maid of the Loch and PSPS Souvenirs.

So come along and see us!!

APOLOGIES FOR DOWNTIME

Hi Folks,

Unfortunately there was a problem with the domain name change and we have had to revert to our original address.

Please accept our apologies - we will find out what the problem was and give another go in the future!!

PSPS Scottish Branch