TSS Duke of Lancaster (1955)
 Duke of Lancaster beached near Mostyn, North Wales
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | TSS Duke of Lancaster |
| Owner | list error: <br /> list (help) 1955-1963: British Transport Commission 1963-1979: Sealink 1979 - present: Empirewise |
| Operator | list error: <br /> list (help) 1955-1963: British Transport Commission 1963-1979: Sealink |
| Port of registry | Lancaster, United Kingdom  |
| Route | list error: <br /> list (help) 1955-1975: Heysham - Belfast 1975-1979: Holyhead - Dún Laoghaire |
| Builder | Harland & Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 1540 |
| Launched | 1955 |
| Maiden voyage | 1956 |
| Out of service | 1979 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5094496 |
| Status | Out of service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Turbine steam ship |
| Tonnage | 4,450 GT GT uses unsupported parameter (help) |
| Length | 114.63 m (376 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 17.46 m (57 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 4.54 m (14 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power | 2 x Parmetrada steam turbines |
| Speed | 21 Knots |
| Capacity | 1800 passengers |
The Duke of Lancaster is a railway steamer passenger ship that operated in Europe from 1956 to 1979, and is currently beached near Mostyn Docks, on the River Dee, north-east Wales.
In service
Along with her sister ships the Duke of Rothesay and the Duke of Argyll she was amongst the last passenger-only steamers built for British Railways (at that time, also a ferry operator).[1]
Built at Harland & Wolff, Belfast and completed in 1956, she was designed to operate as both a passenger ferry (primarily on the Heysham-Belfast route) and as a cruise ship. In this capacity, the Lancaster travelled to the Scottish islands and further afield to Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Spain.[1][2]
From the mid-1960s, passenger ships such as the Lancaster were gradually being superseded by car ferries.[1] Rather than undertake the expensive option of renewing their entire fleet, British Railways instead began a part-program of conversion. In order to maintain ferry services whilst these modifications took place, the Lancaster's duties as a cruise ship ceased.[2] On 25 April 1970 the ship returned to service, having had her main deck rebuilt to accommodate vehicles via a door at her stern. The ship now provided space for 1,200 single-class passengers and 105 cars, with a total cabin accommodation for 400 passengers.[2]
The three ships continued on the Heysham-Belfast route until the service was withdrawn on 5 April 1975.[2] The Duke of Lancaster was then briefly employed on the Fishguard-Rosslare crossing, before becoming the regular relief vessel on the Holyhead–Dún Laoghaire service until November 1978.[2] The ship was then laid up at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria.[1]
The Fun Ship
The Lancaster was sold to Liverpool based company Empirewise Ltd, who intended her to be used as a static leisure centre and market. She arrived at her new home at Llanerch-y-Mor, near Mostyn, on 10 August 1979.[1] The ship was beached and the hull was sealed — not in concrete, as is commonly thought, but surrounded by a large tonnage of sand pulled out of the Dee estuary. Known as "The Fun Ship", it was also possible to visit her bridge and engine room. Conversion for use as a 300-room hotel did not appear to go beyond the preliminary planning stage. Its use as "The Fun Ship" was relatively short-lived and it was subsequently closed to the public because access to the ship is via a bridge under the North Wales railway line, which is too low for emergency vehicles. Over time, the vessel has become increasingly derelict.
The ship was later used as a warehouse by its owners Solitaire Liverpool Ltd, a clothing company registered to the same address as Empirewise Ltd.[3] Despite rumours that the ship would be scrapped, the company stated that they have no plans either to sell it or to restore it[4] and its current use is uncertain.
Despite having large amounts of its exterior paintwork covered in red-leading, the interior of the ship is in very good condition.
References
- ^ a b c d e Duke of Lancaster, hhvferry.com, retrieved 12 December 2007
- ^ a b c d e Sealink Holyhead: The Duke of Lancaster, sealinkholyhead.com, retrieved 12 December 2007
- ^ A Visit to the Duke of Lancaster, Irish Sea Shipping, December 2006, retrieved 14 November 2007
- ^ News Bulletin: September 2007, Irish Sea Shipping, 25 September 2007, retrieved 14 November 2007