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PS Castalia
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PS Castalia
Castalia[Note A] was a 1,533 GRT twin-hulled paddle steamer that was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, London for the English Channel Steamship Company. She was acquired by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1878 but had already been laid up by then and was not operated by the LCDR. In 1883, she was sold to the Metropolitan Asylums Board and converted to a hospital ship. She served until 1904 and was scrapped in 1905.
Castalia was a twin-hulled paddle steamer, comprising two half-hulls with a length of 295 feet 6 inches (90.07 m) and a beam of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m). The two half-hulls were 26 feet (7.9 m) apart internally. Her draught was 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). The ship was designed with bows forward and astern in order to avoid the need to turn round at Calais, France.
She was propelled by two diagonal compound steam engines, of 140 horsepower (100 kW) each, driving a single paddle wheel. The engines were built by J & A Blyth, London. The two paddle wheels were placed side by side between the twin hulls. These could propel her at 11 knots (20 km/h). Following improvements in 1875, the boilers and paddle wheels were by Maudslay, Sons, & Field, Lambeth, Surrey. She had capacity to carry 700 passengers.
Castalia was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth for the English Channel Steamship Company. Costing about £70,000 to build, she was designed by a Captain Dicey, who thought that she should be more stable therefore leading to less seasickness for her passengers. Castalia was launched on 2 June. She was named for Lady Granville, who launched her.
Completed in October, trials soon showed that she was too slow. Castalia was returned to her makers for new boilers and paddles to be fitted. A debenture of £16,000 being sought by the English Channel Steamship Company to finance the improvements. On her delivery voyage from Gravesend, Kent to Dover on 15 September 1874, trouble was experienced with priming of her boilers, necessitating a reduction to half-power, although a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h) was attained. On arrival at Dover, large crowds came to see the novel ship. Castalia made a trial run between Dover and Calais on 21 July 1875. The voyage had begun at Gravesend with the intention that she would sail to Calais, but the Board of Trade inspector on board ordered her into Dover as she approached the North Foreland. A protruding bolt on the Admiralty Pier at Dover caused some minor damage, which was quickly repaired. Although her steering gear had failed, there was no difficulty in manoeuvering the ship, attributed to the fact that the engines drove each paddle wheel independently. Castalia then made the crossing to Calais. She made a public trial crossing of the Channel on 2 August. The Times commented that she was underpowered, having 280 horsepower (210 kW) for a gross register tonnage of 1,533. Mailboats then in service had 160 horsepower (120 kW) for a tonnage of 400 GRT.
Castalia entered into regular service on 5 August 1875. She departed from Dover at 09:35, arriving in time for passengers to catch the 12:30 train to Paris. She departed from Calais at 13:20, allowing passengers from the Continent to arrive at London that evening. She operated daily except Sundays. Fares were 8s 6d first class, 6s 6d second class. Private cabins were available at £1 extra and refreshments were available on board. Her lack of speed meant that she could not operate in connection with mail trains and she was not a success financially. Only capable of 11 knots (20 km/h), she needed to be able to achieve at least 12 knots (22 km/h) to be as fast as ships then in service on the cross-channel route, and 13 knots (24 km/h) to be able to provide the required service. It had been hoped that Castalia would be able to achieve 14 knots (26 km/h).
Following his unsuccessful attempt at swimming across the English Channel on 12 August 1875, Matthew Webb returned to the United Kingdom on board Castalia. Following the successful swim across the Channel on 24 August, he again returned to the United Kingdom on board Castalia. Reaction from passengers who sailed on board Castiliâ was generally favourable. Castalia was reported to only roll by about 5° to port and starboard in heavy seas, whereas a conventional ship would roll by 15° or more. In identical conditions, Foam was reported to have taken 1 hour 42 minutes for a crossing from Calais to Dover, pitching and rolling heavily, whereas Castalia took three hours, but with little pitching and rolling. On 11 October, the Prince of Wales travelled on board Castalia as part of his journey from London to India. The prince chose Castalia as he was prone to seasickness. He was accompanied from London to Calais by the Princess of Wales, who slept on board Castalia after arrival at Calais and returned to Dover the next day.
In January 1876, the board of the English Channel Steamship Company agreed to an issue of £150,000 of shares paying a dividend of 7% in order to finance an improved version of Castalia. The new ship was to be capable of 14 knots (26 km/h). The new ship was the Express, which was built by Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne, Northumberland. Express was renamed Calais-Douvres before entering service with the LCDR.
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PS Castalia
Castalia[Note A] was a 1,533 GRT twin-hulled paddle steamer that was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, London for the English Channel Steamship Company. She was acquired by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1878 but had already been laid up by then and was not operated by the LCDR. In 1883, she was sold to the Metropolitan Asylums Board and converted to a hospital ship. She served until 1904 and was scrapped in 1905.
Castalia was a twin-hulled paddle steamer, comprising two half-hulls with a length of 295 feet 6 inches (90.07 m) and a beam of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m). The two half-hulls were 26 feet (7.9 m) apart internally. Her draught was 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). The ship was designed with bows forward and astern in order to avoid the need to turn round at Calais, France.
She was propelled by two diagonal compound steam engines, of 140 horsepower (100 kW) each, driving a single paddle wheel. The engines were built by J & A Blyth, London. The two paddle wheels were placed side by side between the twin hulls. These could propel her at 11 knots (20 km/h). Following improvements in 1875, the boilers and paddle wheels were by Maudslay, Sons, & Field, Lambeth, Surrey. She had capacity to carry 700 passengers.
Castalia was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth for the English Channel Steamship Company. Costing about £70,000 to build, she was designed by a Captain Dicey, who thought that she should be more stable therefore leading to less seasickness for her passengers. Castalia was launched on 2 June. She was named for Lady Granville, who launched her.
Completed in October, trials soon showed that she was too slow. Castalia was returned to her makers for new boilers and paddles to be fitted. A debenture of £16,000 being sought by the English Channel Steamship Company to finance the improvements. On her delivery voyage from Gravesend, Kent to Dover on 15 September 1874, trouble was experienced with priming of her boilers, necessitating a reduction to half-power, although a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h) was attained. On arrival at Dover, large crowds came to see the novel ship. Castalia made a trial run between Dover and Calais on 21 July 1875. The voyage had begun at Gravesend with the intention that she would sail to Calais, but the Board of Trade inspector on board ordered her into Dover as she approached the North Foreland. A protruding bolt on the Admiralty Pier at Dover caused some minor damage, which was quickly repaired. Although her steering gear had failed, there was no difficulty in manoeuvering the ship, attributed to the fact that the engines drove each paddle wheel independently. Castalia then made the crossing to Calais. She made a public trial crossing of the Channel on 2 August. The Times commented that she was underpowered, having 280 horsepower (210 kW) for a gross register tonnage of 1,533. Mailboats then in service had 160 horsepower (120 kW) for a tonnage of 400 GRT.
Castalia entered into regular service on 5 August 1875. She departed from Dover at 09:35, arriving in time for passengers to catch the 12:30 train to Paris. She departed from Calais at 13:20, allowing passengers from the Continent to arrive at London that evening. She operated daily except Sundays. Fares were 8s 6d first class, 6s 6d second class. Private cabins were available at £1 extra and refreshments were available on board. Her lack of speed meant that she could not operate in connection with mail trains and she was not a success financially. Only capable of 11 knots (20 km/h), she needed to be able to achieve at least 12 knots (22 km/h) to be as fast as ships then in service on the cross-channel route, and 13 knots (24 km/h) to be able to provide the required service. It had been hoped that Castalia would be able to achieve 14 knots (26 km/h).
Following his unsuccessful attempt at swimming across the English Channel on 12 August 1875, Matthew Webb returned to the United Kingdom on board Castalia. Following the successful swim across the Channel on 24 August, he again returned to the United Kingdom on board Castalia. Reaction from passengers who sailed on board Castiliâ was generally favourable. Castalia was reported to only roll by about 5° to port and starboard in heavy seas, whereas a conventional ship would roll by 15° or more. In identical conditions, Foam was reported to have taken 1 hour 42 minutes for a crossing from Calais to Dover, pitching and rolling heavily, whereas Castalia took three hours, but with little pitching and rolling. On 11 October, the Prince of Wales travelled on board Castalia as part of his journey from London to India. The prince chose Castalia as he was prone to seasickness. He was accompanied from London to Calais by the Princess of Wales, who slept on board Castalia after arrival at Calais and returned to Dover the next day.
In January 1876, the board of the English Channel Steamship Company agreed to an issue of £150,000 of shares paying a dividend of 7% in order to finance an improved version of Castalia. The new ship was to be capable of 14 knots (26 km/h). The new ship was the Express, which was built by Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne, Northumberland. Express was renamed Calais-Douvres before entering service with the LCDR.
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