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 THE FLEET
 Main
The Fleet
Maid
of the Loch
History
Loch Lomond is Britain's largest sheet of
inland water – bigger than either Lake Windermere or Loch Ness – and, since
the wee MARION first puffed about the place in 1818, steamers constantly churned
the Lomond waters, not only carrying a burgeoning tourist trade (the Trossachs
and the “Three Lochs Tour” had been a must for Scottish visitors since the
sensational success of Sir walter Scott's novels) but servicing a host of little
communities on the isles and bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. For a
comprehensive history of the Loch Lomond steamer fleet, Alan Brown's lavishly
illustrated Loch Lomond Passenger Steamers 1818-1989 (Alan T Condie
Publications, 2000) cannot be bettered.
With nationalisation the British Transport
Commission inherited the LMS Railway's Loch Lomond fleet. Two gracious Victorian
paddle-steamers, PRINCESS MAY (1898) and PRINCE EDWARD (1911) had survived the
Second World War and indeed had done a roaring trade; some 500,000 passengers
were carried annually for the duration, the war-battered Scots public thankful
for Loch Lomond's peaceful beauty and with no excursion services available on
the Firth of Clyde.
The Loch Lomond excursion season began with a
brief outing at the Easter holiday weekend; resumed in late May and continued to
the end of September. The steamers ran a twice-daily service between Balloch and
Ardlui with calls at all intervening piers on both sides of Loch Lomond and in
both directions. From 1949 a programme of short evening cruises – with special
train connections from Glasgow – was reinstated.
There was as yet no sign of the huge social
change – especially in British holiday habits – which years of postwar
popular affluencer would engineer, and that with calamitous impact on our
excursion steamer trade. The real worry to BTC top-brass, in assessing their
Loch Lomond business as 1950 loomed closer, was the state of the venerable
ships. PRINCESS MAY celebrated her fiftieth birthday in 1948 and was
rapidly deteriorating. And PRINCE EDWARD was nearly forty years old. Both ships
were of extremely light construction – the shallow approaches to important
Loch Lomond piers imposed strict limitations on draft – and modernisation and
new passenger facilities, with the inevitable addition of weight, was not an
option.
Though the early post-war summers saw an
understandable reduction in trade as the Clyde excursion business resumed –
Loch Lomond now won about 125,000 passengers a year – the BTC had noted a
considerable boost in trade with 1947 and the advent of a new paddlesteamer on
the Arrochar leg of the Three Lochs Tour – WAVERLEY. At peak periods she was
landing over a thousand passengers a day, and “it was felt,” observes Alan
Brown, “that a modern vessel on Loch Lomond would not only make an appropriate
consort for the new WAVERLEY but also attract more custom to the Loch Lomond
services themselves...”
By 1949, then, there was good evidence to suggest
that even the nationalised British Railways could afford to embark on the
frivolity of building a new Loch Lomond excursion steamer, and the Scottish
Region Marine Department duly prepared a case for the Railway Executive.
It was obvious that a new ship would have to be
big enough to carry the peak Three Lochs Tour traffic and boast the most
advanced passenger facilities. This, then, was a job for a Clydeside yard, who
would prefabricate the vessel before transporting her to Balloch in sections.
(Most of the Loch Lomond fleet had been Clyde-built, but small enough then to be
floated up the River Leven to Balloch. With one earlier vessel her passage under
an inconvenient River Leven bridge, at Bonhill, was only accomplished when all
the local children were given a day off school and herded on board till she was
sufficiently low in the water.)
Yet the new ship could not be so big that she
would not fit onto the rather splendid Loch Lomond slipway, at Balloch, where
the steamers were routinely winched out of the loch for overhaul, Board of Trade
inspection, and painting. And the biggest problem of all was shoal water, at the
head of the loch but especially in the vicinity of Luss, an important pier. Even
PRINCESS MAY and PRINCE EDWARD could be in difficulty in high summer, when the
loch-level could drop considerably after weeks of dry weather.
So it was essential that the new ship was of very
limited draught and, for the passenger capacity they had deemed essential,
twin-screw propulsion was immediately ruled out. The new ship would be
paddle-driven; it seems surprising, though, that diesel or diesel-electric
machinery was not thought more fitting (and a good deal more economical) in the
post-war age.
Alan Brown credits the decision for steam
propulsion to Captain H Perry, Marine Superintendent for British Railways
(Scottish Region.) His arrival at Glasgow in the late Thirties, in the same
capacity for the LNER had coincided with the advent of the Clyde's first
non-steam paddler, the diesel-electric TALISMAN (1935). The pioneer was plagued
with mechanical problems and though wartime service, and subsequent
modification, left her a most reliable ship by the late Forties, Captain Perry
viewed her with abiding mistrust. No more internal-combustion paddlers were ever
built for west-coast passenger service.
And so it was that Scottish Region duly petitioned
the Railway Executive for a new paddlesteamer to replace PRINCESS MAY on the
Loch Lomond trade. She should be some 190 feet in length with capacity for some
1,200 passengers, and be powered by two-crank compound diagonal steam engines
– fed by an oil-fired Navy boiler with a speed of around fourteen knots.
They must have argued it well; in July 1950 the
Railway Executive duly ordered a new vessel, with these specifications, from A
& J Inglis at Pointhouse, Glasgow, for the agreed sum of £187,000. It was
also agreed to reconstruct Balloch Pier and a new structure – stone, with
concrete and steel piling – replaced the old wooden structure in the winter of 1951-52; this incorporated a single timber-framed steamer berth and cost £15,000.
MAID OF THE LOCH was duly launched at Balloch on
Thursday 5th March 1953, named on 22nd May and assumed
public service on 25th May, just a week before the Coronation. By
that time a new subsidiary company, Clyde Shipping Services, was in charge of
assorted BR steamer services, including Loch Lomond, and – irony of ironies
– Luss Pier had closed in 1951, in thoroughly rotten condition and with no
funds or prospects for its repair.
MAID OF THE LOCH had been duly built at Pointhouse
and carefully transported, by rail and in numbered plates and sections, for
re-assembly - “like a giant Meccano set” - at Balloch. She was a one-class
steamer and carefully designed so that all her 1,000 passengers – the final
capacity agreed – could be sheltered in wet weather. To minimise draught, too,
she was constructed almost entirely above main deck level of aluminium.
In fact she is the largest ship ever built for any
inland loch in Britain – nearly twenty feet longer than PRINCE EDWARD. Like
the LMS inland steamers built in the Thirties for Loch Awe and Windermere, too,
she had a special – and almost identical – colour-scheme. Hull,
superstructure and paddleboxes were all white and she bore a plain yellow
funnel. During construction this was painted with a black top, but the result
was not very attractive and the black top was eliminated before she took up
service. (Of course, during a season's service smut and fumes darkened the top
of her lum anyway.)
The boot topping, along the waterline, was green
and MAID OF THE LOCH had silver ventilators with blue interiors. Her paddleboxes
were of the traditional Loch Lomond style with horizontal slots; but they bore
an intricate interwoven Celtic design in silver paint; and the vessel's name in
red letters on a blue background.
“Reminiscent of the 1934 paddlers,” writes
Iain C MacArthur, “ she is the only Loch Lomond steamer to have been plated to
the bow and with a full length promenade deck. Other new features are the large
fore and aft deck shelters with a connecting upper passenger spar deck. Unlike
the 1934 Clyde paddlers, however, the navigating bridge was not raised above
this deck. Instead it is situated at the forward end and an enclosed wheelhouse
was erected for the first time on a Loch Lomond steamer.
“One traditional feature of the Loch Lomond
steamboats was retained; the companionways between the promenade and main decks
are incorporated in the sponson-houses; in this instance aft as well as in the
forward position, an arrangement which saves valuable space amidships. To reduce
top-weight the funnel and much of the superstructure are of aluminium. Masts
were latterly considered a luxury in the Loch Lomond fleet for neither the
'Prince' nor the 'Princess' could boast one in their later days, but the new
paddler received both a foremast and a mainmast...” The rails on these
companionways were decorated with handsome heraldic sheets – an early target
for looters in the horrors that lay thirty years ahead.
And the facilities were magnificent. “A dining
saloon on the main deck, the normal position on the Loch Lomond steamers and on
LOCHFYNE, QUEEN MARY II and TALISMAN, seats eighty persons. The whole area aft
on the same deck was originally a general lounge but after a few seasons the
tearoom was transferred from the lower deck to the lounge, and cafeteria service
was introduced. Both the lounge/cafeteria and the dining saloon on the main deck
are well lit by large windows with unusual arched tops which afford a panoramic
view of the loch. A bar is corporated in the after deck shelter. A public
address system was fitted to dispense appropriate music and announcements...”
Robert Cleary's delightful little book, Maid of
the Loch (1979) – geared, of course, for on-board purchase - walks
his captive reader around the last Loch Lomond paddle in a style that teeters
rather desperately between the engaging and the naff – with one
dreadful double-entendre.
“We're pleased to have you aboard! Let's go for
a tour of the steamer.
“When you come aboard you are on the promenade
deck. There's plenty of space both on deck and under cover. Looking towards the
bow you can see the forward deck-shelter, refurbished with new seating for the
1979 season. Inside this lounge is the “Maid”'s souvenir shop where you can
buy maps and films and confectionery and small gifts to remind you of your visit
to Loch Lomond. As you come out of the deck-shelter you may detect a delicious
hot, steamy aroma emanating from a lower deck. Immediately below you is the
galley where food is being prepared both for the crew and for passengers who
patronise the steamer's restaurant.
“You can walk almost to the bow of the steamer
except for the small area reserved for rope-handling. The steam-winch can be
seen in use when the steamer is manoeuvring at Balloch Pier.
“The purser's office is situated on the
promenade deck just behind the forward shelter. Her you can purchase your
steamer journey ticket and a ticket for a meal in the restaurant. Having left
the purser's office we'll move towards the stern – we bypass the deck-bar for
the moment and can walk right up to the stern-rail to watch the creamy wash left
behind by the paddles.
“If you fancy a 'blow', climb the stair near the
stern which will take you on to the bridge deck. Many people like to stand in
the lee of the tall buff funnel which provides both heat and shelter. You can
leave the bridge deck by the forward stairway which will take you close to the
bar. The bar is fitted with modern seating which allows you to enjoy a drink in
comfort and not miss any of the wonderful scenery.
“We've still to view the main deck. This is
easily reached by any of four stairways, cleverly designed to save space, neatly
tucked away in each of the four paddle sponsons. By going down the after stairs
we are near the cafeteria; why not pop in for a cup of tea or coffee, or a soft
drink and crisps for the kids? For the more ravenous there are sandwiches,
cakes, teabread, pies and sausage rolls. There are wide windows in the cafeteria
through which you can view the passing scene while enjoying a snack meal.
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“When you come out of the cafeteria your party
may have to split up – for the ladies' toilets are on the port (left) side and
the gents on the starboard (right) side. If you walk along the alleyways here on
the main deck level you will have a good view of the main engine room.
Steam is generated in the large boiler, situated in the casing forward of the engine
room, by an oil-fired burner.
The steam passes by pipes to the pistons, then to
the condenser where it is converted, by a cooling medium, into water. The water
is then pumped by the feed pump, through the heater, back to the boiler where it
is reused. Steam is raised a few days before the first sailing of the year and
pressure is maintained until the end of the season. |
The Maid's Main Engine
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“The daily routine commences by heating the oil
in the burner to 210 degrees F.; at this stage the auxiliary stop valve is
opened, and this in turn operates the various pumps and generators.
“Steam is raised to 120 lbs per square inch and
approximately one hour before the first departure of the day the main steam
valve is opened, steam is passed evenly through the system and the engines are
turned over slowly to allow them to heat in order that full power will be
available by sailing time.
“The long connecting rods from the pistons turn
the crankshaft at 35 revolutions per minute to maintain a service speed of
twelve knots.
“If you look through the portholes on either
alleyway where the crankshaft goes through the hull-casing to reach the paddles
you can watch the paddles themselves driving the steamer through the water.
“At the forward end of the engine-room alleyways
are the entrance doors to the restaurant. Reservations for meals should be made
in advance at the purser's office. If you do have a meal on board you will be
able to relax in comfortable surroundings and not miss any of the scenery while
you eat. Have a close look at the beautiful silver cutlery on the tables. Here
can be seen the history of the Clyde and Loch Lomond steamers representing the
various railway companies which once owned the steamers.”
On her trials - Monday 4th May, 1953 -
MAID OF THE LOCH attained a top speed of 13 ¾ knots. Her service speed was, of
course, only twelve knots. She was named on Friday 22nd May by Lady
Watson, wife of a member of the Railway Executive. The new steamer then bore
guests and officials to Ardlui at the head of Loch Lomond.
She entered public service the following Monday
– the Queen's Birthday Holiday – under the command of Captain Donald
MacDonald, formerly master of the PRINCE EDWARD; it was the 11.25 sailing out of
Balloch, calling at Balmaha, Rowardennan, Tarbet, Inversnaid and Ardlui. The
following month, MAID OF THE LOCH enjoyed the first of several royal guests –
Queen Salote of Tonga, a large and jolly soul who had entranced London crowds at
the Coronation on 2nd June. (“Who is that little man in the Queen
of Tonga's carriage?” one onlooker unwisely asked Noel Coward. “Her
lunch!”)
There would be more royal patronage in future; The
Queen twice sailed on MAID OF THE LOCH, in 1965 and 1971, in the respective
company of The Duke of Edinburgh and The Princess Anne.
PRINCESS MAY, still in her old BTC livery, was
broken up on the Loch Lomond slipway that summer, soon after MAID OF THE LOCH
entered service. PRINCE EDWARD was retained meantime and did not escape the new
colour-scheme, though the top of her funnel was repainted black after much
smoke-staining. She maintained a programme of secondary runs; and plans were
laid for her modernisation – conversion to oil-burning; plating up to her bow
– but it soon became apparent that Loch Lomond passenger traffic could not
justify her retention. After just two seasons as second fiddle to MAID OF THE
LOCH, PRINCE EDWARD was withdrawn from service; she was scrapped in the spring
of 1955.
The hope was that the handsome MAID OF THE
LOCH, in all her spacious elegance, would recover much of the massive war-time
market. For the 1955 season the Loch Lomond schedule was recast for one vessel's
capabilities and MAID OF THE LOCH now made a morning and afternoon cruise from
Balloch calling at all piers. “On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,”
records Robert Cleary, “passengers could leave the steamer at Tarbet and walk
over to Loch Long to join the Clyde paddlesteamer WAVERLEY (MAID-class
motor-vessel on Saturdays) thus making a circular excursion known as the Three
Lochs Tour, incorporating Loch Lomond, Loch Long and Loch Goil. Passengers could
also partake of rail/steamer tours involving the West Highland trains at
Arrochar and Tarbet or Ardlui. A third variety of excursion took in Loch Katrine
and the Trossachs in addition to a sail in Loch Lomond. As every one of these
tours could be made in either direction the “Maid” benefited from the
traffic flow in both directions...”
But the world had changed and, in a Britain where
“most of you have never had it so good”, the increasing availability of
cheap air-travel and the Spanish holiday package-tour was revolutionising
British vacation habits. MAID OF THE LOCH never fulfilled the original BTC hopes
of profitable Loch Lomond cruising. Indeed, she began slowly but steadily to
accumulate a horrifying deficit.
There were also direct circumstances beyond her
control. At the end of the 1963 season, for instance, Ardlui pier was closed. It
was in an advanced state of disrepair and the owner – proprietor of the
adjacent Ardlui Hotel – did not have the resources for its reconstruction. As
a result, from 1964 the MAID OF THE LOCH could merely cruise to the head of the
loch, without a call at Ardlui, and this only reduced passenger numbers further
– no dropping-off point now for those making a circular tour by rai, Ardlui
being a station of the West Highland Line.
More pier closures remorselessly followed; Balmaha
in 1971; Tarbet in 1975. But the fundamental economic difficulty was that she
was simply too large and her costs of operation were not matched by income from
the traffic now offering.
Most of MAID OF THE LOCH's sailing career was, in
fact, a veritable battle to evade the axe and by the time of Dr Beeching's
infamous recommendations for wholesale railway closures, in 1963, the MAID could
be sneering dismissed as a “white elephant.” “Certainly she is an
economist's nightmare,” Iain McCrorie could write in the still more fraught
climate of 1977, “and her story since the early Sixties has been none other
than a fight for survival.”
Yet she was spared by Dr Beeching; almost as
important, so was her “Blue Train” suburban railway link to Glasgow, which
terminated right at Balloch Pier. MAID OF THE LOCH was also granted gifted and
resourceful CSP management – British Railways had in 1957 allowed the old
Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd.'s name to revive, managing all Clyde and Loch
Lomond passenger services as well as the Kyleakin ferry – and urgent action
was rather galvanised by her deficit at the end of the 1961 season - £63,000.
For the 1962 season her working day was lengthened
and evening cruises were laid on to attract more passengers. A public outcry
against Beeching's threat to Loch Lomond sailings duly ensured MAID OF THE
LOCH's survival in 1963 and for 1965 – shaken by the impact of the lost Ardlui
call in the 1964 season – the CSP authorised a massive publicity campaign.
There were also gimmicks that would rather raise
eyebrows today; comely (indeed, leggy) young girls were hired as “Loch Lomond
Hostesses” for excursions that summer, and evening “Showboat” cruises,
with live on-board entertainment, were promoted on Monday and Wednesday
evenings. Nevertheless they were good ideas and their effectiveness was beyond
dispute – passenger carryings improved by 65%.
Yet the early Seventies brought still more
retrenchment – and a bizarre change in ownership. The Scottish Transport Group
assumed control f all CSP and David MacBrayne Ltd vessels in 1969; the Group
also took over all nationalised Scottish bus operations and – for obscuire
accounting and administrative reasons – legal ownership of MAID OF THE LOCH
was transferred to W Alexander & Sons (Midland Ltd). The logic of entrusting
a West Highland paddlesteamer to a Falkuerjk-based diesel bus operator was not
immediately apparent; the CSP, of course, continued to manage the vessel.
It was late in 1970, though, before the CSP
general manager, John Whittle, noticed the British Railways emblem still
resplendent on the Loch Lomond paddler;'s bows and ordered its removal
forthwith.
But the Three Lochs Tour had to be cut to two days
per week after the 1970 season – it ended completely when Arrochar Pier closed
in 1972 – and the loss of Balmaha Pier was another blow. The “Showboat”
cruises had rather lost their impact and from 1971 they were offered on
Wednesdays only.
It was a fitting background of doom and gloom for
the MAID's first serious mishap; on Saturday 12th May 1973 she ran
aground while undertaking a charter sailing near Luss. It took several hours
before she was successfully refloated , with the aid of assorted
pleasure-launches which sped to her rescue from Balloch. The advent of the
“Cameron Wildlife Park” - it opened near Balloch that summer, though it held
nothing more sensational than a few lugubrious brown bears – helped somewhat;
it brought folk to the lochside where the MAID herself was her own advert.
If MAID OF THE LOCH hit an absolute low in her
active sailing career, it was in 1974, Despite costly boiler repairs in April,
she was struck and struck again by mechanical trouble, being forced repeatedly
out of service and finally to premature retirement on Saturday 24th
August, three weeks before her advertised timetable actually expired; she had
grounded momentarily, near Balloch, late in July and this was afterwards
reckoned to have dislodged sediment in the base of her fuel tanks, with unhappy
consequences for her combustion and thus her steam pressure.
Passenger carriage for 1974 hit an all-time base
of 89,000. Another factor, undoubtedly, was competition; Loch Lomond Sailings
Ltd of Balloch had begun touting for cruising business that summer, with two big
purpose-built motor launches.
Yet her managers refused to give up. That winter,
the Company (now, of course, Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd) engaged a team of
consultants to advise on all their cruising operations and this proved another
lifeline for MAID OF THE LOCH, whose promotion was now entrusted to Mr Norman
Wright.
On his recommendation there was considerable new
investment, both on the paddler's engines and steam-plant, and her internal
accommodation. She emerged for the 1975 season both with a new look – red
funnel with black top – and machinery that was now entirely reliable and
remaind so for the rest of her active career.
There were also thoughtful changes to her
facilities. The old, traditional long tables in her cafeteria were replaced with
modern, smaller units and a new, much less wop-wop public address system was
installed. She was also the last CalMac steamer with a traditional
waiter-service dining room – at least, one in regular use, which the
“Queen's Restaurant” on QUEEN MARY II seldom was – and that was an
attraction CalMac sensibly advertised.
Her timetable was entirely rejigged; the long
cruise to the head of Loch Lomond was withdrawn – this saved on fuel costs –
and two shorter cruises were laid on for weekend afternoons, with an attractive
fare-package for young families. All this certainly improved carryings –
126,000 passengers boarded the steamer in 1975, despite the closure of Tarbet
Pier.
Her original buff funnel was restored for 1976 as
the red style was judged a disappointment (it would have looked better with a
deeper black top, as she enjoys now.) And the head of the loch cruise was
reinstated to her timetable for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, with extra
calls at Rowardennan from Monday through to Friday. In addition her deck bar was
refurbished with modern banquette seating and low tables. The head of the loch
excursion did not survive in the 1977 timetable – fuel prices were rapidly
spiralling – and the short weekend cruises were cut; but MAID OF LOCH was
fitted with VJF ship-to-shore radio on 15th July in compliance with
new safety requirements.
She celebrated her Silver Jubilee on Saturday 18th
June 1978; a special cruise was laid on for invited guests and 800 passengers
– each passenger received a piece of birthday cake; each child a stick of
rock! - and, the previous week, a plaque was donated by the Paddle Steamer
Preservation Society to mark her 25 years in service. MAID OF THE LOCH was now
minus a mainmast; found to be rotten, it was removed before that season's
excursion programme began. (“Loch Lomond Mast Rot” is, in fact, an historic
hazard of steamer services here and is found nowhere else.)
MAID OF THE LOCH now enjoyed thoroughly reliable
propulsion and, from 1976, generous grants by Strathclyde Regional Council;
usually in excess of £60,000 a year. 1978 brought further good news from
assorted local authorities and the Scottish Tourist Board; it was announced
that, through a five-year programme, £500,000 was to be spent in reinstating or
repairing piers at Rowardennan, Luss, Tarbet and Inversnaid. In addition there
was to be a regular grant for running the steamer.
So it was that at last MAID OF THE LOCH would be
able to call at Luss, though the new pier was not ready in time for a visit in
1979. That was another trouble-free season, with helpful innovations: a
“Freedom of Loch Lomond” weekly ticket, and a round-trip by bus for
passengers from Inversnaid to Stronaclachar and the pleasures of a cruise, by
the tough old SIR WALTER SCOTT (1900) on Loch Katrine.
MAID OF THE LOCH duly paid her honours with
successful berthing trials at the new Luss Pier on Thursday 15th May
1980, followed by a special cruise. (The confectionery doled out on this
occasion is not recorded.) The afternoon of Monday 9th June, however,
brought calamity; sailing from Balloch via Luss to Inversnaid, MAID OF THE LOCH
ran aground from a sandbank, some 25 yards from shore, immediately after leaving
Luss Pier. Again a flotilla of launches and speedboats came to the rescue,
though one 89-year old passenger spent another four hours on board – and even
enjoyed a complimentary high tea – before finally being persuaded to entrust
herself to a tiny rescue-craft. MAID OF THE LOCH was finally refloated seven
hours after first grounding. It had been an exceptionally dry summer and the
loch was more than two feet below its normal level for the time of year.
It seems that it was around this time that CalMac
made the decision that, somehow, they must divest themselves of the “white
elephant” and the entire Loch Lomond operation. Certainly in 1980 they carried
only 95,000 passengers, though to describe this as a “disaster”, as CalMac
did, was a little lower the top, and to argue that they had “lost” 31,000
passengers over five years was not entirely candid; it could be be argued (as
Alan Brown does) and with equal fairness that MAID OF THE LOCH had gained
6,000 pasengers since 1974.
Alan Brown goes on to outline the considerable
investment in Clyde and Loch Lomond cruising facilities from local authorities
and other agencies between 1975 to 1980 – to the tune of some - £457,000 –
and to suggest that Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd somehow and dishonourably failed to
keep their side of the bargain. A fair case for the prosecution can be made; but
the fact remains that in her last active season – 1981 – and with all the
subsidies and grants made available – MAID OF THE LOCH still lost some £73,450;
the Company is not a charitable concern, and the primary obligation of this
state-owned body is to maintain important links in public transport and
essential, lifeline services to many Scottish islands.
It should be borne in mind to that this 1979-1982
period marked perhaps the nadir of CalMac fortune; the public spending crisis
and jobsworth management saw such humiliations as, for instance, major units
like HEBRIDES and SUILVEN enduring the de-rating of their engines (to cut speed
and save fuel.) The Company could not even be bothered to issue the usual
colourful brochure for the 1980 season – the bare timetable leaflets were
issued instead, of vaguely Eastern European appearance – and, incredibly, no
drive-through ferry had been laid down for the STG since IONA in 1969.
A number of sailings and calls had to be abandoned
in the course of that last 1981 season, partly due to adverse weather and
considerable pier damage at Rowardennan. After the last big push for 1975, too,
a culture of slack and could-care-less seemed to have overcome MAID OF THE LOCH
and her crew. Brasswork was painted over, rather than polished; paddlebox detail
was not maintained, and weeds flourished in the wheelhouse flowerbox.
The Company had already abandoned Clyde cruising
after the 1980 season – GLEN SANNOX, not surprisingly, had failed to retain
QUEEN MARY's business; and Strathclyde Regional Council now directed their
entire cruising subsidy (£100,000 in 1981) was solely for the Loch Lomond
operation. Nevertheless the “white elephant” closed her season on Sunday 30th
August in splendid weather and with a capacity crowd.
There is no point in dwelling on the bitter war of
words (and numbers) which broke out when CalMac finally announced, on 2nd
December 1981, that MAID OF THE LOCH would not sail the following season.
Several weeks later, on 18th January 1982, she was officially offered
for sale – at an unspecified price. The available commercial options for a
land-locked paddlesteamer were, admittedly, somewhat limited; her commercial
value was put, by the informed, at but around £15,000 and MAID OF THE LOCH's
scrap value a mere £8,000. The PSPS naturally ran about like headless chickens
trying to talk up a rescue-bid; but, unlike WAVERLEY, MAID OF THE LOCH was never
going to sail around the British coastline drumming up trade and friends, and
the loss of PRINCE IVANHOE only a few months before had hit everyone hard.
Five firm bids were received and on 10th
March 1982 it was announced that a joint offer of £45,000 by Ind Coope Allow
Brewery Co. Ltd and Verigen Ltd. (owners of Loch Lomond Marina and two motor
launches, LOMOND DUCHESS and LOMOND PRINCESS) had been accepted. It later
emerged that, for another £20,000, CalMac agreed to throw in Balloch Pier and
its adjacent slipway. The buyers were then forced to shell out additional funds
to British Rail for a strip of land between Balloch Pier and the steamer
car-park; in all, they spent some £110,000.
Howls of cynicism greeted Ind Coope's confident
announcements of a new and glorious future. They hoped to have MAID OF THE LOCH
sailing again for the 1983 season – at least once a week, perhaps with diesel
or diesel-electric machinery. Yet this was scarcely a credible prospect
alongside the elaborate plans they also announced for a static role – MAID OF
THE LOCH's alternative function as a “leisure centre2, complete with
restaurant, bars, disco and family rooms. The suggestion that power, water and
sewerage might solemnly be disconnected once a week so the unplugged paddler
could churn about the loch was not taken seriously.
It caused little surprise when, on 2nd
April 1982, Alloa Brewery announced its purchase of the COUNTESS OF KEMPOCK –
formerly the COUNTESS OF BREADALBANE (1936), which the CSP had sold only in
1971. - and that this craft, refitted and renamed, would operate on Loch Lomond
for the 1982 season. Further details are given under her profile on this
website.
What befell MAID OF THE LOCH over the next decade
was the sort of unfolding horror her admirers could only watch through barely
parted fingers. She did not sail (though served, at least in the early seasons,
as a landing stage for COUNTESS FIONA.) She was not maintained. She was not even
watched. By 1988 COUNTESS FIONA was well established as a Loch Lomond concern;
but not the slightest progress had been made to restore MAID OF THE LOCH for
cruising, as a “leisure centre” or for anything else. Dirty, rusting,
vandalised and even looted, her appearance and condition were rapidly
deteriorating.
Desultory negotiations – Alloa Brewery were
thought to be quite happy to hand MAID OF THE LOCH over to some sort of publicly
funded charitable trust – ended when the company's Managing Director suddenly
died and, early in 1989, its entire Loch Lomond operation was put on the market.
It was duly sold – to an Australian company, which duly went bust; and then
sold again, in September 1990, to a Newcastle hotel company, which early in 1992
also went bust.
COUNTESS FIONA had not sailed since 25th
September 1989 and MAID OF THE LOCH was now in a deplorable state; some
scrapping had already started, all her valuable movables had unaccountably
vanished (including her wheel, her bell, her binnacle, her compass and her
builder's plate) and three to four feet of water swilled gaily round her hull,
causing a marked list to port. In March 1992, Dumbarton District Council agreed
to pay for site security and have the paddlesteamer pumped dry. A charmless
watchman was duly appointed; he was especially good at being rude to journalists
and kennelled his large German Shepherd in the MAID's old cocktail bar in the
after deck saloon. Most jealously it guarded its domain and, of course,
deposited filth everywhere.
Talks began with the Receiver and on 4th
December 1992 he formally accepted an offer of £55,000 from Dumbarton District
Council, who became due owners of MAID OF THE LOCH, COUNTESS FIONA, Balloch Pier
and the slipway. The Council bravely appealed for the return of assorted items
looted from the MAID and it is touching to note that several of them actually
were.
Exactly three years later the last Loch
Lomond paddlesteamer was transferred to the “Maid of the Loch Trust”, which
has since had entire charge of restoring the vessel and has still real hopes of
returning her to service. For reasons of legal and commercial advantage a new
company, the Loch Lomond Steamship Co. Ltd., was formed in 1996 to assume
responsibility for MAID OF THE LOCH. Directors include Colin Paterson, a past
and particularly distinguished manager of CalMac who had quite turned Company
fleet and fortunes around in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, work the work of restoration began, and
has been carried out largely by volunteers, with expert direction and
considerable help from companies offering their services gratis
or at cost. The first work parties boarded MAID OF THE LOCH in 1993; Dumbarton
District Council had been able to do little more than keep her afloat.
Consultants began a comprehensive assessment and happily, in December 1993,
confidently advised that full restoration was practicable.
The full story of MAID OF THE
LOCH's ongoing restoration is told in a well-illustrated 2003 booklet issued by
The Loch Lomond Steamship Co. Ltd. (Maid of the Loch: Loch Lomond's Paddle
Steamer). An initial clean-up in May 2003 was finished in time for her 40th
anniversary celebrations – volunteers filled four skips with garbage in two
weekends – and the vessel was then chipped and red-leaded.
She was painted in a new and
very attractive livery – black hull with red underbody; white superstructure
and upperworks; red funnel with, at last, a deep black top – and her original
wooden decking has been progressively replaced with metal plating. The saloons
were at last granted watertight protection, though wooden decking will be
overlaid to restore her original appearance for active service.
Dog-dirt and vegetation had to
be cleared from internal areas; a young tree was sorrowfully but firmly removed
from the cafeteria. Alongside this general clean-up, spraying, repainting,
reglazing, redecking and refurbishing, the MAID's boiler was in 1996 cut up and
removed, piece by piece. (It will be replaced by two new high-tech boilers when
funds become available and her engine has already been partially restored.)
A steel promenade deck was
laid in 1997 and in the spring of 2000 she won a grant of some £300,000 to
create new on-board catering facilities.. That summer saw the laying of an
aluminium top deck; Balloch Pier was rebuilt and a new car park created. In
December 2000, Canapés Catering Co. of Glasgow opened a splendid restaurant on
board; catering for private functions (from the corporate to cheerful Scottish
weddings) is now a good source of income, and food and refreshments are
available to the public throughout the summer and on winter weekends.
Her former saloon is now
serving as the Queen's Restaurant (in honour of Queen Salote and Queen Elizabeth
II) and can accommodate 120 people; happily, her original mahogany decking in
this area has survived and been beautifully restored. The old dining saloon has
now been carpeted and furnished and, equipped as a café-bar, holds sixty and
can be hired for smaller functions.
The after deck saloon was, by
1993, in a deplorable condition but by 2001 was handsomely restored as the
Douglas Mickel Saloon (the work sponsored by Mactaggart & Mickel, a Scottish
housebuilding concern.) Miss Jean Inglis – a scion of MAID OF THE LOCH's
builders – generously donated curtains for this lounge which is also up for
hire as a function-suite. The steamer's former observation saloon now serves as
an “interpretative centre”, in the clunking argot of our times, and houses
an attractive souvenir shop. This saloon's windows – and indeed many other
bits of MAID OF THE LOCH joinery – were removed and expertly restored at
Anniesland College, Glasgow, by students as part of a training scheme.
The MAID's foremast, however,
was discovered in 1994 to be dangerous and was duly removed; she is still
mastless, though two are likely to be restored for active service. To celebrate
her Jubilee in 2003 her appearance was further enhanced with the addition of a
gold line to her hull and clever use of black and gold paint to accent the sweep
of her paddlebox.
|
Various minor celebrities have
shown a keen interest in the ship and helped to maintain her public profile and
bids for assorted funding; they include actors such as Timothy West, Prunella
Scales and the late Ian Bannen; well-known Scots broadcaster and musician Jimmie
MacGregor, and The Princess Royal, who visited MAID OF THE LOCH in July 2002 and
happily recalled her cruise aboard in 1971.
There would, happily, seem to
be a real prospect of MAID OF THE LOCH again raising steam and exploring the
waters of Loch Lomond by the end of the present decade. Meanwhile, Loch lomond
Steamboat Co. Ltd. would welcome information as to the whereabouts of her
wheel, her ship's whistle, and several other items listed on their website. |
The Maid of the Loch July 2006
|
 Text Thanks To John MacLeod
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