The
packet steamer
SS
Rushen Castle
was operated by the
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
from its purchase in 1928 until it was sold for breaking in 1947.
Origins
[
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]
Originally named
Duke of Cornwall
the vessel was operated by the
London and North Western Railway
from 1898 to 1923,
[1]
from where she passed into the ownership of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
in the
1923 grouping
of railway companies, and was subsequently sold to the
Isle of Man Steam Packet
company in 1928 when she was renamed
Rushen Castle
.
Dimensions
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]
Constructed in the yards of
Vickers Sons, and Maxim Ltd
at
Barrow-in-Furness
in 1898,
Duke of Cornwall
had a tonnage of 1,724
GRT
.
Length 315'; beam 37'1"; depth 16'6". The
Duke of Cornwall
had accommodation for 1,052 passengers and a
crew
of 52.
Duke of Cornwall
was a steel twin-screw vessel powered by two
triple-expansion
reciprocating engines
, and produced 5,520 i.h.p. This gave the ship an operating speed of 17.5 knots.
Service life
[
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]
London and North Western Railway & L.M.S. Railway Service
[
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]
In 1898
Duke of Cornwall
entered service from her
home port
,
Fleetwood
, operating to
Derry
and
Belfast
for the London and North Western Railway.
Following the
Railways Act 1921
,
Duke of Cornwall
was subsequently employed on the service from
Heysham
-
Douglas
on behalf of the newly formed
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Service
[
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]
Purchased by the
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
in 1928, the vessel was renamed
Rushen Castle
, and entered service to the numerous ports then served by the company.
Smaller than her immediate contemporaries,
Rushen Castle
was used on winter service. Strong southeasterly gales affected the
Isle of Man
in early March, 1937, affecting sea and air services. On Thursday March 11, whilst moored alongside the Victoria Pier, the
Rushen Castle
had to beak away to avoid damage caused by the swell. She put to sea at 07:15 hours and made for
Peel
taking 3 hours to make passage. She then departed for
Liverpool
at 11:50.
[2]
Rushen Castle
stayed with the Steam Packet Company during the
Second World War
, being one of the ships which maintained the vital lifeline, first to
Liverpool
until the end of 1940, and then to her former home,
Fleetwood
.
During the war
Rushen Castle
established what is arguably the longest modern passage between Liverpool and Douglas.
[3]
On Saturday 27 January 1940 she sailed for Douglas at
10:45
, and was instructed by radio to make for
Peel
as an
easterly
gale
had blown up and made
Douglas
untenable.
Being wartime the message named the captain but not the ship,
[4]
and by mistake said
"go to the West,"
which would have indicated
Peel
to
Captain Bridson
. The captain duly tried to get into Douglas but was then signaled to make for Peel. By the time the ship got to Peel the wind had
veered
and berthing at Peel was not possible. Eventually the
Rushen Castle
did get in at Peel - at
10:00hrs
on Tuesday 30 January, after being at sea for 71 hours. The
Earl of Granville
,
Lieutenant Governor of the Island
at the time was one of the passengers.
Post-war Service and Disposal
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]
Rushen Castle
re-opened the normal Douglas - Liverpool service on 6 April 1946. However, with the return from war service of several of its twins,
Rushen Castle
was withdrawn from service, and laid up in Douglas prior to its disposal.
In January 1947
Rushen Castle
was taken under tow to the
Belgian
port of
Ghent
, for scrapping.
References
[
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]
- ^
Railway and other Steamers. C.L.D. Duckwork and G.E. Langmuir. Prescot, Lancashire. 1968.
- ^
Isle of Man Times.
Saturday, March 13, 1937; Page: 11
- ^
Connery Chappel. Island Lifeline p.50
- ^
Connery Chappel. Island Lifeline p.50
- Bibliography
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Current fleet
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Former vessels (1830-99)
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Former vessels (1900-98)
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1
= New as
Mona's Isle
,
2
= Chartered
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