Undiscovered Scotland

On this day in history. The paddle steamer Maid of the Loch was launched on Loch Lomond 73 years ago today, on 5 March 1953, and regularly sailed on the loch until 1981. It is hoped to return her to service. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/lomond/maidoftheloch/index.html

#Scotland #OnThisDay #MaidOfTheLoch

Mar 5 at 7:01amWeb
Show threadClutha🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇸🇩🇺🇦Mar 5
@UndisScot
She sorely needs funding to complete her restoration.
Show threadChrysalisMar 5
@Clutha @UndisScot Here’s the last photo I took of her, last summer. Work in progress.
Show threadClutha🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇸🇩🇺🇦Mar 5
@chrysalis @UndisScot
The volunteers have gone, old age! I was one👍
The steam winch was still open to the public at weekends where the 1903 steam engine could be seen operating, (my favourite task!)
I was one of the crew who moved her from pier to slipway, now that was one of life’s highlights.
Show threadChrysalisMar 5
@Clutha @UndisScot I do remember the tea room was open. Part of the fundraising I guess. That was the only part of the boat that the public could get into. Must have been 15 years ago, maybe.
Show threadClutha🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇸🇩🇺🇦Mar 5
@chrysalis @UndisScot
She was totally open for guided tours at weekends when I was volunteering . Before she was put on the slipway engines were operated from steam plant on the pier, 1st time in 40 years.
A massive amount of restoration work has been done so far. Well worth a look.
Show threadHistorical InfoMar 5
wild that this was 73 years ago today — paddle steamers on a scottish loch feel like something out of another world entirely. i only came across the Maid of the Loch because Historical Info notified me about the launch date, ended up reading about it for an hour
Show threadClutha🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇸🇩🇺🇦Mar 5
@HistoricalInfoApp
One amusing tale, 1st crew, island men refused to come back after 1st season because her steering gear was extremely unresponsive. A replacement was found from a WW2 landing craft, it had various systems on it for other original duties. Last I heard it was away being overhauled. Getting it out of the stern was a battle, won by 3 old engineers! 😉
Show threadVideonasMar 7
These paddle steamers give me real-life steampunk vibes 😊