Earnslaw
.jpg) The Earnslaw in 2004
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The Earnslaw is a steamship built in 1912 that still sails on Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand today . The ship is a tourist attraction and the only commercially operated coal-fired passenger steamer in the southern hemisphere . The ship is registered in Lloyd's Register as the only still operational coal-fired steamship.
history
At the beginning of the 20th century, New Zealand Railways (NZR) placed an order with shipbuilder John McGregor and Co. in Dunedin to build a steamship for Lake Wakatipu , costing £ 21,000. The ship was named after Mount Earnslaw , a mountain north of Lake Wakatipu. With a length of 48 meters, the Earnslaw should be the largest ship on the lake. Hugh McRae of the New Zealand Government Railways Department in Dunedin designed the ship. The keel was laid on July 4, 1911. For transport, the ship was dismantled again, the hull was sorted into numbered parts and transported by rail to Kingston at the southern end of the lake. There the ship was reassembled and handed over to its destination on February 24, 1912 with the maiden voyage to Queenstown. On that day, the captain was allowed to be the New Zealand Minister of the Sea.
The Earnslaw, also known as "Lady of the Lake", was operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR). Together with the paddle steamers Antrim and Mountaineer and the screw steamer Ben Lomond , the ship was used for the transport of sheep, cattle and passengers to the farms in the mountains around the lake.
In 1968, the steamship was only just saved from scrapping by being bought by Fiordland Travel (now Real Journeys ). In 1984 a general overhaul took place in which the 12 m high chimney was painted red and the shell white. The passenger decks were glazed. In March 1990, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip were allowed to be guests on the steamer, as were the royal couple of Belgium years later. During the long service life of the Earnslaw there were only two incidents. The two strandings on the gravel shore of the lake went smoothly.
In the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , the ship was allowed to play an Amazon steamer as an "extra" . Four years later it was the 100th anniversary of the commissioning of the steamer, which was celebrated accordingly in October 2012.
Technical data and description
The Earnslaw is 51.2 meters long and 7.3 meters wide. With a draft of 2.1 meters, the ship has a displacement of 329.55 tons. The hull is made of 1/4 inch thick panels made of Siemens-Martin steel , with the deck made of Kauri wood. Two triple expansion steam engines with 500 hp each, each acting on a propeller, drive the Earnslaw. Similar to a steam locomotive, the boilers are constructed and work with a pressure of around 12 bar. The ship has space for 14 tons of fuel in its coal bunker. It is operated with 11 crew members and can accommodate 389 passengers.
Todays use
The Earnslaw is used to transport tourists across Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown to Walter Peak High Country Farm , a tourist-run farm with farm tours, horseback riding, historical walks, picnics and dinner in the former home. In the summer months the ship sails 14 hours a day and 11 hours a day in the rest of the year. On the one-and-a-half hour journey, passengers can see the steam engines through a visitor's corridor in the engine room and watch the stoker at work. Every year, usually at the end of May / beginning of June, the ship is inspected and taken out of the water every other year for maintenance purposes.
literature
- Malcolm Mackay: Lady of the Lake: The TSS Earnslaw Story . Ed .: Malcolm Mackay. Queenstown 1999 (English).
- Jenny McLeod: TSS Earnslaw: celebrating 100 years, 1912–2012 . Real Journeys, Te Anau 1912, ISBN 978-0-473-21129-5 (English).
Web links
- The Twin Screw Steam Ship Earnslaw of 1911. New Zealand Maritime Record, August 24, 2007, accessed May 30, 2013 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Beech: 'Earnslaw' back after upgrade. Otago Daily Times, July 6, 2009, accessed May 23, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c The Twin Screw Steam Ship Earnslaw of 1911. New Zealand Maritime Record, August 24, 2007, accessed May 30, 2013 .
photos
Staircase between the decks, port side
Foredeck
type label
Engine room
Passenger deck
