Piemonte (ship, 1904)
 The Piemonte 2017
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The Piemonte is built in 1904, the oldest active paddle paddle steamer in Italy . It operates on Lake Maggiore and is operated by the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi .
history
The paddle steamer was first put into operation on September 23, 1904 under the name Regina Madre . In 1943 it was renamed in Piemonte for political reasons .
In the 1960s, many paddle steamers in Italy , Germany , Switzerland and Austria were retired and scrapped. It is thanks to the special foresight of the nationalized Navigazione Lago Maggiore that the decision was made to preserve Piemonte for the next few decades and to thoroughly renovate it after 1961.
On May 21, 1965 at 10:00 a.m. the festive rededication of the Piemonte took place in Arona and she left with members of the authorities and guests, including from the Ministry of Transport in Rome, on the three-hour inauguration drive to Centro Lago .
Steam engine
As a machine, the Piemonte has a sloping two-cylinder superheated steam compound steam engine . It has an output of 400 hp . The steam engine was built by Escher Wyss in 1903 .
The ship is propelled by two side paddle wheels . Each wheel is about three meters in diameter and consists of nine adjustable blades. A load of approx. 1500 kg is exerted on each wheel with full force. The two paddle wheels are attached to a continuous shaft and are driven synchronously.
The boilers are two steam generators with two fireplaces each with 188 tubes per boiler . The radiation area is 84 square meters and the steam temperature is 190 degrees.
Years of use
1904 to 1945
The ship was in service from 1904 to 1943 under the name Regina Madre and from 1943 to 1945 under the name Piemonte . Then it was in the shipyard and was converted to oil firing .
1950 to 1961
From 1950 to 1961, the Piemonte was again on the scheduled course. In the early summer of 1961, the decision was made to retire the last three steamers Lombardia , Italia and Piemonte . The Piemonte was completely overhauled by May 21, 1965. The two identical paddle steamers were decommissioned in 1961. While the Lombardia is currently still used as a bar, restaurant and discotheque , the Italia was scrapped.
1965 to 2001
In the years after 1965, the steamer ran almost every day in the summer from Arona to Locarno and back. After 1969, hydrofoils with higher speeds and new motor ships with more space made competition. Increasingly, the Piemonte only operated on tours and charter services .
In 2001 the ship was taken out of service and was then rebuilt in the shipyard.
2006 until today
In 2006 it was put back into operation and was used as planned on Sundays during two summer timetable periods from Arona on two multi-hour tours each.
The ship is currently operational for most of the year in the shipyard in Arona and has only been used for charter and special trips since 2008.
crew
The crew consists of seven people: the captain , helmsman , two machinists , restaurant manager , purser and sailor
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ Piemontship Blogspot: Piroscafo Piemonte, technical data. Retrieved January 28, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi: PIROSCAFO PIEMONTE. Retrieved February 3, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d e Mario Gavazzi: The paddle steamer "Piemonte" on Lake Maggiore . Info text for the guests of the steamboat trip on October 21, 2017
- ↑ Thomas Weber: Youube Video 4 minutes running time: Steam engine steam ship Piemonte. Retrieved February 3, 2018 .
- ↑ PIROSCAFO LOMBARDIA SRL: DISCOTECA BATTELLO di Arona. Retrieved January 27, 2018 .
- ^ Corriere del Ticino: Lunga vita al piroscafo Piemonte. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Urs von der Crone: Special trip picture collection from October 21, 2017, photos: Giacomo Carmine. Retrieved February 3, 2018 .