Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

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Sunday, December 7, 2025 @ 1200
The actual date and time are unknown and details shown here are our best estimate 		MAID OF THE LOCH (1995-present Static exhibit under restoration 208 feet (63 m) overall of Loch Lomond Steamship Company) Own Page

Passenger Paddle Steamer MAID OF THE LOCH laid up at Balloch Pier for maintenance and repair
Ship's locationBalloch Pier (Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK)Port of RegistryGlasgow (Scotland, UK)
Gross Tonnage555

Contributed by Robert McManus

 

PS Maid of the Loch is the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom. She operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years. [4] As of 2022, she was being restored near Balloch pier.

She is presently on the slipway near Balloch Pier undergoing extensive repairs to her hull, complete paddle restoration and will be coated in her original livery of white, green waterline and buff coloured funnel before being launched again into Loch Lomond. While under restoration, the Maid of the Loch has been open to the public every Saturday and Sunday Easter to October, and closed throughout the winter.

Construction

Maid of the Loch is the last of a long line of Loch Lomond steamers that began about 1816, within four years of Henry Bell's pioneering passenger steamboat service on the River Clyde. In 1950 the British Transport Commission, owner of the newly nationalised railways, made the decision to replace the Princess May and Prince Edward with a new paddle steamer, to be the largest inland waterway vessel ever in Britain.

Maid of the Loch was built by A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow, launched on 5 March 1953, and entered service later that year. She is a "knock down" ship: that is, after assembly at the shipyard she was dismantled, and shipped to the loch by rail to Balloch at the south end of the loch, and there the sections were reassembled on a purpose built slipway. The tonnage measures 555 gross register tons (GRT), and the length is 208 feet (63 m). The two-cylinder compound diagonal steam engine is less advanced than had the more usual type installed on steamers such as the PS Waverley, but was considered suitable for the limited area of operations.

Maid of the Loch was painted white with a buff funnel. She was initially operated by the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. In later years she had a series of owners. [5]

Services

Maid of the Loch at Balloch Pier in 2007Maid of the Loch at Balloch Pier in 2020Views of Loch Lomond, with the Maid at Balloch Pier in 2020

Maid of the Loch provided a service from Balloch pier, initially to Ardlui at the north

 

PS Maid of the Loch at the pier at Balloch, Loch Lomond where she is undergoing restoration.
History
United Kingdom
Name Maid of the Loch
Owner
Operator Caledonian Steam Packet Company
Route Loch Lomond
Builder A. & J. Inglis of Pointhouse, Glasgow[1]
Yard number 1474P
Launched 5 March 1953
In service 25 May 1953
Out of service 31 August 1981
Homeport Balloch
Identification IMO number: 5217567
Status
  • UK Designated Vessels List
  • Static exhibit; under restoration
Notes Last paddle steamer built in a Clyde shipyard[2]
General characteristics
Type Passenger paddle steamer
Tonnage 555 GRT
Length 208 feet (63 m)[3]
Beam 51 feet (16 m)[3]
Draught 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Installed power 900 ihp (670 kW)[2]
Propulsion Steam, compound diagonal engines by Rankin & Blackmore, Greenock[2]
Speed 13.75 knots (25.47 km/h; 15.82 mph)
Capacity Passengers: 1,000
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