World’s last seagoing paddle steamer wins top engineering award

On Sunday 14 August Glasgow’s PS Waverley will become the first Scottish winner of a prestigious Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The award, which celebrates great engineering achievements, will be presented to the 65 year old ship in recognition of its status as the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world.
Professor Isobel Pollock, President Elect of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:
“The Waverley is not just a link to the past but an example of extraordinary British engineering and craftsmanship. 
“It’s testament to the great skill of the original shipbuilders, as well as the fantastic restoration work of the current owners, that after 65 years the paddle steamer is still going strong.
“Preserving and celebrating great works of engineering is exactly what the Engineering Heritage Awards are about and I hope that the Save the Waverley campaign is a huge success so that she can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
The Institution’s President Elect Professor Isobel Pollock will be presenting the award on Sunday to PS Waverley's Chief Engineer, Ken Henderson, who has been with Waverley for 22 years. 
A fundraising campaign, ‘Save the Waverley’, has been launched to raise vital funds and ensure that the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer can continue to sail.
The PS Waverley was built in Glasgow in 1946 by ship builders A & J Inglis to replace the original PS Waverley which was sunk in 1940 helping to evacuate troops from Dunkirk.
The paddle steamer was originally built for the London and North Eastern Railway to sail on their Firth of Clyde steamer route from Craigendoran Pier, near Helensburgh, up Loch Long to Arrochar.
PS Waverley was withdrawn from operational service in 1973 before being bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society.
Between 2000 and 2003 the ship underwent a substantial rebuild and had new boilers installed and currently PS Waverley operates passenger excursions from British ports like Glasgow, Southampton, Bournemouth and London Tower Pier.

Notes to editors

The PS Waverley
• The PS Waverley is named after Sir Walter Scott’s first novel and was built as a replacement for an earlier PS Waverley of 1899 that took part in the WWII war effort as a minesweeper and was sunk in 1940 while helping with the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk.
• Waverley Steam Navigation Company Limited, the charity that owns the historic paddle steamer, is urging local people and visitors to Scotland to support the Waverley by taking day trips on the steamer, making a donation at www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk or holding their own fundraiser via Just Giving - http://www.justgiving.com/Paddlesteamerwaverley.

The Engineering Heritage Awards
• The Engineering Heritage Awards were established by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1984 to help recognise and promote engineering achievements, past and present.
• Their purpose is to identify and promote artefacts, locations, collections and landmarks of significant engineering importance which have changed or enhanced the way we live.
• Other recipients of an Engineering Heritage Award include Tower Bridge, Bletchley Park’s Bombe code-breaking machine and the only surviving major Royal navy warship from WWII, HMS Belfast.
• For more information: http://www.imeche.org/about-us/scholarships-and-awards/engineering-heritage-award