Midland Railway
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of steamers of the Midland Railway.
An alphabetical list of ships
shown on this page is shown below.
The Table
beneath gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table is a
Fleet List
in chronological order.
The first railway to reach the a port on the North West coast of England was the the
Furness Railway
at Barrow on Furness. Railway companies were not empowered to run shipping services at this stage, so the Barrow Steam Navigation Co was formed to start service from Barrow to Belfast. Both the Midland Railway and the
Furness Railway
had interests in the Barrow SN. In 1904, the Midland Railway's purpose-built port at Heysham was opened, with direct rail connection. Four new steamers were built to open services to Belfast and Douglas (Isle of Man). In 1907, the Barrow SN was taken over by the Midland Railway, and the
City of Belfast
and
Duchess of Devonshire
joined the fleet, mainly used as relief and summer extra vessels. The Midland Railway became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, who concentrated Belfast services on Heysham, closing the ex-
Lancashire & Yorkshire
route from Fleetwood.
Ships on This Page:-
Antrim
- 1904-1928
City of Belfast
- 1907-1925
Donegal
- 1904-1917
Duchess of Devonshire
- 1907-1928
Londonderry
- 1904-1927
Manxman
- 1904-1920
Wyvern
- 19xx-1960 - excursion tug/tender
Associated Pages:-
British Railways
- Header page for all UK railway-owned services
Furness Railway
- Fleetwood-Barrow services
Isle of Man SP Co
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
- Fleetwood-Belfast services
London Midland & Scottish Railway
- Heysham-Belfast services
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
References:-
Heysham Port
by Dick Clague - Ferry Publications
Merchant Fleets No.25
-
Britain's Railway Steamers
by Duncan Haws - TCL Publications, 1993
Railway & Other Steamers
by Duckworth & Langmuir - Stephenson (T) & Sons, 1968
Barrow & Morecambe Bay - Maritime Heritage
by Raymond Sankey - Silver Link, 1986
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Table of Ship Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Antrim
Ramsey, Ramsey Town
1904
Manxman
1904
MR Fleet List
Antrim
(MR:1904-1923)
(LMS: 1923-1927)
The
Antrim
was one of four ships built for the opening of the Midland Railway's new port at Heysham.
Antrim
was a twin-screw steamer with triple-expansion engines. She transferred to the LMS in 1923.
Antrim
served between Heysham and Belfast, and later Heysham-Douglas until 1928, when the Heysham-Douglas route and its ships passed to the
Isle of Man SP Co
.
Antrim
became the
Ramsey Town
for the
Isle of Man SP Co
and was scrapped in 1936, after a relatively short career with them.
Complete history of
Antrim
Official Midland Railway postcard of
Antrim
, plus card back.
Posted in 1908.
Postcard of
Antrim
, at Heysham.
Postcard of
Antrim
, at Heysham.
Photographic postcard of
Antrim
.
Donegal
(MR: 1904-1917)
The
Donegal
was one of four ships built for the opening of the Midland Railway's new port at Heysham.
Donegal
was a twin-screw steamer with triple-expansion engines, and served between Heysham and Belfast. She was lost in 1917, when torpedoed in the English Channel, whilst in use as a hospital ship.
Official Midland Railway postcard of
Donegal
, plus card back.
Postcard of
Donegal
.
Photographic postcard of
Donegal
.
Londonderry
(MR: 1904-1922)
(LMS: 1923-1927)
The
Londonderry
was one of four ships built for the opening of the Midland Railway's new port at Heysham. Unlike "sisters"
Antrim
and
Donegal
,
Londonderry
received direct drive steam turbines. She transferred to the LMS in 1923.
Londonderry
served between Heysham and Belfast until transferred to the Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace route from Tilbury to to Dunkirk in 1927 as the
Flamand
. She was scrapped in 1936.
Official Midland Railway postcard of
Londonderry
, plus card back.
Postcard of
Londonderry
.
Uses the image from the photographic the card below.
Photographic postcard of
Londonderry
.
The original image for the card above.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Note the use of the foresail.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
T.Turner (Skipton) photographic postcard of
Londonderry
, at Heysham.
Manxman
(MR: 1904-1920)
The
Manxman (1)
was built for the Midland Railway in 1904 to operate a rival service to the Isle of Man from Heysham.
Manxman
was sold to the
Isle of Man SP Co
in 1920.
Complete history of
Manxman
Official Midland Railway postcard of
Manxman
, plus card back.
Official Midland Railway postcard of
Manxman
, plus card back.
Posted from Douglas in September 1909.
Postcard of
Manxman
.
Postcard of
Manxman
.
Photographic postcard of
Manxman
.
Postcard of
Manxman
, arriving at Heysham.
Valentines postcard 73124 of
Manxman
at Heysham.
Postcard of
Manxman
at Heysham.
Postcard of
Manxman
at Heysham.
Postcard of
Manxman
, leaving Heysham.
Pity about the horizon!
Photographic postcard of
Manxman
.
City of Belfast
(MR: 1907-1922)
(LMS: 1922-1925)
City of Belfast
was built for the Barrow SN in 1893. She transferred to the Midland Railway in 1907, and was used on relief and summer services out of Heysham.
City of Belfast
transferred to the LMS in 1923, and was sold in 1925, becoming the Greek
Nicolas Togias
.
Postcard of
City of Belfast
arriving at Douglas.
Duchess of Devonshire
(MR: 1907-1922)
(LMS: 1922-1928)
Duchess of Devonshire
was built for the Barrow SN in 1897. She transferred to the Midland Railway in 1907, and was used on relief and summer services out of Heysham.
Duchess of Devonshire
transferred to the LMS in 1923, and was sold in 1928, becoming the
Gibel Dersa
of Bland Line, Gibraltar.