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Great Western Railway
 
Page 1: Irish Services
 
This page is under construction
 
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of Fishguard steamers of the Great Western Railway. The ships were owned by the The Fishguard & Rosslare Railway Company, later Fishguard & Rosslare Harbours Board. 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 Great Western Railway Company (GWR) commenced Milford Haven and Fishguard to Waterford (Cork, Ireland) passenger services in 1872. Weymouth-Channel Islands and French ports services started in 1889. The Fishguard & Rosslare Railway Company commenced passenger operations between Fishguard and Rosslare in 1906, with three new steamers, followed by a fourth in 1910. The main objective was to provide a fast service for passengers wishing to board major liners at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland. Alone amongst the pre-grouping railway companies, the GWR retained its identity in 1923. Subsequent deliveries to BR are shown at: British Railways/Sealink - Page 4.
 
Funnel colours were red with a black top, which they retained between 1948-1964 during British railways ownership. The letters FR were then added to the funnel rather than the BR double-arrow logo. The GWR owned its own ships for cargo/passenger service between Milford and Waterford, the mainland port later changing to Fishguard.
 
 
Ships on This Page:-
Fishguard 1930-1933 - ex-St Andrew (1)
Great Southern 1902-1934
Great Western (2) 1902-1934
Great Western (3) 1934-1967
Rosslare 1930-1933 - ex-St David (1)
St Andrew (1) 1910-1930 - renamed Fishguard
St Andrew (2) 1932-1977
St David (1) 1906-1932 - renamed Rosslare
St David (2) 1932-1944
St David (3) 1947-1969
St George 1906-1913
St Patrick (1) 1906-1929
St Patrick (2) 1930-1941
St Patrick (3) 1947-1972
Waterford (2) 1912-1924
 
Associated Pages:-
British Railways - Header page for all UK railway-owned services
Great Western Railway - Page 1 - Irish Services - this page!
Great Western Railway - Page 2 - Weymouth Services
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
 
References:-
Merchant Fleets No.25 - Britain's Railway Steamers by Duncan Haws (1993)
Railway & Other Steamers - by Duckworth & Langmuir
 
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Table of Ship Histories

Name

Other names

 Built
 St David (3)  Holyhead

 1947
 
 
 
 
 
Great Western Railway
 
Page 1: Irish Services
 
 

Great Southern
 
Built 1902 for Milford-Waterford, 1934 scrapped. Her sister was Great Western (1). She was 1,339 gross tons.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Great Western (2)
 
Built 1902 for Milford-Waterford service. Her sister was Great Southern. In 1933 she was renamed G.W.R.20, to release her name for the new Great Western (3). In 1934 she was scrapped. She was 1,225 gross tons.
 
 
 
 
 
St David (1)
 
St David (1) was built in 1906 for Fishguard-Rosslare services. One of four sisters built between 1906-1910: St Andrew (1), St David (1), St George and St Patrick (1). In 1932 she was renamed Rosslare, to release her name for the new St David (2). In 1933 she was scrapped. She was 2,529 gross tons.
 
 
 
 

St George
 
St George was built in 1906 for Fishguard-Rosslare services. One of four sisters built between 1906-1910: St Andrew (1), St David (1), St George and St Patrick (1). Presumably four ships was found to be excessive, since in 1913 St George was sold to Canadian Pacific. 1917 requisitioned in 1917, she was sold to Great Eastern Railway in 1919. St George was 2,546 gross tons, and retained her name throughout her career.
 
 
 
 

St Patrick (1)
 
St Patrick (1) was built in 1906 for Fishguard-Rosslare services. One of four sisters built between 1906-1910: St Andrew (1), St David (1), St George and St Patrick (1). In 1929 she caught fire at Fishguard and was scrapped. St Patrick (1) was 2,531 gross tons.
 
 
 

St Andrew (1)
 
St Andrew (1) was built in 1910 for Fishguard-Rosslare services. One of four sisters built between 1906-1910: St Andrew (1), St David (1), St George and St Patrick (1). In 1930 she was renamed Fishguard, to release her name for St Andrew (2). In 1933 she was scrapped. She was 2,528 gross tons.
 
 
 
 

Waterford (2)
 
Built 1912 for Milford-Waterford-Cork, 1924 sold to Philippines, renamed Panay. She was 1,204 gross tons.
 
 
 
 

St Patrick (2)
 
St Patrick (2) was built in 1930 for Fishguard-Rosslare and Weymouth-Channel Islands services. She was a larger version of the St Helier and St Julien, but with only one funnel from the start. In 1941 she was bombed and sunk near Fishguard. She was 1,911 gross tons.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick (2) at Weymouth.
 
 
Photographic postcard of St Patrick (2) at Weymouth.
 
 
Photographic postcard of St Patrick (2) at Weymouth.
 
 
 
 
 

St Andrew (2)
(FR: 1932-1967)
 
St Andrew (2) was built in 1932 for the Fishguard & Rosslare Harbours Board, and entered service between Fishguard & Rosslare. She was a sister to St David (2). She was scrapped in 1967. She was 2,702 gross tons.
 
 
 
 

St David (2)
(FR: 1932-1944)
 
St David (2) was built in 1932 for the Fishguard & Rosslare Harbours Board, and entered service between Fishguard & Rosslare. She was a sister to St Andrew (2). In 1944 she was sunk at Anzio while working as a hospital ship. She was 2,700 gross tons.
 
 


Great Western (3)
(GWR: 1934-1967)
 
Great Western (3) was built in 1934 for the GWR service from Fishguard to Waterford, carrying cargo and a limited number of passengers. From 1959 Great Western (3) was cargo only, and in 1967 she was scrapped. She was 1,659 gross tons.
 
 
 
 

St David (3)
(FR: 1947-1971)
 
The St David (3) was built in 1947 for the Fishguard & Rosslare Harbours Board, and entered service between Fishguard & Rosslare. In 1969 she moved to Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire. In 1971 sold to Greece, and renamed Holyhead for the voyage. She was purchased by Chandris , possibly via Epirotiki according to one book. She was never used by Chandris, and details of her eventual fate are not clear, although some sources say she was broken up at Perama after some years laid up. St David was 3,352 gross tons.
 
 
An official British Railways card of St David, published by Photochrom.
 
 
An official Rosslare Harbour Co card of St David, printed by The Three Candles Ltd, Dublin
 
 
St David at sea, publisher unknown.
 
 
St David at sea, publisher unknown.
Variation on the card above.
 
 
A Frith's Series card of St David at Fishguard (serial no.FGD.136)
 
 
Photographic card of St David.
FR logo for Fishguard & Rosslare harbours Board on funnel.
 
 
 
 
 
 

St Patrick (3)
(FR: 1947)
(BR: 1948-1972)
 
St Patrick was built for the GWR in 1947, and entered service on the Weymouth-Channel Islands service. She passed to British Railways on 1st January 1948. St Patrick was owned by the Fishguard & Rosslare Harbours Board, and retained her red and black funnel for some time. In 1963, after arrival of the the new Caesarea and Sarnia, St Patrick moved to Southampton-St Malo & Le Havre. In 1965 St Patrick moved again to Folkestone-Boulogne. In 1972 she was sold to Greece, and renamed Thermopylae. St Patrick was 3,482 gross tons.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick with red funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Weymouth with red funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Weymouth with red funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Guernsey with red funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Guernsey with red funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick with yellow funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Guernsey with yellow funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Guernsey with yellow funnel.
 
 
Postcard of St Patrick at Guernsey with yellow funnel.
 
 
 
 
 
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