Image – Tern in British Rail Livery, courtesy of Windermere Lake Cruises
Welcome to this month’s Railway 200 Friday! Today, we look at the history of rail and steam vessels at Lake Windermere, our host location for last year’s Awards Film. The arrival of steam to the lake, both on its waters and along its shores, dates back to the 1840s, with rail and water-based transport going hand in hand almost from the very beginning. One of our Awards hosts, Windermere Lake Cruises, is a direct descendant of this historical connection, and today we focus on how they came into being.
The first paddle steamer launched at Windermere was Lady of the Lake, built in 1845 for the Windermere Steam Yacht Company. Rail arrived at Windermere just one year later, which prompted the founding of the Windermere Iron Steamboat Company to connect with the newly opened Windermere Station. The two shipping companies merged in 1858 as the Windermere United Yacht Company which, at that point, already controlled a significant steamer fleet on the lake.
The fleet was very much required, as the rail connection to Windermere brought thousands of tourists to the Lake. This was increased by the creation of a second rail link to Lakeside, in 1865, which provided a direct steamer/train interchange. As we have seen in previous posts, rail and excursion steamers quickly began working in tandem, supplementing each other’s activities – rail brought customers to the steamers, and the steamers extended the railway’s offer and reach through the lake. These links often led to the direct control of passenger shipping by railway companies, and it was no different at Windermere. In 1866, the Furness Railway, operators of the Lakeside link, began purchasing shares in the Windermere United Yacht Company and, by 1872, they had taken sole control.
Furness Railway Company continued investing in their Windermere fleet, building larger and more advanced vessels for the lake. They also invested in their auxiliary fleet, including Raven, an 1871 cargo steamer which carried mail, coal, timber, produce and general cargo around the lake. Raven is the oldest steamer from the Windermere railway-linked fleets to survive, currently preserved at Windermere Jetty Museum. The Furness Railway is also responsible for commissioning Tern, launched in 1891 to keep up with the tourist demand for excursions on the lake. Tern still survives today as the flagship of Windermere Lake Cruises, cruising regularly on the lake.
In 1923, Furness Railway was merged with a number of other companies as part of the Railways Act 1921, and became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company, or LMS. As we have seen in January’s Railway 200 Friday post, LMS inherited a large number of water-based assets, including the Windermere fleet. Aware of the importance of these operations, LMS continued investing in their marine section, and Windermere was no exception. In 1936, Teal was launched at Lakeside and, due to high demand, a newly commissioned sister ship, the Swan, was launched just two years later. These vessels were at the forefront of meeting the continuously increasing tourist demand, complemented by earlier vessels such as Tern. They continued to operate as LMS was nationalized and the fleet was transferred to the British Transport Commission, under the British Rail banner at first, and Sealink Windermere from 1970 onwards. In 1984, Sealink was privatized, and the Windermere Fleet was renamed “The Windermere Iron Steamboat Company” by their new owners.
Since 1993, the fleet has been under local ownership which is known today as Windermere Lake Cruises. Tern, Teal and Swan operate over the cruising season, providing excursions throughout Lake Windermere and connecting to rail via Lakeside and Windermere stations, the former operated as a heritage railway. You can find more information about their cruising schedule, which runs until November 2, here. We would like to thank Windermere Lake Cruises for their help in creating this post.
Next month, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, we will be delivering daily posts highlighting maritime and rail connections between September 22 and 27, the day of the railway’s opening. See you then!
