8mm Forum: Steam Driven Earnslaw

»	8mm Forum » General Yak » Steam Driven Earnslaw

UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!

Author

Topic: Steam Driven Earnslaw

Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted February 13, 2010 02:10 PM

In the world of digital this and digital that I thought I might make a change to post some photos of a past era that we took last week of the "TSS Earnslaw" which has been sailing Lake Wakatipu here in the South Island since she was launched in 1912.

at the wharf in Queenstown

The coal truck, all up the TSS Earnslaw can take 14 tons of it.

The engine room....two triple expansion steam engines, the day we took those photos the temperature alone in Queenstown was 30C about 86F and if you can imagine the stokers shovelling coal into the boilers down below in that heat... thats hard work.

Its interesting to note that that Ron Goodwin when touring with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1978 found time to travel on the "TSS Earnslaw" Ron had a real interest in steam engines and spent time with her chief engineer in the engine room from that he composed the "The Earnslaw Steam Theme" a delightful tribute with a reference to the traditional Maori song Pokarekare ana.

Early evening, the little white dot is the Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu on her return from Walter Peak high country station after picking up tourists that are dropped of earlier that day.

Lake Wakatipu is a fresh water lake thats about 50 miles long and I think one of the reasons she has lasted so long is in part down to the purity of the water for her boilers.

Walter Peak, the Earnslaw does three sailings a day also its a chance for passengers to spend time to watch sheep shearing etc its well worth a visit.

In the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull "2008" the TSS Earnslaw played a small part as an Amazon River Boat soon in a couple of years time she will celebrate her Centenary.

Graham.

| IP: Logged

David Erskine
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 230
From: Letchworth Garden City, Herts
Registered: Aug 2008

posted February 13, 2010 03:48 PM

What a nice idea, chum. Thanks very much for a glimpse of another world!!
Cheers, David E

--------------------
I've NEVER let failure go to MY head!

| IP: Logged

Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted February 13, 2010 04:58 PM

Thanks David

Something I forgot to mention was her speed is 13 Knots.

all up she can carry 11 crew and 389 passengers over the years we have managed the occasional trip on her when visiting Queenstown the first for me was back in the late 70s.

The Earnslaw is the only working coal-fired steamship on the Lioyd's register.

One last photo we took and its Queenstown itself with "The Remarkables" mountain range in the background, down on the bottom right of the photo is where the TSS Earnslaw is based.

Graham.

| IP: Logged

All times are Central

Printer-friendly view of this topic

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2