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Dougald
Railway Exec (Moderator)
1st Class Member
Canada
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 Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 17:40:14
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Saturday evening I had the pleasure of a sunset dinner cruise on RMS Segwun - the oldest operating steamship in North America. To get in a little tourism plug ... this is one of the great bargains in steam excursions. For a princely sum of C$70 (about U$55) you can get a 3 hour cruise past millionaires row on scenic Lake Muskoka, a first hand view up close of the engine room underway plus an excellent prime rib dinner served in Segwun's elegant dining room. The Segwun steams daily in season from her home port of Gravenhurst Ontario.
But I digress from steam ...
Segwun's keel was originally laid down in 1887 in Scotland and she joined the fleet of the Muskoka Hotel and Navigation Company plying the waters of Lakes Muskoka, Rosseau and Joseph. She was rebuilt in 1924 in her current configuartion as a Royal Mail Ship and was later restored for excursion use in the 1970s. She is kept in A-1 condition and is in steam daily from about 11 am until about 10 pm.
In the days of steam travel on the three lakes, wealthy tourists would arrive in Gravenhurst by train. The station was wharfside and served both trains and steamships. A replica of the long dismantled station has been built to house the ticket office, gift shop and the steamship museum.
The docks stretch from the end of the station and provide space for the Segwun and her sistership Wenonah (now unfortunately diesel powered). The fast steam yacht which once was owned by Lady Eaton is in drydock behind the station being restored.
The Segwun was steaming very quietly at her berth receiving passengers when these pics were shot.
Aboard ship, after a great meal, I inspected the engine room. On a cabin wall a chart explained how the steam propulsion system worked.
The vertically mounted pistons are two decks high and as long as you could stand the heat of the boilers, passengers were free to make their way below to the lower deck.
Here is the upper deck of the engine room.
The two levers in the middle of the picture are the two "throttles" for the twin screw power plant. Passengers could walk between these two levers and then down a gangway to the lowest deck where the real machinery was located. Here is a shot of the main deck engine room taken as I stood at the top of the gangway looking toward the large throttle levers.
In a spotless engine room, the equipment was remeniscent of a giant shay  The pistons and rods are just visible left and right for the two drive shafts running aft to the props.
The engine room crewman was very easy going and informative ... willingly explaining how everything functioned and the tasks that he performed ... from stoking with coal to maintain an even fire to filling lubricators to just about anything else mechanical needed.
The Segwun ran at 1/2 "throttle" and made about 8 knots or so ... there was very little noise in her engine room, almost silence on deck and hardly a ripple of wake in the water. She did however have a very eerie sounding whistle which was sounded regularly to communicate with other pleasure boats on the lake.
A great steam experience that I highly recommend.
Regards ... Doug
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patseale
Foreman
1st Class Member
USA
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Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 17:50:51
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Doug,
Thanks very much for the tour. What a grand looking vessel. The engine rooms look outstanding. Thanks again and if we ever get up there we'll be sure to take the cruise. |
Patrick
Galesville, WI
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Charles
Engineer
1st Class Member
USA
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Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 19:22:28
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Doug
Just got in from monthly club steamup Gave the post a brief review of a gorgeous vessel and pleasant cruise. Got a re-read the posting but thanks really appreciate your effort in covering the special outing. |
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Timmy
Railway Exec (Moderator)
1st Class Member
USA
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Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 19:44:35
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| Thanks Doug! Nice report! Brings back memories of long days and nights working in the boiler room in the ship I was on! (No, oil fired.) |
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rwjenkins
Foreman
1st Class Member
USA
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Posted - 29 Aug 2005 : 08:12:52
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Great pics Doug! Since my steamaholism applies to boats as much as trains, a trip up there to ride the Segwun has been on my "to do" list for a long time.
One comment about the Wenonah: She has always been diesel-powered, as she is in fact a new-build, launched in 2002. Apparently she is a fairly convincing replica, unlike a lot of the newer pseudo-steamships these days.
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Dougald
Railway Exec (Moderator)
1st Class Member
Canada
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Posted - 29 Aug 2005 : 08:54:32
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Richard
You are of course correct about the Wenonah II. It was built during 2002 - while not a copy of the RMS Cherokee, it was built in her spirit and bears a remarkable resemblance.
The history of the Segwun can be ound at http://www.muskokasteamship.ca/history.htm#SEGWUN
It is hard for us now to imagine those distant days when crowds of well to do holidayers and cottagers arrived by train and took the steamships to the large resorts located all around the lakes. The museum with its pictures and artifacts captures a good bit of that feeling.
The Wenonah II although diesel powered and therefore less popular with tourists than the Segwun, still offers a grand experience of a gracious ship in the style of a century ago. The night we cruised, the Segwun was completely booked while some limited space was still available on the much larger Wenonah II. Get a reservation in advance to be sure of your space on the Segwun!
Regards ... Doug |
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Gary Woolard
Engineer
1st Class Member
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Posted - 29 Aug 2005 : 15:23:56
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A wonderful post, Doug -- thank you!
I know that there is a large population of marine/aquatic steamaholics who would love to model something like the Segwun; but I haven't seen very many kits available for vessels of that size modeled in anything even approaching "Large" scale. About the largest I've seen has been an "African Queen" -sized steamboat.
Just as well, I suppose -- few of us have ponds large enough to hold anything larger! |
-Gary the GardenRail Hobo-
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Charles
Engineer
1st Class Member
USA
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