Paddle Steamer Maid of the Loch's Engine in Steam 1st November 2019.

At the end of August 1981, the Paddle Steamer Maid of the Loch’s engines and paddle wheels fell silent. Few would have thought that steam would ever flow through the Maid again.

After being laid up by her then owners, Caledonian MacBrayne, the Maid fell into such disrepair and neglect that she was in serious jeopardy of sinking at her berth at Balloch Pier.

Fast forward 38 years, and the current owners of the Maid of the Loch the Loch Lomond Steamship Company have just completed a £1.1 Million pound refit of the ship to budget and on time funded by the Scottish Government and other funders including the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society who donated £50,000 to the project.
This refit has seen the return to steam of the Maids engine, which involved replacing all the copper and brass fittings which were plundered from the ship after she had been laid up, also restored was the refurbishment of the Queens Lounge, the full restoration of the aft deck shelter and the rebuilding of her Port paddle box fascia which can be viewed from the pier and the installation of a lift from the promenade deck to the main deck.

The Maid of the Loch has now been provided with a quayside boiler, attached to the ship using flexi hoses from shore side to ship. A containerised Byworth MX1500 boiler, sited close to the ship now provides the Maid of the Loch's engine with enough steam to allow the engine and paddle wheels to be turned slowly.
In order to protect the vital steam connection and other service supply pipes and cable the Maids engine is run astern. This combined with the reduced thrust from her paddle wheels going astern leads to the Maid remaining static at her berth, will giving a good pull on her mooring lines while preserving the vital connections to the shore.

In this video footage, taken on the 1st of November 2019 the Maid of the Loch’s engines are started by John Beveridge who is the current Chairman and one of the founder members of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company which is the charity that owns the Maid and has the ultimate aim of restoring her to full operational condition in the near future. John has worked tirelessly on the Maids restoration from 1993, when the Scottish Branch of the PSPS began working parties on the ship to save her from further neglect and the beginning of her restoration.

It is hoped that the ongoing restoration of the Maid of the Loch can continue to gather momentum and one day we can all look forward to sailing on this unique Loch Lomond Paddle Steamer.