Duke of Lancaster (Abandoned)

Lee G, on August 21, 2008, said:

Along with her sister ships the Duke of Rothesay and the Duke of Argyll, these vessels were amongst the last passenger-only steamers built for British Railways (at that time, also a ferry operator).Built at Harland & Wolff, Belfast and completed in 1956, she was designed to operate as both a passenger ferry (primarily on the Heysham-Belfast route) and as a cruise ship. In this capacity, the Lancaster travelled to the Scottish islands and further afield to Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

From the mid-1960s, passenger ships such as the Lancaster were gradually being superseded by car ferries. Rather than undertaking the expensive option of renewing their entire fleet, British Railways instead commenced a part-program of conversion. In order to maintain ferry services whilst these modifications took place, the Lancaster's duties as a cruise ship ceased. On 25 April 1970, the ship returned to service, having had her main deck rebuilt to accommodate vehicles via a door at her stern. The ship now provided space for 1,200 single-class passengers and 105 cars, with a total cabin accommodation for 400 passengers.

The three ships continued on the Heysham-Belfast route until the service was withdrawn on 5 April 1975. The Duke of Lancaster was then briefly employed on the Fishguard-Rosslare crossing, before becoming the regular relief vessel on the Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire service until November 1978. The ship was then laid up at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria.

The vessel still contains much of its period furniture and marine navigation equipment, though the condition of this is unknown.