Builders: Ramage & Ferguson, Leith 1884
Propulsion type: Paddle compound diagonal
Owner: Bournemouth, Swanage & Poole Steam Packet Co
Service dates: 1884 - 1886
Tonnage: Gross 232
Comments:
The Lord Elgin was one of the longest serving paddle steamers and her fleet sister, PS Bournemouth was one of the shortest serving. Such was the success of the newly purchased Lord Elgin that the BS&PSP Co ordered a larger paddler for the 1884 season. PS Bournemouth was well appointed and at 16 knots was probably the fastest South Coast steamer at the time. At a cost of £14000 she went into service on 19 May from the pier of her name. Her career came to an abrupt end two years later when, on 27 August 1886, she was returning from Torquay on the 4.00pm sailing. After encountering thick fog she ran on to rocks just off Portland Bill and broke her back. The Empress had passed safely by earlier without mishap. Fortunately Bournemouth suffered no loss of life, with her passengers being taken off in boats. The above picture comes from a card posted almost twenty years later and shows the extent of her predicament.