Builders: Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd 1888
Propulsion type: Paddle compound diagonal
Owner: London Brighton & South Coast Railway, The Shipping Federation
Service dates: 1888 - 1912
Tonnage: Gross 804
Comments:
This was the sister ship to PS Rouen (IV) and she had a top operating speed of over 19 knots on the Newhaven to Dieppe route, for which she was built. Whilst longer than the routes from Folkestone and Dover to Calais and Boulogne, the Newhaven route had the benefit of less turbulent crossings and lower fares. The two ships were built for the Paris Exhibition trade and could carry over 700 passengers. She did suffer from boiler troubles on occasions and was eventually sold in 1912 to The Shipping Federation. She served in the First World War as Verdun and was eventually scrapped in 1924 at Upnor in the River Medway.