SS Ashton (1884)

SS Ashton was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1884.[1]

The Cruiser Ashton, by A. J. Jansen
History
NameSS Ashton
Operator
BuilderEdward Withy and Company, Hartlepool
Launched12 June 1884
FateScrapped 1925
General characteristics
Tonnage1,007 gross register tons (GRT)
Length238.6 feet (72.7 m)
Beam32.3 feet (9.8 m)
Depth14.1 feet (4.3 m)

History

The ship was built by Edward Withy and Company in their Middleton Yard at Hartlepool and launched on 12 June 1884 by Mrs James Huddart of Melbourne.[2] She was designed for the passenger and cargo service between Grimsby and Hamburg.

On 28 August 1887 when the ship had arrived at Antwerp, a sailor entered the coal bunker with an open lantern and caused an explosion which caused considerable damage to the ship of around £2,000. Fortunately there were no serious injuries.[3]

In 1892 Captain W.P Seaton was given a bronze medal by Lloyds for his exertions in saving the lives of two men belonging to the Enterkin, who were discovered clinging to the keel of a capsized boat.[4]

On 14 May 1893 the Sheffield was badly damaged in a collision with the Londoner, and was only kept afloat by her watertight compartments.[5] The Londoner sank but the crew of 36 and 90 passengers were rescued by the Sheffield. The Ashton also came to the scene, and the passengers were transferred for landing them at North Shields.[6]

In 1897 she passed to the Great Central Railway and in 1916 they sold her to the Cadeby Steam Ship Company.

References
  1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
  2. "Launch at Hartlepool". Shields Daily Gazette. England. 13 June 1884. Retrieved 11 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "A Grimsby Steamer Explodes". Sheffield Evening Telegraph. England. 30 August 1887. Retrieved 11 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Rescue by a M.S. and L. Steamer". Hull Daily Mail. England. 4 January 1892. Retrieved 11 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "The Maritime Disasters". Portsmouth Evening News. England. 16 May 1893. Retrieved 10 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Collision in the North Sea. A scene of Excitement". Sheffield Evening Telegraph. England. 15 May 1893. Retrieved 10 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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