Balloch Steam Slipway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Balloch Steam Slipway |
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| Balloch, Scotland GB |
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The Balloch Slipway Winchhouse
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 Balloch Steam Slipway
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| Coordinates | 56°00′28″N 4°35′27″W / 56.0077°N 4.5909°W |
The Balloch Steam Slipway is a special place on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland. It has a big ramp, a moving platform (called a carriage), and a powerful steam-powered machine (a winch). This amazing setup helps move ships and boats in and out of the water. This is usually done for repairs or just to keep them in good shape. The Loch Lomond Steamship Company owns and runs it. People believe it's the last steam-powered winch of its kind in Europe! The building that holds the winch looks like a railway house and is a very important historic site.
Contents
What is the Balloch Steam Slipway?
This whole system includes a ramp (the slipway), the moving platform (carriage), a boiler (which makes steam), a steam engine, and the pulling equipment inside the winch house.
History of the Slipway
Building the slipway started in 1900. It officially opened in 1902, thanks to the Dunbarton & Balloch Joint Line Committee. It was used for many years but stopped working around 1989.
The building where the winch is kept, called the winch house, is a very important historic building in Scotland. It's listed as a 'category A' building.
After a big restoration project that cost £620,000, the Balloch slipway was officially reopened in 2006. The Princess Royal came to open it! The original builders were George Halliday Ltd. from Rothesay and John Bennie from Glasgow.
The famous ship, the PS Maid of the Loch, was put together on this slipway in 1953. It was built, taken apart, and then brought by train to a spot next to the slipway. It was launched into the loch on May 25, 1953. The Maid was even pulled onto the slipway again on June 27, 2006, after being in the water for 25 years.
How the Slipway Works
The Boiler
The boiler used today was taken from a steam crane built in 1953. It was changed to burn light oil instead of coal to reduce smoke. This boiler was made by Cowans, Sheldon & Company in Carlisle. It works by creating steam at a pressure of about 100 pounds per square inch (or 7 bar).
The Steam Engine
The steam engine was built in 1902 by John Bennie of Glasgow. It's a special type of engine with two horizontal parts. It can produce about 50 horsepower (or 37 kilowatts) of power. The piston inside moves 20 inches (about 50 centimeters) with each stroke. Before the slipway was restored, the steam engine was sometimes powered by compressed air instead of steam. This was done to avoid buying a new boiler.
The Winch
The winch has three sets of gears. These gears make it very powerful. For every 113 turns of the steam engine, the winding drum (which holds the steel cable) turns just once. This huge gear ratio creates enough force to slowly pull even a large ship like the Maid of the Loch out of the water!
The Carriage or Cradle
The carriage is the moving platform that holds the ships. It was damaged in 1999 when another ship, the PS Countess Fiona, was taken apart on the slipway. A new wooden deck was made for it from Douglas fir wood in Bellshill. Many parts from the old carriage were reused.
The carriage runs on many small wheels called bogies. There are 24 two-wheeled bogies on each side of the main rails. In the middle, there are 41 four-wheeled bogies. The whole carriage structure moves along these.
The four cast iron rails go more than 300 feet (91 meters) into the loch. The part underwater was very rusty. The two central rails have a special locking system. This allows parts on the carriage to drop down and lock it firmly in place when needed. The ramp of the slipway has a gentle slope, going down 1 foot for every 18 feet of length. The total length of the rails is 560 feet (171 meters). The way the carriage is angled, combined with the slope of the slipway, gives the perfect angle for a ship to be moved.
The Slipway Today
Thanks to the £620,000 restoration, the PS Maid of the Loch can now be taken out of the water whenever it needs repairs. Other ships on Loch Lomond can also use this amazing facility.
The winch house was not open to the public before. But now, it has frequent open days. You can even visit on special 'in steam' days to see the steam engine working!
The PS Maid of the Loch paddlesteamer is docked nearby at Balloch Pier. You can also find the Loch Lomond Shores visitor attractions and shops close by.
Images for kids
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The Balloch Slipway Winchhouse
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The PS Maid of the Loch was annually hauled out of Loch Lomond during the winter
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The steam engine
