SS Empress Queen

PS (RMS) Empress Queen was a steel paddle steamer, which was the last of its type ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was chartered by the Admiralty in 1915 and used for trooping duties until she ran aground off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England, and was subsequently abandoned.

Construction and dimensions
Empress Queen was built by Fiarfields at Govan in 1897 at a cost of £130,000; (£0 as of 2024) and launched on Thursday, March 4th, 1897. Her boilers and engines also came from her builder.



Empress Queen was the largest and fastest paddle-driven cross-channel steamer ever to be built. She displaced a tonnage of 2140 GRT; length 360'1"; beam 42'3" depth 17'. The engine design was very advanced for its day. She had a boiler steam pressure of 140 psi, and her two diagonal three-crank compound type engines developed 10,000 i.h.p. One high pressure cylinder was 68" in diameter and was placed centrally with the two low pressure cylinders of 92" diameter on either side. The stroke was 84" and the usual running speed was 44 r.p.m. This produced to give Empress Queen a service speed of 21.5 kn.

Her engines and paddle wheels were claimed to be the heaviest ever placed in a paddle steamer, with one paddle shaft wheel alone weighing 70 tons. Sixteen firemen worked at her 32 furnaces.

Service life
Empress Queen entered service with the Company's fleet in 1897. It was intended to call her the Douglas, but the name Empress Queen was adopted in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

She was the first Steam Packet vessel to be fitted with wireless telegraphy, which was installed on August 19th, 1903.

Empress Queen was the last paddle steamer ordered to be built for the line, and she was a record breaker for her day. On September 13th, 1897, she made passage from the Rock Lighthouse, New Brighton, to Douglas Head (a distance of 68 nautical miles), in 2 hr. 57 min.; the fastest time then recorded. The whole voyage from the Princes Landing Stage to Douglas Harbour took three hours and five minutes, two minutes faster than the record held by the Prince of Wales.

She continued to give valued service to and from the Island until she was chartered by the Admiralty on February 6th, 1915.



War service and loss
Empress Queen was ideally suited as a troop carrier. On leaving Douglas she steamed to Barrow and was fitted out for her wartime role in less than two weeks. Following her fitting out, she then made passage to Southampton and two days later was on the first of her duties, taking 1,900 men of a Scottish regiment to Le Harve.

Her end was unexpected. Empress Queen had been regarded by the authorities as an exceptionally reliable paddle steamer; she had never stopped for weather or engine trouble. Then on February 1st, 1916, she was returning to Southampton from Le Harve with 1,300 men on board. The weather was foul, the visibility was but a few yards, when she ran ashore at 05:00hrs on the Ring Rocks off Bembridge, Isle of Wight. She ran well up on to them on a rising tide, the wind was light, and the sea was calm.

Destroyers took off the troops, the crew remained on board as efforts were made to pull the vessel off. It was not expected to be a difficult task, but it proved impossible. The weather changed in a matter of hours and a gale blew up. The crew was then taken to safety over the rocks at low tide.

The Empress Queen, regarded as the fastest paddle steamer of her day when Fairfield's built her in 1897, and certainly the finest of her type to see service with the Steam Packet Company, was broken up by the wind and tide as the seasons passed.

She became a familiar landmark to Southampton and Portsmouth shipping. Her two funnels were still to be seen above the water on Armistice Day. During the following summer, after a long and heavy gale, they finally disappeared.

The position of the wreck of Empress Queen is given as 50.66667°N, -1.08333°W.