PS Ryde

PS Ryde at Binfield, Isle of Wight, in October 2005
History
United Kingdom
NamePS Ryde
Owner
  • Southern Railway (1937–39)
  • Royal Navy (1939–45)
  • Southern Railway (1945–47)
  • British Railways (1948–70)
  • Island Marina Holdings (−2010)
Operator
  • Southern Railway (1937–47)
  • British Railways (1948–70)
Port of registry
  • Portsmouth (1937–39)
  • Portsmouth (1939–45)
  • Portsmouth (1945–70)
BuilderWilliam Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton
Cost£46,800
Launched23 April 1937
In service1937
Out of service1970–2010
Identification
  • Code Letters MMKG (1937–39, 1945–79)
  • United Kingdom Official Number 166061 (1937–70)
FatePreservation attempt abandoned January 2019
StatusLaid up at Island Harbour Marina
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length216 ft 0 in (65.84 m)
Beam29 ft 1 in (8.86 m)
Draught7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Installed powerTriple expansion steam engine
PropulsionPaddle wheels

PS Ryde is a paddle steamer that was commissioned and run by Southern Railway as a passenger ferry between mainland England and the Isle of Wight from 1937 to 1969, with an interlude during the Second World War where she served as a minesweeper and then an anti-aircraft ship, seeing action at D-Day. After many years abandoned on moorings at Island Harbour Marina on the River Medina, she was purchased by the PS Ryde Trust in late 2018, with the intention of raising money for her restoration. That project was abandoned in January 2019.