TSS Duke of Lancaster. Never to sail again.

Описание: TSS Duke of Lancaster is a former railway steamer passenger ship that operated in Europe from 1956 to 1979, and is beached at Llannerch-y-Mor Wharf near Mostyn Docks, on the River Dee, in north Wales. Never to sail again.

Along with her sister ships the TSS Duke of Rothesay and the TSS Duke of Argyll, she was amongst the last passenger-only steamers built for British Railways (at that time, also a ferry operator). She was a replacement for the 1928 steamer, Duke of Lancaster, built by the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

Built at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, launched on 1 December 1955 and completed in 1956, she was designed to operate as both a passenger ferry (primarily on the Heysham to Belfast route) and as a cruise ship. In this capacity, the Duke of Lancaster travelled to the Scottish islands and further afield to Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

Duke of Lancaster arrived in Llanerch-y-Mor, North Wales, from Barrow-in-Furness in August 1979 to start her new life as a business venture and retail complex named "the Fun Ship". Owner John Rowley saw a legal loophole whereby the venue would be able to circumvent the then Sunday trading laws, as these did not apply to ships. However, there were frequent legal battles with the local councils, and the owners closed the business in 2004 and "walked away". Subsequent owners have faced similar issues.

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