Paddle Steamers of the Medway
by Martin Longhurst
On Saturday 16 August 2008 Kingswear Castle took one of her Wharfs, Creeks and Jetties cruises. This took us past two other paddlers on the Medway, the steam paddle tug John H Amos and the pleasure steamer Medway Queen.
The John H Amos has recently been placed on a barge pending long term restoration plans
The tug had been stranded on a slipway adjacent to the Historic Dockyard on the last few years
Her broad beam can be seen from this angle
A couple of miles downstream major components of the Medway Queen await her reconstruction. Between the two paddle wheels rests the main engine complete with its control levers. Many smaller parts are stored in nearby containers.