Braemar Castle

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Braemar Castle, 1898. Scratchbuilt. This model took 69 hours to complete, including making the display case, and carrying case. She was a Victorian passenger liner belonging to the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co.

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Lovely model Bob, the liners of that age have always really appealed to me. I have built working models of the Dunottar Castle and the first Empress of Britain in the past to 1:150 scale and some years ago I took a full set of photos of the builder's model of the Miltiades in the Science Museum for a future project.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Thanks,

I built Marathon some years ago. I believe she was sister ship to Miltiades. They eventually lengthened Marathon, and added a funnel, and that is how I built the model! I would have loved to have sailed in those ships, but they were gone before my time. Looking at the plans of Braemar Castle, and comparing them with the later Castles such as Edinburgh and Pretoria, that I sailed in, I doubt if the latter two were any more comfortable than Braemar of 1898, but we loved them all the same – and a few hearts were broken when they sold the last remaining Castles in 1978. I was very fortunate in finding my way to the RMS St. Helena, in 1979,joining a lot of my old Union-Castle shipmates,, and thereby spent my last 13 years at sea on the Cape Mail passenger/cargo service. But even the new St. Helena will be gone in five days time, when she lays up in Cape Town for sale!

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes, Miltiades and Marathon were lengthened and along with the Union 'Scot' were some of a very select group of ships that looked just as good and maybe even better after surgery than as originally designed.

It will be interesting to see what happens to RMS St Helena. Presumably the island airport is now settling down with the smaller passenger aircraft being used. Not sure I'd want to chance it though.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

At the moment, they are at St. Helena, but will be sailing shortly for Cape Town, ETA in 4 days time on the 10th, and there it will all end. No doubt they will all be flown back to St. Helena. The island now has a small cargo ship called Helena, for heavy cargo, but no passengers yet, although it may be fitted out for 12! Small aircraft seem to be managing OK, but they don't seem to have been knocked over in the rush of tourists wishing to fly there!

Bob

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