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Oldest passenger carrier in regular year round service.

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philthetube

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I am looking for anything which carries passengers to a timetable which operates all year round.

Anything which only operates in the summer and is then replaced in the winter by something else does not count though overhauls/repair are fine.

My vote would be the Lady of the Lake, one of the Ullswater steamers which was launched in June 1877.

Incidentally anyone into heritage transport who has never sailed on Ullswater should!
 
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Mcr Warrior

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In a similar vein, the SS Sir Walter Scott steamboat on Loch Katrine in Scotland has been operating since around 1900, albeit not continuously, as it has often needed time out for refurbishment. Not sure either what its normal timetable is, or if it only normally operates during the tourist season.

Presumably the train(s) that have operated up and down Snowdon since 1896 would also be excluded, due to their not operating all year round.
 

Gloster

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Although not in all year round use nowadays, the DS Skibladner on Lake Mjøsa in Norway dates from 1856. This year it is due to operate Tuesday-Sunday from 22 June to 15 August.

EDIT: There is also the two-year older Romanian Tudor Vladimirescu, but it appears that this now only works charters on the Danube. Skibladner sails to a timetable when it operates.
 
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Mcr Warrior

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Might also have suggested the Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton, but not sure if this ever operates (in normal times) during the winter months.

Think there is some (recently refurbished?) still operational rolling stock on the Volk's system that dates back to maybe 1892.
 

OmniCity999

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I dont now if its too far off the mark for this thread but the MV Astoria built in 1948 was the oldest Cruise ship operating in the world pre covid.

Its future is currently unknown, but id be inclined to say its pretty important in that industry
 

Gloster

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I dont now if its too far off the mark for this thread but the MV Astoria built in 1948 was the oldest Cruise ship operating in the world pre covid.

Its future is currently unknown, but id be inclined to say its pretty important in that industry

She is currently for sale at Rotterdam, but there have been no expressions of interest. In the current climate for cruises, her future must be bleak.

She has had several owners and names, but was built as the Stockholm for the Swedish-America Line. She is probably most famous (or notorious) for colliding with and sinking the Italian liner Andrea Doria off Nantucket.
 

Ediswan

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I dont now if its too far off the mark for this thread but the MV Astoria built in 1948 was the oldest Cruise ship operating in the world pre covid.
I came across this vessel moored in Portsmouth a while back (2019?). A very unusually shaped stern.
 

OmniCity999

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I came across this vessel moored in Portsmouth a while back (2019?). A very unusually shaped stern.
As I understand it, it had been built as an ocean liner (obviously due to age) modifications were made to the hull to allow for regular cruising, space etc and adaptions to the propulsion were probably also made at this time.

Ocean liners generally have V shaped hulls to cut through waves.

Cruise ships generally have boxier flatter hulls, to allow for maneuverability and stability.

There's only one true ocean liner left in the world, that being the Cunard QM2. Made predominantly for transatlantic crossings where its V (ish) shapped hull allows it to maintain a higher speed in rougher conditions.

I don't claim to be an expert, things with wheels are generally my fortay but I've watched a lot of documentaries during lockdown...
 
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