Paddle centenarians sailon

摘要

This year the ranks of the unofficial paddle steamer '100 Club' are swelled by three further Swiss vessels, taking the total of operational centenarians to 34. Among them is the 1912-built Neuchatel, which is back in service on the linked lakes of Neuchatel and Morat in Western Switzerland for the first time since 1969 and using an engine that powered a Bavarian vessel for more than 40 years into the 1970s. In a number of areas the steamers have become tourist attractions in their own right, the most remarkable fleet operating on the river Elbe from Dresden in Germany and including seven vessels built between 1873 and 1898. However, it is two Scandinavian veterans that vie for recognition as the oldest operational steamer.