The Avalon

The Avalon off Dun Laoghaire, August 1980. Her final month in service before sale to breakers. © Albert Novelli

Designed for the Harwich - Hook of Holland night service the 6,720 gross tons Avalon was the largest ship in the BR fleet when built by Alexander Stephen & Sons at Linthouse in Glasgow in 1963, and she was the first British cross Channel vessel to be fully air conditioned. Fitted with AEG stabilisers she was completed, so said the marine press, with the amenities of a modern ocean liner with a restaurant and cafeteria and spacious public rooms for both first and second class passengers.

Her name was a happy choice, a revival of one carried by a Great Eastern Railway steamer of 1865. The Avalon is of course the mythical burial ground of king Arthur and the so called Land of Apples where Celtic Gods were also buried.

Construction

As built the Avalon had three spacious holds for cargo and a limited number of cars. Hydraulic quick operating MacGregor hatch covers were fitted, while the aft hold had a large hatchway to accommodate the then largest models of cars.  She was a twin screw geared turbine vessel with a length of 405ft overall, a moulded breadth of 57ft 6ins and a service speed of 21 knots.

The ship had three continuous decks, Main, Upper and Shelter, with Promenade and Navigating Bridge decks above. A Lower deck was arranged forward and aft of machinery spaces. The exposed weather decks were protected with Airadeck composition in way of the passenger promenades and with teak sheathing in the working areas at the ends of the ship.

Two self-supporting masts, a funnel designed to ensure that smoke was kept well clear of the decks and a raked plated stem and a cruiser stern all combined to give her a most pleasing profile.

The Avalon had a double bottom for fresh and ballast water and diesel oil and deep tanks for boiler oil and water ballast. The hull form was subjected to comprehensive model resistance and self-propulsion tests at the National Physical Laboratory. The ship's lines were faired partly by computer and partly by "Heigh" difference method. The shell development was completely done by computer, as were the hydrostatic and launching calculations.

The ship was of all welded construction and was built using pre-fabricated techniques with units weighing up to 40 tons each. Bunker bulkheads were corrugated type.  Fire bulkheads and minor steel casings were of wedged construction. Flat bar beams and stiffeners were used, giving maximum inertia for required strength with minimum weight. A longitudinal framing system was used for the bottom shell.

A deadweight of 990 tons was made up as follows: boiler oil, 250 tones; diesel oil, 30 tons; crew and stores, 36 tons; fresh water, 150 tons; distilled water, 20 tons; passengers, baggage, cars and cargo, 504 tons.

Twin rudders aft and a bow rudder forward were operated by AEG rotary vane electro-hydraulic steering gears and operated electrically from the bridge by AEG automatic pilot or manual control. A Vickers side thrust unit was also fitted to assist in docking and movements in harbour. The propelling machinery consisted of two single-casing steam turbines to the then latest Pametrada design - impulse type with ahead and astern elements incorporated in a single shaft. Each turbine drove and 11ft 6ins diameter 4-blade 'Novoston' alloy propellor through articulated locking train double reduction gearing at 225 rpm.

To minimise propeller vibration, a full investigation was carried out by the British Shipbuilding Research Association into the propeller shaft brackets and a design incorporating a strut bracing was evolved.

Steam for the turbines at a pressure of 350 lbs/sq in and a temperature of 650 deg F at superheater outlets was supplied by two Foster Wheeler oil-fired watertube boilers. The boilers worked under an open stokehold forced draught system, air being supplied by turbo-driven fans. Steam for domestic services, oil fuel heating and air conditioning heating units was supplied by two oil-fired Spanner boilers working at a pressure of 600 lbs/sq in.

Direct current electricity supply at 225 volts was provided by four main 400 kW and one auxiliary 75 kW diesel driven generators. Two 50kva motor driven alternators supplied current for AC equipment and fluorescent lighting.

Interior Finish

The ship had accommodation for 750 first and second class passengers in high levels of comfort. There were 227 cabins with sleeping berths for more than 600 passengers.  All public rooms were located on two decks, the Promenade deck having the first class lounge right forward, following the curve of the bridge, while at the aft end was the second class lounge. Amidships were the de-luxe cabins and some officer's accommodation.  The Shelter deck had the first class smoke room and bar right forward and the second class smoke room right aft. Then amidships was a spacious dining room the full width of the ship. The space aft of this was divided into a long cafeteria (on the port side) and the main galley, stillroom, larder, storeroom and a section for cafeteria service.

Both classes had direct access to the dining room and the cafeteria without having to pass through any part of the ship exclusive to one class.  Moreover, with the first class smoke room immediately below the first class lounge, and with a similar arrangement with the second class smoke room and lounge, any passenger could pass from one of these rooms to the other without breaking out of the particular class.

The interior decorations and furnishing of the public rooms and entrances were carried out for the builders by Trollope & Son (London), with Heal's Contracts Ltd responsible for the de-luxe and special cabins as well as the Master's suite. All this work was done to designs prepared by Ward & Austin, the design consultants to the British Railways Board.

Main feature of the first class lounge was a quiet dignity, its close fitted Wilton carpet, with its small all-over pattern produced for the ship.  Comfortable tub chairs in yellow fabric, and banquettes in dark wool fabric fitted into the windows forward. A warm and rich yellow fabric by Edinburgh Weavers was used for the curtains which after dark were floodlit, reflecting into the main room.  Settees, coffee tables and easy chairs occupied a central area, while further aft were writing tables and chairs in the wings.

The first class smokeroom struck an entirely different note. Described by the press of the day as a "stimulating, challenging apartment with something of the friendliness of an English pub." Its banquette seating was termed as coral-orange hide, stimulating in its effect, especially in its contrast with the black leather chairs and bar stools. A decorative balustrade took its outline from the curved front of the house'. It consisted of a double line of wood slats topped by a rail in padded black leather. Between it and the windows looking over the bows is the banquette seating referred to above.

Curtains, indirectly lit with very pleasing results, were of an abstract design, introducing lime green, flame and black. Bulkheads and part of the deckhead were panelled in pine with a clear grain. The linoleum was in contrasting triangles, and , aft of the balustrade, chairs in blueberry hide contrasted with the stainless steel bar.

A recessed part of the deckhead, indirectly lit and finished in ivory gloss, added a touch of brightness which was reflected, to some extent, by the bar with its satin-finish steel top. Black leather covered part of the bar front, terminating in a shaped foot-rail designed to serve also as a continuous ashtray. Behind the bar, resinated fibreglass panels in white were indirectly lit, emphasising polished brass bottle holders.

An unusual deckhead treatment gave the second class lounge a character of its own, emphasised by the arrangement of chairs and tables which repeated the same general line. The deckhead at each side was raised in something of a reversal of the orthodox practice. Interestingly this did not correspond in any way with the deck covering design which was in two tones of wide grey strips athwartships. The room was quiet and simple, echoing in a less luxurious way the tones of the forward lounge. Bulkheads in beige Decorplast with a moire pattern provided an economical background, while other parts were in formica.

The cafeteria was equipped with comfortable chairs, with upholstered backs, accommodation for some 50 passengers on banquettes set at right angles to the ship's side, and nine tables for six passengers in board. The deck covering in grey and stone coloured  linoleum followed a design based on the letter E, with a long vertical part at the service counter and short horizontal bars extending centrally; this harmonised with the arrangement of the tables.

The bulkheads in ivory Decorplast had their light colour taken up to the deckhead and this, with the ample space for passengers to move in, made for a very cheerful room. The area was made to appear wider by a series of timber pilasters and beams in elm veneer, which was used with considerable success. The bulkheads, too, were in elm veneer contrasting with the pale grey Decorplast for the longitudinal panels. The deckhead also helped in this effect, Chinese yellow Warerite being relieved at intervals by the elm veneer beams.

The dining room had teak panelled bulkheads and an indirect lighting scheme which, aided to some extent by bulkhead lights, made the deckhead appear higher than it actually was. For a ship of this type the Avalon's dining room arrangement was unusually flexible, one part being available for private functions. Another unusual feature was the close fitted carpet supplied by Carpet Trades Ltd. The Decora quality in a green jaspe pattern hormonised perfectly with olive green sideboard tops and chairs upholstered in hide, some in a rich blue and others in stone colour.

At first glance the second class smokeroom impressed with its comfortable spaciousness, windows round three sides and banquette seating in flame-coloured hide, contrasting most agreeably with individual chairs in black hide with coffee tables in Warerite resembling elm. The elm treatment was extended to the pillars, and also to the bar handrail.

Each of the six de-luxe suites had its own colour scheme. In equipment and comfort these suites compared favourably with first class cabins to be found on a liner. A console within easy reach from the bed carried switches to control lights and temperature, and also to summon steward service. In first class cabins this console formed part of the dressing table and wash basin unit.

Life saving appliances included eight fibre glass lifeboats, two of them motorboats and six hand propelled, all manufactured by J. Samuel White & Co. In addition to the boats, 21 inflatable liferafts of Dunlop type, each to carry 20 persons, were fitted on quick release ramps.

Navigational aids in the combined wheelhouse and chartroom included a Sperry gyrocompass, AEG automatic pilot, Decca navigator, a twin Kelvin Hughes radar installation, radio telephone and direction finder.

In Service

Entering service on the Harwich - Hook of Holland night service on 25 July 1963 the Avalon was very much the pride of the British Railways fleet.  Their largest and most luxurious ship to date, and arguably the best looking, the Avalon saw the withdrawal of the old Duke of York and with her arrival came a new style of travel on BR's tired and down at heel North Sea services.

She was also fitted out with off-season cruising in mind and during her Harwich career she sailed to places as diverse as Stavanger, Vigo, Ronne.  When cruising she carried only 300-320 passengers in one-class.

Despite all her finery the Avalon suffered from one major problem - she was hopelessly outdated from the day she was conceived. An anachronism, she was a passenger ship when she should have been a car ferry, and was steam powered in an age when diesel was fast becoming king. Within five years of entering service the pride of British Rail's fleet was relegated to a secondary status on her route following the arrival of the new drive-through ferry St George. Outdated from the offset, the Avalon's career was always going to be a difficult one.

The Avalon first ventured into Irish waters in 1968 when she was chartered by Gulf Oil to act as a tender to the VLCC Universe Ireland on the occasion of the opening of the Whiddy Island oil terminal in Bantry Bay.

Relegation

In 1974 the Avalon was selected as being the most suitable replacement for the Caledonian Princess on the Fishguard - Rosslare route.  At the North Shields yard of Swan Hunter her Lower and Main deck accommodation, mainly passenger and crew cabins, were cleared to make way for a vehicle deck accessed through a new stern door.  At the aft end of the new vehicle deck was space for high vehicles. Mezzanine decks were provided port and starboard which could be raised to accommodate artics. Immediately forward, in the midships section, the headroom dropped to permit only cars while on the forward end of the ship cars were accommodated on two levels.

The de-luxe and special cabins on the boat deck were given over to the crew. On the Upper deck her accommodation was extended aft, a new cafeteria area being provided, thereby increasing her passenger certificate up to 1,200 in two classes.

In her new guise the Avalon offered capacity for 200 cars and eight trucks. The conversion had cost £1.75mn and on 15 July 1975 she began her new career as an Irish Sea ship.

Despite being a 'Fishguard ship', the Avalon spent much of her Irish Sea career at Holyhead, her first spell at the port beginning on 11th January 1976. Her time on the run was however marred by an unfortunate incident on 17th March. Arriving at Holyhead in dense fog with the 2045 sailing from Dun Laoghaire she made contact with the T-Piece on the Mail Pier, damaging some 20ft of starboard side plating. The service was subsequently suspended for three days, unheard of in the days of the mail ships, while a replacement ship was sourced. It was a complex affair, involving the movement of the Maid of Kent from Weymouth to Fishguard and the Dover moving from Fishguard to Holyhead where she took up service at 1545hrs on 20th March.   After her repairs the Avalon was back on the run on 10th April and remained there until resuming at Fishguard on 25th June.

The Avalon was back in service between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire on 4th October 1976, swapping with the Dover which in turn moved to Fishguard. This was also the day that saw the Hibernia stand down from service for the final time, laying-up pending sale. Once again she was to blot her copy book and on 17th October she failed with generator problems while alongside at the Irish port. Services were again cancelled until, in a repeat moved, the Maid of Kent was called to Fishguard from Weymouth to release the Dover which sailed north to restore Holyhead services.

Having returned to the Fishguard - Rosslare run for Christmas, the Avalon was to be found operating from Holyhead again from 1st March 1977, pending delivery of the new St Columba from Denmark. With the St Columba entering service on 2nd May, the Avalon returned south and so continued her routine, regularly switching between Fishguard and Holyhead as overhaul and emergency relief until in 1979 when she was replaced at the Pembrokeshire port by the Stena Normandica. At this point she was officially allocated to Holyhead for her final two years of Sealink service.

Dying Days - The Avalon runs astern into Dun Laoghaire, August 1980. Her final month in service before sale to breakers. © Albert Novelli

On 8th September 1980 the Avalon left Dun Laoghaire on her final commercial sailing under the Sealink flag. At the end of the month she sailed to Barrow for lay-up pending sale and three months later, with funnel painted black and the first letter of her name removed, she sailed to Pakistan. Despite being just 17 years old her thirsty turbines made her unattractive to any interested buyers and she arrived at Gadani Beach, on 22 January 1981. H.H. Steel Ltd commenced breaking immediately.