Daniel Adamson Preservation Society

The Society was established in 2004 to save from the shipbreakers the historic tug/tender DANIEL ADAMSON, named after a former railway engineer and boiler-maker and first chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal Company. The vessel was built at Tranmere in 1903 originally to tow barges and take passengers between Ellesmere Port and Liverpool, but in the 1930's she was converted into a Directors' inspection vessel for the M.S.C. with a promenade deck and two very fine art-deco lounges in the style of the ocean liners of the day. She continued in this role, also acting as a tug, until laid up in the 1980's.

Since coming into our ownership, preventative work has been done to maintain her condition, and her twin coal-fired compound steam engines have been restored substantially by the efforts of our own team of volunteers. We remain a 100% volunteer organisation, with minimal overheads.

Our next challenge is to secure a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of around £2.9M to compelete her restoration, a key element being the provision of Match Funding. Our target is £200,000 and almost half of this has been raised by the end of 2011. PLEASE CAN YOU HELP US TOWARDS THIS TARGET by donating through this website.

Once in operation, she will be able to carry 95 passengers in heritage cruises under steam in the Mersey, the Ship Canal and the Weaver Navigation. At least 10 days each year will be reserved for education and social inclusion groups at nominal costs. When not in steam, she will be berthed adjacent to waterside museums at Liverpool, Ellesmere Port and Salford Quays. There will be many opportunities to volunteer to support our work, and to participate in and learn about a wide range of heritage aspects of the vessel and the region she will serve.