page_title: Balloch Steam Slipway
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Balloch Steam Slipway / History
caption_attribution_description: English: PS Maid of the Loch, Loch Lomond, Balloch Pier, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Under restoration.
context_page_description: The Balloch Steam Slipway consists of a ramp, carriage and steam powered winch located on the shores of Loch Lomond by which ships or boats can be moved in and out of the loch, usually for repairs and general maintenance. It is owned and operated by the Loch Lomond Steamship Company. It is thought to be Europe's last steam operated winch and it is contained within a railway-style winch house that is category A listed.
context_section_description: The slipway construction started in 1900 and it was opened by the Dunbarton & Balloch Joint Line Committee in 1902 and finally fell out of use circa 1989. The railway-style winch house is a category A listed building. Following a £620,000 restoration project the Balloch slipway complex was officially reopened by the Princess Royal in 2006. George Halliday Ltd. of Rothesay and John Bennie of Glasgow were the original contractors.
  The PS Maid of the Loch was re-assembled on the slipway in 1953 following its construction, disassembly and transport by rail to a siding lying parallel to the slipway and launched on 25 May 1953. The Maid was taken onto the slip on 27 June 2006 after 25 years berthed at Balloch Pier.
caption: The PS Maid of the Loch was annually hauled out of Loch Lomond during the winter
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