THE SS ROBIN, the world’s last remaining steam coaster, is on its way back to London to become a floating museum in Docklands, after a two-year re-fit in Suffolk.
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“This irreplaceable Grade 1 listed vessel is the only one left of her type, and will be saved for the nation while enjoying a new lease of life on the Thames as a museum and training centre,” said David Kampfner, one of the people behind the £1.9M refurbishment.
“This is a momentous occasion, marking a new chapter in her remarkable story.”
Built in Blackwall, London in 1890, the SS Robin served on the waves for 80 years, at first between the major ports of Britain and later along the coast of the basque country in northern Spain.
After it has been transported from Lowestoft today, it will be raised onto a pontoon, the centrepiece of a new museum that aims to “explore for the first time the interlinked stories of London’s industrialisation, trade, energy, commodities, migration, wealth creation, seafaring and shipbuilding,” as the SS Robin website puts it.
