PS Rouen was a sidewheel paddle steamer passenger ferry constructed in 1888 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan, Glasgow, with yard number 330. Launched on 12 April 1888 by Mrs. Allen Sarle, wife of the LB&SCR's secretary and general manager, the vessel was designed for passenger service between Newhaven and Dieppe. She measured a registered length of 250.6 feet (76.4 meters), a beam of 29.1 feet (8.9 meters), and a depth of 14.0 feet (4.3 meters). Her gross register tonnage was 838 GRT, with a net register tonnage of 326 NRT, and she was equipped to accommodate 110 first-class and 108 second-class passengers. Powered by a two-cylinder diagonal compound steam engine rated at 487 NHP, PS Rouen was capable of reaching speeds of approximately 19¼ knots (about 35.7 km/h). Her propulsion system consisted of side-mounted paddle wheels, characteristic of paddle steamers of the era, which provided reliable service for her route. The vessel was registered in Newhaven under the UK official number 95353, with the code letters LBHR, emphasizing her role in cross-channel passenger traffic. In 1903, the vessel was sold to the Barrow Steam Navigation Company, owned by James and Robert Little, and was renamed Duchess of Buccleuch. Her registration was transferred to Barrow, and her service route shifted to between Barrow and Douglas in the Isle of Man. The vessel's operational history with the Barrow Steam Navigation Company was relatively brief. In 1907, she passed to the Midland Railway, which took over the company, but her service ended in 1909 when she was withdrawn from operation and subsequently scrapped. The PS Rouen, later Duchess of Buccleuch, exemplifies the maritime technology and regional ferry services of late 19th and early 20th-century Britain, reflecting the transition from traditional paddle steamers to more modern propulsion methods and the shifting ownership patterns within the British railway and maritime industries.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.