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A Waverley Milestone
Roddy McKee writes .....
Another Waverley milestone comes up at the end of the 2001 season. It derives from a simple calculation rather than an anniversary.
Waverley's passenger service for the London & North Eastern Railway, British Railways (Scottish Region), the Caledonian Steam Packet Company and Caledonian-MacBrayne from her maiden voyage on 16 June 1947 to her last day in service on 30 September 1973 was a period of 9,604 days inclusive.
Measured from re-entry into service on 22 May 1975, 9,604 days under the Waverley Steam Navigation Company flag will elapse at the end of the passenger sailing on 5 September 2001 at Weymouth. With effect from the start of the public sailing on 6 September at Portsmouth, Waverley's time in preserved passenger service becomes longer than her original career.
Both periods can be defined as 26 years and 107 days; the number of leap-year days is seven in each era.