Name SS Leicester Fate Sunk Length 73 m Beam 9.754 m | Out of service 1916 Launched 8 June 1891 Depth 4.51 m | |
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Operator 1891-1897Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
1897-1916Great Central Railway Tonnage 1,002 gross register tons (GRT) Builders Earle's Shipbuilding, Kingston upon Hull | ||
SS Leicester was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1891.
History
The ship was built by Earle's Shipbuilding in Hull and launched on 8 June 1891 by Mrs. Alford Green, wife of Major Alford Green of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Until 1891, the company had named its vessels after stations on its network, but the four vessels launched in 1891 were named after stations which were on the planned line to London.
In 1897 the MS and LR became the Great Central Railway. On 8 May 1913, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Express struck Leicester in the dock at Grimsby and damaged her.
On 12 February 1916 Leicester struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south east of Folkestone, Kent, with the loss of 17 of her crew.