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Passenger and cargo liner, Southampton-West Indies
'Tagus' was a passenger and cargo liner built in 1899 by Robert Napier and Sons Ltd of Glasgow for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She operated on its routes from Southampton to the West Indies. During the Boer War she was employed as a troop ship. From 1917-20 she was again engaged in Government service, this time as a hospital ship. She was sold in 1920 to a Spanish company and renamed 'Principe de Viana'. She was broken up in 1925.
The model has two distinctive tall, thin funnels and an impressive array of hydraulic deck cranes and derricks. A steam launch is shown on davits on the boat deck. The square propeller boss is an unusual feature. The model has been altered and repainted over the years to reflect different ownership and livery. In the 1930s it was restored by the museum to show its original Royal Mail colours. It now shows the company's colours from 1903 onwards. This reflects the appearance of the ship during the greater part of her Royal Mail career.