Duchess of Montrose (1930)

on Mar 16, 2019

The addition of the Duchess of Montrose to the L.M.S. fleet in 1930 was a successful attempt to improve facilities for cruising on the Clyde. The previous addition to the fleet, Glen Sannox, was based on the model of the Duchess of Argyll, built in 1906, and although the builders, Messrs William Denny and Sons, had provided high-pressure geared-turbine propulsion machinery for the King George V, the L.M.S. returned to the lower-pressure direct-drive turbine model for the new vessel. However, rather than a copy of the Glen Sannox, the accommodation and facilities were much more up-to-date, and for the first time, the ship was designed for one-class of passenger, giving much more flexibility for the comfort of passengers. “New Clyde turbine launched.—On Saturday the new triple-screw steamer Duchess of Montrose was successfully launched by William Denny & Brothers (Ltd.), Dumbarton....

Marchioness of Breadalbane

on Dec 31, 2018

The Marchioness of Breadalbane, one of the more utilitarian members of the original Caledonian Steam Packet Co.’s fleet had a long and largely uneventful life of 45 years on the Clyde. She was best known in latter years on the Largs and Millport sailings from Wemyss Bay but also did duty on the Rothesay sailings from Wemyss Bay and Gourock as well as sailing to Loch Goil and the Holy Loch. This little article is mainly a photographic record of the steamer, similar to that of her sister-ship Marchioness of Bute. Of the two, the Breadalbane was the better vessel and she remained longer on the Clyde but like her sister, she too ended her days sailing on the East Coast. The article is interspersed with some newspaper articles that hopefully give some background to the photographs. “Port Glasgow.—Launch of a river steamer today.—Messrs John Reid & Co., Port Glasgow, launched from their...

Caledonian Postcards

on Dec 29, 2018

Postcards in the Edwardian era were a good form of advertising the merits of a company or the beauty of an area. The Caledonian Railway had produced cards for a number of years before the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. produced a series of beautiful cards in 1906 featuring their most important steamers and routes. For this, they went to Messrs William Ritchie & Sons Ltd., Edinburgh and the cards appeared as coloured collotypes in their Reliable series. Some of the cards were reissues of existing Reliable series views but most of the steamers and the Caledonian piers were new. The Reliable series had featured Caledonian Steamers in the past. One shown here, Galatea, was not featured in the Caledonian official cards as she was sold in 1906. Other steamers in service at the time but not featured were the Caledonia and Marchioness of Bute, service steamers that were not used on the longer...

Two birds: Merlin and Plover

on Nov 15, 2015

The invention of a new method for the propulsion of steamships was news of importance for the shipbuilders and ship owners on the Clyde. Like many others, the idea presented by John Kibble was not entirely new and had been tried in a form on the steamboat Highland Lad on the Lochgoil route as early as 1826. Kibble’s proposed use of a continuous belt of small paddles instead of the normal paddle wheels had some merit, and as events evolved, showed some promise in the steamboat that he had built to demonstrate the invention. It eventually failed but the story and subsequent happenings are well worth examination. The patent submitted by Kibble has the details of his invention. “Specification of the Patent granted to John Kibble, of Glasgow, Gentleman, for Improvements in Apparatus for Propelling Vessels.—Sealed November 2, 1843. “With an engraving. To all to whom these presents shall...

Girvan to Ailsa Craig

on Sep 5, 2015

Visiting Ailsa Craig, the remarkable volcanic plug that rises from the seabed in the lower reaches of the Firth of Clyde, has been tradition dating back to the earliest times. With the advent of the steamboat, a trip around the island was an early feat to demonstrate the reliability of the vessels. Duchess of Hamilton rounding Ailsa Craig around 1905 Throughout the 1800s, passengers were landed briefly on the island from special sailings of steamers when the weather was amenable, but the main communication was with Girvan on the Ayrshire coast. Sailing coasters and fishing smacks brought not only tourists, but also transported the quarrymen to the quarries set up by the Marquis of Ailsa to supply curling stones to the world. Sailing smacks and yachts from Girvan landing visitors at Ailsa Craig Towards the end of the century, William Girvan, who was involved in transporting the granite...

Early Clyde Steamboats III

on May 14, 2015

Early in 1817, John Wood’s yard produced a wooden hull for John Robertson of Glasgow who also supplied the machinery, almost a copy of the set he produced for the Clyde. The Defiance was a small steam-boat and was designed for the river trade but also opened up sailing to Lochgoilhead. The two other steam-boats built that year for the River were designed for goods traffic. Active and Despatch both came from Archibald MacLachlan’s yard and were engined by David Napier. John Robertson had provided machinery for a number of steam-boats that were constructed on the Tay. The Oscar had been built there by J. Smart at Dundee in 1814, and was brought to the Clyde in 1817 by A. Dow to sail to Lochgoilhead. The development of steamboat services to Loch Fyne and the Western Highlands had shown that there was a tourist market and sailing to Lochgoilhead with a coach trip through Hell’s Glen to the...