Aerial Views of the Clyde

on Mar 4, 2017

Photographs of the Clyde Harbours and Resorts taken from the air and made into postcards have always been popular. They are an easy way of showing where you stay whether all-year-round, or on holiday. The earliest photographs of the Clyde that were released commercially appear to have been the work of an Edinburgh Company in the years shortly after the First World War, around 1920 or 1921. They are generally marked Aerial Photos Ltd., Edinburgh. They include a good selection of the Cowal Coast, including Dunoon, Rothesay and surrounding areas in Bute, and coastal towns in the Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The photographs are oblique, taken at an angle, rather than the vertical stereo-pairs associated with mapping of later years. Quite a few show some of the steamers of the day. It is not clear what aircraft were used to obtain these photographs. Hunter’s Quay and the...

Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd.

on Jan 15, 2017

The history of the steamer Ivanhoe has featured in earlier articles, up to the point when she was laid up in 1906 by the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. As the new century progressed, the pollution that characterized the upper Clyde began to be ameliorated and there was renewed interest in sailing from the heart of Glasgow. Shipyards on the Clyde were also experiencing full order books and sailing “doon the water” allowed the denizens of the city to see the latest developments that would make the Clyde known throughout the world. It was to accommodate this need that Captain Cameron brought out the Meg Merrilies and the Lady Rowena, and in 1911, the Ivanhoe was brought out of retirement. Ivanhoe in her 1911 color scheme The Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd. was registered on 16th February 1911 with a nominal capital of £6,000 and purchased, for £4,000 from the Caledonian...

John Williamson’s Up-river Revival

on Jan 15, 2017

In 1900, the Glasgow, Rothesay, and Kyles of Bute Steamers of John Williamson provided a summer service to Campbeltown in connection with the Glasgow and Southwestern Railway Co. with their newer vessel, Strathmore, and maintained the year-round Rothesay and Kyles of Bute connection with their veteran, Benmore. The introduction of the turbine steamer, King Edward, the following year, relieved Strathmore except at the very beginning and end of the season, and allowed Williamson to develop the Rothesay trade. This article covers the development of this trade in the years leading up to the first world war. Strathmore leaving Rothesay Strathmore leaving Princes Pier Strathmore passing Scotstoun Benmore passing Scotstoun on her way down river (Robertson, Glasgow) Glasgow Herald, June 20, 1901 Strathmore passing the cruiser Cumberland at Govan Strathmore waiting for her afternoon departure...

A New Lord of the Isles — 1891

on Dec 28, 2016

By the beginning of the 1890s, the general standard of facilities offered on-board the new railway steamers meant that the privately owned vessels were largely outclassed. This prompted the Glasgow and Inveraray Steam Packet Co. (Ltd.) to approach Messrs D. & W. Henderson & Co. with a view to replacing their aging tourist steamer, Lord of the Isles. The old steamer, built in 1877, had opened up the tourist traffic to Inveraray from where Oban and Loch Awe could be reached by coach. It had also popularized the Loch Eck tour, connecting Dunoon and Strachur by a combination of coaches and the steamer Fairy Queen on Loch Eck. This provided a round trip that encompassed spectacular scenery on the Loch Eck route and the route by water through the Kyles of Bute and up Loch Fyne and could be performed in either direction. The old Lord of the Isles (Adamson) The old Lord of the Isles...

To Dark Lochgoil

on Dec 22, 2016

The importance of the Lochgoil route to Inverary and the Highlands was recognized from the beginnings of steamboat traffic on the Clyde and the early developments will be documented in a separate article. The Lochgoil & Lochlong Steamboat Company dated from 1825. From the beginning, the company adopted a bold and attractive colour-scheme for its funnels: red with a black top surmounting alternating white-black-white bands. The Lochgoilhead mail contract provided a subsidy that ensured year-round service. The Company and its steamers had a reputation for being well run and sailed through some of the most dramatic scenery on the sea-lochs of the Clyde. After leaving Greenock, Blairmore, Cove, Ardentinny, Coulport, Portincaple, Carrick Castle (in the photograph above by Annan), Douglas Pier and Lochgoilhead were the places where calls were made, initially by ferry but later, piers...

Captain Williamson and the Turbine Syndicate

on Nov 25, 2016

When the experimental turbine-powered steamship Turbinia created a sensation when she sped between the lines of warships at the Spithead Naval Review in June 1897. As a means of propulsion, the turbine had arrived and the initial commercialization fell to a syndicate composed of the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company of Wallasey-on-Tyne, who supplied the turbines, William Denny and Brothers, who built the hull and boilers and finished the ship, and Captain John Williamson who had a need for a speedy craft for the service he provided to the distant Campbeltown in connection with the Glasgow and Southwestern Railway. King Edward on trials (Adamson) King Edward Dining Room (Turbine Steamers) King Edward Social Hall Lounge (Turbine Steamers) The King Edward was launched at Dumbarton on May 16, 1901, by Mrs, Parsons, wife of Hon. Charles A. Parsons. She was 250 ft long and 30 ft in...