City of Paris—Messrs Barclay, Curle & Co. 1907

on Mar 10, 2016

New City Liner—Launch of the City of Paris—Glasgow Herald, August 12, 1907 The new steamer City of Paris, which was launched on Saturday by Messrs Barclay, Curle and Co., Whiteinch, is the largest vessel yet built for the Ellerman Lines. She is, generally speaking, a sister ship to the City of London, built at Belfast recently, but she is slightly larger. With the exception of a few mail steamers, she will be the largest vessel running to India. She is 569 feet in length, 57 feet 9 inches in breadth, 36 feet 6¼ inches in depth, of about 9,000 tons gross, and she will have single-screw quadruple-expansion engines, by the builders, of about 9000 i.h.p., capable of giving a service speed of fifteen knots. She will carry about 300 first-class and 100 second-class passengers. The first-class passengers will all be berthed in two and three berth state-rooms on the upper and bridge decks. On...

North British Steamers

on Feb 28, 2016

The North British Railway Company had taken over the Helensburgh Railway in July 1866, a subsidiary, the North British Steam Packet Co., formed to run steamer services with their new well-appointed saloon steamers Meg Merrilies and Dandie Dinmont, immediately pressured the Helensburgh authorities for improved steamboat accommodation and a railway connection with the pier. The failure of this initial venture to attract a greater portion of the coast trade with steamers so obviously superior to those on other routes with the exception of the Iona must have been a tremendous blow to those involved. At the end of the season, Meg Merrilies and Dandie Dinmont were laid up in Bowling and offered for sale. The former was sold in 1868 to Turkish owners. Meg Merrilies Dandie Dinmont was moved to the Forth and tried on ferry services there. Her deck space was unsuitable for the requirements of...

Buchanan Steamers

on Jan 3, 2016

The early years of Captain William Buchanan’s career as a steamboat owner on the Clyde have been documented in the articles dealing with W. F. Johnstone, Railways and Racing, and Early Arran Steamers. Captain Buchanan’s steamers carried a black funnel with a white band, a remnant of their origins with the Castle Company’s steamers. The hulls and paddle boxes where black providing a rather utilitarian look. The Eagle of 1864 is a good place to start the remainder of the story. From the yard of Messrs Charles Connell & Co., she was an impressive vessel with two funnels forward of her paddle boxes but her engines, by Messrs Henderson were too powerful for her hull and her early career involved many adjustments, including lengthening the hull by 16 feet in 1866. Eagle at the Broomielaw around 1866 (Annan) Nevertheless, the Eagle was a reliable steamer and earned...

The Turkish Fleet

on Oct 23, 2015

In earlier articles the history of Captain Alexander Williamson’s career has been detailed. He and Captain William Buchanan owned the Eagle in the 1850s but the partnership dissolved around 1861 and Captain Williamson struck out on his own in 1862 with the Sultan,a fast river steamer built the previous year. (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/clyde-steamer-ps-sultan-86484) Sultan (Williamson) The Sultan was put on the Rothesay and Kyles of Bute station, sailing from Glasgow with a connection at Greenock with the Glasgow trains.  In the winter she sailed from Kamesburgh or Port Bannatyne as it is better known nowadays but during the season she sailed to Tignabruaich and Ormidale. Her schedule meant an early morning sailing from the Kyles of Bute, connecting with a train at Greenock before sailing to Glasgow.  In the afternoon, the journey was repeated in the...

Captain Alexander William Cameron

on Aug 8, 2015

The worsening economic climate in the early Edwardian years had its impact on the Clyde coast traffic. In 1907, the two south-bank railway companies, the Caledonian and Glasgow and South-western, entered into a pooling arrangement to rationalize some services and avoid costly duplication and in the next few years, a number of steamers were laid up and sold. Among these were the Vulcan and Viceroy of the Glasgow and Southwestern Co. and Marchioness of Bute, Ivanhoe and Madge Wildfire of the Caledonian. Madge Wildfire, surplus to requirements was purchased on 8th April 1911 by Captain A. W. Cameron, a retired ship captain residing in Dumbarton, for £3,500. A week later, he transferred ownership to The Vale of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd, a private company that was registered on 13th April 1911. Captain Cameron was anxious to take advantage of the resurgence in popularity of sailings from...

William Sloan & Co., Ltd.

on Jul 25, 2015

The origins of firm of William Sloan and Company go back to 1825 when William Sloan, the nephew of the chemical manufacturer, Charles Tennant, began transporting the company’s products under the title of the St. Rollox Shipping Company. In later years the main routes of the company linked Glasgow with Belfast, Swansea and Bristol. The funnel colour was black with a distinctive white band and for many years was a familiar sight in the Glasgow harbour.  The steamers were named after rivers around the British Isles. The steamers had limited passenger accommodation. Sloan’s steamers sailed from the south side of the river at Windmillcroft Quay. The upper river with a collection of Sloan’s steamers The steamer Medway was built by Charles Connell & Co., Glasgow in 1886, and was sold in 1926 to Turkish owners. Sloan’s Medway at Windmillcroft with Burns’ Alligator at the Broomielaw In...