Early Clyde Steamboats II

on Apr 27, 2015

In September 1812, hard on the heels of Comet, her first rival Elizabeth was announced. The following intimation was published in the Glasgow Herald of 25th September. “We are glad to have it in our power to inform the public that a gentleman of this city is at present erecting a flat-bottomed Steam-Boat at Port Glasgow, of 12 horse-power, under the superintendence of an able engineer, upon a much improved principle, both with respect to the quickness of sailing and the accommodation of passengers. It is to be so constructed so that neither wind nor tide will prevent its sailing at a certain hour–a circumstance which will be most beneficial to the public. The boat, we understand, will be ready to start in about three or four weeks.” The Elizabeth, was launched in November, 1812, and she began sailing on the Greenock station on 9th March 1813, again from the yard of John...

The Allan Line

on Apr 6, 2015

To the south of the main channel of the Clyde behind Plantation Quay, lay Princes Dock where much of the Transatlantic Passenger Traffic from Glasgow originated. Construction of the Dock, originally called Cessnock Dock was begun in 1886 and completed in 1897. There were three basins. The North Basin was the berth of the Allan Line and the above picture by Brandon shows three Allan Line ships lined up alongside Shed A. The steamship in the foreground is the State of Nebraska, built by the London & Glasgow yard at Govan in 1880 for the State Line, but taken over with the rest of that Line in 1891 by the Allan Line. On the south side of the Basin alongside Shed B there is a U.S. Lines steamship with its narrower white band and what appears to be another Allan steamship, with a large sailing vessel nearest the entrance to the Basin. The tall chimney of the hydraulic pumping station...

Killarney—Langlands Cruises

on Mar 28, 2015

The venerable company of Langlands had its founding in the early days of coastal steam navigation when, in 1836, Mr. Matthew Langlands became the Glasgow agent for the Glasgow & Liverpool Royal Steam Packet Company. The company had an extensive interest in coastal trade around the shores of Britain and also briefly participated farther afield in the trans-Atlantic trade. As M. Langlands and Sons Ltd., they provided a regular service between Liverpool and Glasgow and in addition ran a series of cruises to the Clyde and West of Scotland with a number of well-appointed screw steamers.  The black funnel with two white bands and black between was well known on the Clyde. Princess Royal on the Clyde The first to be illustrated is the Princess Royal, the fifth of the name for the company. Built in 1876 by the London & Glasgow Engineering and Shipbuilding yard in Govan, she was...

Dumbarton Steamboats

on Dec 9, 2014

The Dumbarton Steamboat Company was one of the earliest steamboat companies in the world and in its different reincarnations lasted for almost a century. It served the traffic between the town of Dumbarton and the city of Glasgow, was intimately involved in the lucrative tourist trade to Loch Lomond, and in doing so, took advantage of the oft disputed charters that allowed shipping registered at Dumbarton free access to the Glasgow harbour. This article is heavily based on a summary of the sederunt book of the company that is presented in Thomson’s “Affairs of an Early Steamboat Company” (1932). Further details come from Hume and Moss’ “A Bed of Nails,” and several of Donald MacLeod’s books; “God’s Acres of Dumbarton,” (1888), “Castle and Town of Dumbarton,” (1877), “Dunbarton Ancient and Modern,” (1892), and “Loch Lomond Steamboat Companies,” (1888). Additional information comes from...

The Anchor Line

on Nov 16, 2014

The Anchor line originates from the efforts of the Handyside Brothers and Thomas Henderson who began a steamship service between Glasgow and New York in 1856. In 1872, the had Victoria built from the yard of Robert Duncan & Co. of Port Glasgow for the New York service. She was one of two built for the service that year, the other coming from Messrs Alexander Stephen & Sons, Linthouse, named California. They were designed to compete with the new vessels on the Liverpool route and at 360 ft long with accommodation for 170 saloon. 100 second and 700 third-class passengers, were well suited to the trade. Victoria (Annan, Glasgow) Victoria California Handyside retired in 1873 and the Hendersons took over Tod & MacGregor’s shipyard as D & W Henderson and formed a strong association with the Barrow Steam Ship Co., expanding their routes and their interests.  One of the new...

Metagama: Liner and Cargo Steamer in Collision

on Nov 11, 2014

The Metagama, of the Canadian Pacific Line, outward bound from Glasgow for Quebec and Montreal, and the cargo steamer Baron Vernon, inward bound from Italy, collided in Clyde waters near Dumbarton Rock on Friday night, 25th May 1923, between nine and ten o’clock. On board the liner there were fully 1100 passengers, most of whom had retired to rest. For a while the vessels remained locked together, and, when the liner backed out, the Baron Vernon heeled over, having, been, holed below the water line; her port bows were stove in, and she was thrown stem first towards the north bank of the river. Realising the danger of the situation, the captain of the cargo steamer beached his vessel, grounding her in the mud at a point off Helenslea, not far from the Garmoyle light. The damage to the Metagama was comparatively slight. She had one of her plates broken on the port bow, about nine feet...