Nationalization

on Feb 9, 2022

For a small boy, one of the treats when going for a sail on the Clyde or a holiday visit on the Firth in the 1950s was to go to the steamer shop or stationery shop when ashore and, after much deliberation, choose a postcard depicting a favourite steamer of the day. Particularly prized were the photographic cards produced by Messrs W. Ralston, Ltd., the premier marine photographers who were renowned for their images of ships on trials. Their series of cards of Clyde Steamers covered most of the important members of the fleet. With the exception of the MacBrayne vessels, the uniform buff, black-topped funnels of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd., gave the impression that this was standard for a passenger steamer, but careful attention to the photographs gave glimpses of a more colourful age that preceded the utilitarian post-war decade. This article is mostly pictorial in nature. The...

Gourock Railway Pier

on Jun 18, 2021

In 1865, the Caledonian Railway Company purchased the harbour and pier at Gourock. The move anticipated the changes taking place as their main rival, the Glasgow and South Western Railway company sought access to the coast at Albert Harbour in Greenock through the proposed Greenock and Ayrshire Railway, that also provided a route to Greenock from Glasgow. The Greenock Railway, taken over by the Caledonian in 1851, had long enjoyed a monopoly of access to the coast and had built up connecting services to the coast towns and resorts with the private steamboat owners. This monopoly was threatened, not only by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, but also by the North British Railway, on the cusp of the opening of the Helensburgh line providing access to the coast on the north bank of the Clyde, and the Wemyss Bay Railway, offering services provided by the Caledonian itself. The...

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....

Toward Pier

on Sep 28, 2018

“About 6 miles from Dunoon the district of Toward commences, and extends along the coast for a distance of about 4 miles. There is no village of the name; but about the centre of the district there is a chapel in connection with the Established Church (Rev. James Geekie). Close beside the church is Toward pier and lighthouse, and Castle Toward. Old Castle Toward was at one time the seat of the ancient family of Lamont of Ardlamont. It was purchased many years ago, along with Auchenvulline and other adjoining estates, by the late Kirkman Finlay, Esq., of Glasgow, who erected the present stately mansion, and is now the seat of his son, A. S. Finlay, Esq., late M.P. for Argyllshire. The view from Castle Toward is most magnificent. Situated on a rising ground, it commands a prospect of great extent, including parts of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, the two Cumbraes, Bute, and the distant hills...

Innellan Pier

on Aug 13, 2018

The origins of Innellan date from the 1840s. Before that time the coastal area, five miles or so south of Dunoon, was sparsely populated. There were a few secluded summer homes for some of the wealthy businessmen from Paisley and Glasgow but the coast was in a state of nature. The name Innellan supposedly refers to the Perch, a rocky island off the coast but its present spelling derives from the time, around 1850, when feus were made available. Greenock Telegraph, December 28, 1849 Greenock Telegraph, August 30, 1850 “The New Watering Place.—Innellan promises to become a favourite locality for summer retirement. It is only a week or two since it was proposed to feu there, and we hear that already almost a dozen feuars are forward, and as there is a certainty of many tasteful villas making their appearance in that quarter in the course of the next two or three months. Innellan is...

Tigh-na-bruaich

on Dec 16, 2017

The village of Tighnabruich lies west of the mouth of Loch Ridden in a sheltered location with spectacular views to the south, down the western arm of the Kyles of Bute. The remote site is passed over in the early guides and accounts of sailing through the Kyles. Lumsden’s Steamboat Companion gives no mention, even in its later editions:— “From Rothesay the channel, for some miles, takes a north-westerly course, leaving the Clyde, and taking the name of the Kyles of Bute, which encircles half the island. Opposite to Rothesay bay is Auchenwilliam, Kirkman Finlay, Esq.; and 2 miles on the left is Port Bannatyne Bay and Village which, as well as Rothesay, is the occasional retreat of sea-bathing visitors; at the head of the bay stands Kames Castle, Hamilton, a romantic situation; and near it, an old tower, in ruins. In sailing through this channel, several agreeable prospects are met...