Thomas Bollen Seath

on Nov 25, 2014

A small album of old cartes de visite of ships got my attention.  When it was opened, it revealed some images that were familiar and some that were not.  Many of the ships were connected with the Rutherglen shipbuilder Thomas Seath.  It took me quite some time to identify all the ships and the original owner and purpose of the collection still remains a mystery, but the little album remains one of my favorite finds. The most intriguing picture in the collection is a sweet pose of a young bearded man and, presumably, his wife.  The connections of the pictures of the ships to this picture is readily apparent.  The man is surely Tommy Seath, born on 20th September of 1820 at Prestonpans in East Lothian, and the young lady he married in 1848 was Helen Young. T B Seath and wife (Bell, Trongate, Glasgow) When he was eight years old, Seath’s family moved to Glasgow and at the age of...

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...

Clyde River and Firth

on Oct 27, 2014

For more than two centuries, the River Clyde has provided an artery for the industry and commerce of Glasgow while the Firth of Clyde has served as the playground for the population of the city, from the captains of industry to the most humble labourer.  Over the years the role of each of these two geographic areas has changed and the interplay between them provides a fascinating backdrop on the development of the West of Scotland.  There is no dearth of literature on the subject and this site will draw on much of this material.  There will be some focus on the early years of the use of steam in marine propulsion and marine engineering.  The development of the tourist trade in the area is another area that will focus on early accounts of the resorts both in text and in picture.  The great engineering feat of deepening the river to allow the flow of commerce into the center of Glasgow...