Crinan Canal | Clyde River and Firth

When Iona entered service in 1864, the connection with the Crinan steamer was accomplished by the horse drawn track-boats Maid of Perth and Sunbeam. The improvements made by the addition of the Chevalier in 1866 were enhanced by a small screw steamer, Linnet, that was built by J. & G. Thomson at Govan for Messrs. Hutcheson. The Linnet provided the link through the Crinan Canal between Ardrishaig and Crinan. Track-boat Sunbeam on the west bank at Ardrishaig. The Linnet had two screws and at 34 tons and she was launched in a fairly complete condition. Just 86 ft long and 16 ft broad with a shallow draft, she could fit into the locks of the canal. Her blunt canoe-shaped bow was designed to allow her to push into the opening canal lock gates. Linnet at Crinan with Chevalier in the background Linnet at Crinan with Countess of Kellie in 1888 Linnet at Crinan Linnet heading for...

In 1847, the Clyde and Western isles steamboat services were in flux. The Greenock Railway had opened six years earlier in 1841 and had challenged the dominance of steamboat companies in providing transportation in the Clyde area. After attempting to attract the steamboat companies to provide ongoing connections with the railway at Greenock, the Railway Company had begun to run its own connections. The principal services to Rothesay and Lochfyne were at this time in the hands of the Castle Steam Packet Company, and in 1845, Messrs. G. & J. Burns, who had hitherto been associated with the Glasgow and Belfast trade, acquired a controlling interest in the Company and its steamers. The following year, they added the steamers of the Greenock Railway and achieved a virtual monopoly of the Clyde connections with the Western Highlands and Islands. The West Highland services themselves were...