Early days at Largs

on Nov 1, 2023

Even before the steam-boat age, the village of Largs was a popular summer destination for sea-bathers and pleasure seekers. Sheltered from the prevailing winds by the Isle of Cumbrae, the climate was mild. The good folk of Paisley found it particularly attractive, and the advent of the steamboat meant that a tedious journey under sail or uncomfortable progression by road could be avoided. The old part of the town was built up north of the Gogo burn and by the time that steamboats arrived, new building was beginning south of the burn, including the celebrated Curling Hall. The first steamboat advertised to call off Largs was the Glasgow. Built of wood towards the end 1813, by Messrs John Wood of Port Glasgow, she was 67 feet in length. Her first engines were furnished by Henry Bell and were constructed by Messrs Anderson & Campbell of Greenock, but were not a success when she...

Ardrossan Harbour

on Oct 22, 2017

The origin of the harbour of Ardrossan lies in the vision of Hugh, the twelfth Earl of Eglinton, who was a man of great energy. Not only did he rebuild the family home of Eglinton Castle but on July 31, 1806, he was responsible for the laying by William Blair, Master Mason, of the foundation stone of the harbour and wet dock to be connected by canal to Paisley and Glasgow. The town of Ardrossan grew up around the project. Earl Hugh died on December 15, 1819 but the Eglinton family continued the project. The estimated cost for the harbour was £40,000 with and anticipated 10% annual return on capital, but costs mushroomed to £100,000 and expected revenues were never realized. The canal made its way from Glasgow as far as Johnstone before the competing project of deepening the Clyde in the new age of the steamboat sucked up all the interest and capital. Nevertheless, Ardrossan was in an...

Glen Sannox of 1925

on Sep 16, 2017

The Rock magazine of March 1925 records: “The name of an old and popular Clyde steamer has been revived in the Glen Sannox, which was launched on 24th February. The new ship which was built for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company, for their Clyde services, is 250 feet long by 30 feet broad by 10 feet 6 inches to the main deck, and she will be fitted with three Parsons’ independent steam turbines, each driving a separate shaft with one propeller, capable of developing a speed of about 20¾ knots. The Glen Sannox is, in many respects, similar to the Duchess of Argyll, which has proved such a successful unit of the L.M.S. fleet, and which many people maintain is the most graceful craft on the Clyde. At the request of the owners, there was no formal ceremony at the launch, but as the vessel left the ways she was gracefully named by Miss Rosamund Denny, the youthful daughter...

Southbank Grouping and Tartan Lums

on May 21, 2017

The Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. had all of its steamships called up for duty in World War I and had to rely on chartered vessels for much of the emergency. As with the other companies that had steamers serving, most of those that had survived the dangerous war time duties returned in dribs and drabs during 1919. Two of the steamers, Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose, had been lost while minesweeping during the war. At the beginning of April, Duchess of Fife returned to the Clyde, followed a few days later by Caledonia, damaged badly in a collision with a freighter on the Seine. In the last week of the month, Duchess of Rothesay arrived and a few days later, the turbine Duchess of Argyll, while Marchioness of Breadalbane appeared on the first of May. The remaining unit of the fleet, Marchioness of Lorne, did not return until 1921 and was laid up in Bowling Harbour for a...

Aerial Views of the Clyde

on Mar 4, 2017

Photographs of the Clyde Harbours and Resorts taken from the air and made into postcards have always been popular. They are an easy way of showing where you stay whether all-year-round, or on holiday. The earliest photographs of the Clyde that were released commercially appear to have been the work of an Edinburgh Company in the years shortly after the First World War, around 1920 or 1921. They are generally marked Aerial Photos Ltd., Edinburgh. They include a good selection of the Cowal Coast, including Dunoon, Rothesay and surrounding areas in Bute, and coastal towns in the Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The photographs are oblique, taken at an angle, rather than the vertical stereo-pairs associated with mapping of later years. Quite a few show some of the steamers of the day. It is not clear what aircraft were used to obtain these photographs. Hunter’s Quay and the...

Marchioness of Graham

on Jul 4, 2016

The Marchioness of Graham was launched on March 6, 1936 from the Govan yard of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. She was 220 ft long and 30 ft in the beam with a draught of 10 ft and her two screws were driven by four steam turbines. She was designed for the Arran route from Ardrossan where the turbine predecessor, Atalanta, that she replaced, had a long career. She was indeed similar to Atalanta with a single tall funnel and had significant deck space that would allow her to carry motor vehicles. Marchioness of Graham on trials with Fairfield flag on the main mast (Salmon) Marchioness of Graham on trials (Robertson) Marchioness of Graham on trials (Adamson) This is a photographic salute to the Marchioness of Graham. Her history was largely uneventful and was mainly of the Arran service though she was also popular on excursions. Marchioness of Graham in the Kyles of...