Glasgow & Southwestern Railway Steamers

By on May 15, 2016 in Ardrossan, Arran, Chancellor, Clyde River and Firth, Glasgow & Southwestern Railway Co. Ltd., Glen Rosa, Glen Sannox, Greenock, Marquis of Bute, Mercury, Minerva, Sultan, Sultana, Viceroy | 0 comments

The opening of the Gourock and Ardrossan routes by the Caledonian Railway and the associated steamer services had immediate impacts of the business of the Glasgow & Southwestern Railway and Captain Alexander Williamson who ran his steamboats in association with the railway at Greenock and Captain William Buchanan who provided the service from Ardrossan to Arran. New steamers at Craigendoran had also secured for the North British Railway, the bulk of the Arrochar traffic in connection with their Loch Lomond tours. Faced with these inroads in multiple fronts, the Glasgow & Southwestern Railway made application to Parliament to run its own steamboat service. The Bill was passed in August 1891 but it placed some restrictions on the Glasgow & Southwestern steamers, preventing them sailing to the Lochfyne and Kintyre ports, and the west coast of Arran. They also could not extend service upriver to Glasgow.

Marquis of Bute 37

Marquis of Bute

The Glasgow & Southwestern Railway appointed Captain Alexander Williamson as their Marine Superintendant. He was the brother of Captain James Williamson, who held a similar position with the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., and the son of Captain Alexander Williamson of the Turkish Fleet. For its fleet, the Glasgow & Southwestern Railway chose grey hulls, white upper-works and paddle-boxes, and red, black-topped funnels, a most pleasing combination.

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Viceroy in transitional livery (Douglas Brown)

The senior Captain Alexander Williamson sold his fleet of four steamers, Sultan of 1861, Sultana of 1868, Marquis of Bute of 1868, and Viceroy of 1875 to the railway company and retired from the business.

AD Sultan 2

Sultan (Adamson)

AD Sultana 23

Sultana (Adamson)

WR Viceroy 2

Viceroy (Robertson)

PE Viceroy GSW 3

Viceroy

AD Marquis of Bute GSW2

Marquis of Bute (Adamson)

The Glasgow & Southwestern Railway also purchased Scotia from Captain Buchanan and the Arrochar tourist steamer, Chancellor, from the Lochgoil and Lochlong Company, and these six steamers formed the nucleus of their new fleet. In addition, three new steamers were ordered.

AD Scotia GSWR

Scotia (Adamson)

AD Chancellor GSWR

Chancellor (Adamson)

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Chancellor on the Arrochar route (Valentine)

For the 1892 season, Sultana concentrated on the Dunoon and Holy Loch piers and Viceroy sailed to Rothesay and the Kyles while Chancellor continued with the Lochgoil and Arrochar connections. Marquis of Bute replaced Cumbrae that had been on the Millport station in connection with Southwestern trains at Fairlie. Cumbrae was sold by Messrs Hill & Co. to run excursions from Paisley but lasted only a season before leaving for Belfast.

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Cumbrae with Windsor Castle at Princes Pier

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Viceroy at Dunoon

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Viceroy and the buoys in Rothesay Bay

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Marquis of Bute

Two of the new steamers were ordered from Messrs Napier, Shanks and Bell of Yoker with compound engines from Messrs D. Rowan & Son of Glasgow. The first of these to be delivered was Neptune. At 220 ft, she was shorter than the Caledonian company’s Galatea and Duchess of Hamilton but with a trial speed of 18¼ knots, was faster than both of them. Her accommodation was finished to the highest standard with fore and aft saloons the whole width of the hull. When she entered service in April of 1892, she initiallyreplaced on the Scotia on the Arran service from Ardrossan.

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Neptune on trials (Adamson)

Neptune

Neptune

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Neptune in Rothesay Bay (McGregor, Kilmarnock)

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Sultana and Neptune in Greenock Harbour with Duchess of Hamilton in the background

The next new steamer to enter service was the product of Messrs J. & G. Thomson of Clydebank, and at over 260 ft in length, the Glen Sannox was a magnificent vessel with two funnels, straddling her paddle box. Designed for the Arran service from Ardrossan, her compound engines drove her at 19½ knots, surpassing her rival, Duchess of Hamilton. Like the Duchess the promenade deck of the Glen Sannox was extended to the bow but the main deck below was plated in, giving her a more robust and modern appearance.

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Glen Sannox off Brodick (Adamson)

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Unloading a trunk from Glen Sannox at Brodick

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Glen Sannox approaching Brodick (Valentine)

Glen Sannox

Glen Sannox off Ardrossan

The arrival of the Glen Sannox allowed Neptune to begin excursions from Ayr and take up the Rothesay and Kyles of Bute Service from Princes Pier, that she now shared with her sister, Mercury. Mercury was even faster than Neptune.

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Mercury in Rothesay Bay (Adamson)

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Mercury

Mercury 7

Mercury in Rothesay Bay

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Neptune at Ayr

Plans for a new station and office complex at Princes Pier were announced by the end of 1892 and when opened in the spring of 1894, provided a magnificent façade for the expanding steamer connections.

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Marquis of Bute in Greenock Harbour with Duchess of Hamilton and Ivanhoe in the background.

During the 1892 season, Scotia opened up excursions from the port of Ayr but she resumed the Arran service over the winter when the new Glen Sannox was laid up. Winter steamers for the Rothesay and Arran station were ordered, two sisters constructed by Messrs J. & G. Thomson of Clydebank.

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Minerva In Rothesay Bay (Adamson)

Minerva Rothesay Bay B SL

Minerva in the gloaming in Rothesay Bay

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Minerva at Port Bannatyne

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On board Minerva

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Minerva in Rothesay Bay

The first of the pair, Minerva, was launched in May of 1893. At 200 ft, she was comparable in size with the Caledonian Marchioness steamers and had a good turn of speed though a knot slower than Mercury and Neptune. She had full width saloons fore and aft with a forecastle raised to the level of the main deck rail, providing good sea qualities for the winter services. She entered service in June, and was followed a month later by her sister, the Arran winter steamer, Glen Rosa.

WR Glen Rosa

Glen Rosa (Adamson)

Glen Rosa Greenock2 HK

Glen Rosa with a call at Custom House Quay (Valentine)

Galatea and Glen Rosa off Kirn 397

Galatea and Glen Rosa off Kirn

With the expanded fleet, it was possible to sell Scotia. She went to the south coast of England and for a time was a member of the fleet of Messrs P. & A. Campbell, before being sold to Italian owners. Renamed Principessa Mafalda she sailed from Naples to Capri and later was renamed Epomeo before disappearing around the time of the beginning of the first-world war.

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Principessa Mafalda leaving Sorrento

Scotia (1880) at Naples844

Epomeo at Naples

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Epomeo

The Sultan was also sold, to John Williamson, a third son of Alexander Williamson and brother of the rivals James and Alexander. He had taken over his father’s business and had purchased Benmore from Captain Buchanan to continue sailing from Kamesburgh and Rothesay to the Broomielaw. Sultan was renamed Ardmore, she did not remain in the John Williamson’s fleet for long, being sold on to Messrs Macbrayne where, after shortening to fit the locks, she was renamed Gairlochy and had a long career on the Caledonian Canal.

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Gairlochy on the Caledonian Canal

With their new fleet of fast and well appointed steamers and the opening of the new station buildings at Princes Pier in 1894, the Glasgow & Southwestern had regained much of the traffic that they had lost to the Caledonian. Over the next decade, both fleets added new tonnage to compete for the coast traffic and providing the Clyde with the most outstanding services in the world. These developments will be covered in another article.

Greenock

Marquis of Bute with Windsor Castle at Princes Pier

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Viceroy leaving the new Princes Pier at Greenock

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Minerva at Princes Pier (Valentine)

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