Dunoon

on Jun 16, 2018

At the beginning of the steamboat age, Dunoon was not regarded of great importance. It consisted of a few houses and most important, a ferry-inn, the abode of the ferryman on the crossing to the Cloch. In 1820, it is described in Lumsden’s Steamboat Companion:— “The Steam Boats, if required, will land passengers at Dunoon; from whence there is also a road to Inverary by Strachur, to which place gigs can be had, at a moderate rate. From Strachur there is a regular ferry across Lochfine to Creggans, and where boats can be procured direct to Inverary the distance up the loch being about 5 miles “Dunoon is of considerable antiquity, and was once the seat of a castle, very important in point of situation, and often the scene of contest during the violent struggles of clanship. Near the latter period of episcopacy in the Highlands, it was the occasional residence of the bishop of Argyle;...

Southwestern Steamers in L.M.S. days

on May 13, 2018

The post World War I fleets of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., Ltd. and the Glasgow and South Western Railway Co., Ltd, have been documented in a previous article, along with their amalgamation on January 1, 1923, and the initial years under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co., Ltd. In 1923, the Glasgow and South Western steamers came under the ownership of the newly formed railway company while the Caledonian steamers remained with the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., allowing them greater freedom to sail to destinations on Kintyre and Loch Fyne. Both sets of steamers retained their hull colours but appeared with yellow funnels with a red band and black top. In the following year, the hull colour was standardized to black. This article follows the steamers from the 1925 season when the red band was removed and the fleet had the yellow black-topped funnel that...

Lochfyne

on May 8, 2018

At the Dumbarton yard of Messrs William Denny & Brothers, Ltd., on March 20, 1931, Lochfyne was named by Lady Stamp, wife of Sir Josiah Stamp, President of the L.M.S. Railway Co., and she slid down the ways to the accompaniment of bagpipe music. So began the story of a vessel built for the Clyde and West Highland trade of Messrs David Macbrayne (1928) Ltd., with an innovative Diesel-electric propulsion. The year 1927 had not been kind to Messrs Macbrayne. In that year, two fine paddle steamers, Chevalier and Grenadier had been lost and the subsequent reorganization of the struggling company promised the addition of four new vessels to the fleet. The Lochfyne was the last of the four, and some idea of the novelty she provided can be gleaned from her description in “The Rock” magazine. “Twin Screw Diesel-Electric Vessel Lochfyne “This vessel has recently been delivered to Messrs...

Pirnmill and the west of Arran

on Apr 29, 2018

The hamlet of Pirnmill on the west coast of Arran derives its name from the mill set up by the Clark family of Paisley for the production of bobbins or pirns. The photograph above shows the pirn mill itself after it became Currie’s grocer and general merchants. With the advent of the steamboat, Pirnmill became a calling point, served by a ferry-boat. It was the Campbeltown and Glasgow Steam Packet Co. that opened up the trade and included the ferry stop in its itinerary, and for many years this was the only regular stop on the west coast of Arran. In the 1860s, the steamboat Herald was placed on a new route to Campbeltown from Fairlie and it called at the ferries of Pirnmill, Machrie and Blackwaterfoot, favouring the Arran shore of the Kilbrannan Sound rather than Carradale and the Kintyre shore. Indeed the calls at Blackwaterfoot and Machrie were also made by the turbine steamers...

Erskine Ferry

on Apr 25, 2018

There has been a crossing point of the Clyde at Erskine for about as long as records have been kept. In fact there were two crossings, the West Ferry, closer to Dumbarton and the East Ferry, at Old Kilpatrick. The early ferries were rowed across and also provided a connection to the early steamboats passing on the river. Unfortunately there were accidents. “Friday afternoon, at Erskine Ferry, a ferry-boat, containing three passengers and the boatman, was run down by the Helensburgh steam-boat. The passengers were immediately picked up, owing to the activity of the crew of the Helensburgh, but the boatman never rose. We understand that no blame whatever can be attached to the persons who managed the steam-boat, the unhappy accident being entirely attributable to the unskillful conduct of the poor man who has lost his life. He was from the Isle of Mull.—Edinburgh Observer”—The Globe,...

Hoppers

on Mar 27, 2018

I’ve a special liking for the work of the Wishaw photographer, Charles Reid whose photographs of animals, both domestic and wild are delightful. This unusual photograph entitled “Gulls” brings to the fore a sight that was at one time very familiar on the river and estuary of the Clyde; the modest hopper. Designed to take the spoil from the dredging of the river and harbour, hoppers were self-propelled and took the place of mud punts that continued in use until the 1880s and beyond. Mud punts had sufficed when the dredged material was used as fill on the river banks, but with the widening of the river, it was necessary to move the material over much greater distances. The first of the hoppers came from the yard of Messrs William Simons & Co., Renfrew, in 1862. The vessel could be filled with spoil and then sail to the dumping ground in deep water where the bottom of the hold opened...

Skipness

on Mar 25, 2018

The Estate of Skipness, since ancient times, was in the hands of the Campbell family, and during that time, in 1834, a quay was built to protect the fishing fleet from the regular gales that roared up the Sound of Kilbrannan. The village itself is strung out along a sandy bay with the Mansion House and Skipness Castle to the east, to Skipness point that marks the entrance to Loch Fyne. The little harbour was located north of the point. In 1843, the estate was sold to William Fraser, who sold it in 1866 to the trustees for the Robert G. Graham family of licensed grocers from Glasgow. At the time, Robert Graham had not reached the age of majority. The Graham family quickly set about improving the policies. Skipness Pier with Minard Castle Around 1878, a new iron pier was erected, made from used rails of the Great Western Railway. It was built north of the fishing quay and roughly two...

Latter days of Clanranald II on Loch Shiel

on Mar 7, 2018

I recall a visit to a little museum in Moidart where the docent, an elderly gentleman, became rather heated when the subject of the steamer service on Loch Shiel was mentioned. The loss of the mail service and the vessel on the loch incited a rant, partly in English and partly in Gaelic indicating that even more than forty years on had left strong feelings. The service on Loch Shiel began in 1893 with Messrs MacBrayne’s Maud, an iron steam launch built in 1889 by Messrs Seath at Rutherglen. She proved to be too large for the traffic and when the estate changed hands, the new owner secured the mail contract and introduced a steamer of his own and Maud was withdrawn. After a rocky start, first with a small yacht, Lady of the Lake, and then in 1899 with the addition of another Seath built product, Clanranald, the service was introduced by Lord Howard. The first Clanranald drew too much...

Carradale Pier

on Feb 14, 2018

In the Glasgow Herald of January 17, 1848, extracts from the Tidal Harbours Commission Report, concerned with the state of the fishing trade in the west of Scotland reported that; “At Skipness, a projecting point at the north end of Kilbrannan Sound, a fishing pier, extending 60 yards off-shore in an easterly direction, with a return head of 32 yards to the northward, was erected in 1839 at a cost of £2997, two-thirds of which were contributed by the Fishery Board on the part of the public. The pier has 5 feet depth at low water and is a great accommodation to the 60 boats belonging to the place, and to others which frequent the favourite fishing grounds of Kilbrannan Sound, as well as to the steamboats passing along the coast. A pier at Carradale would also be a great benefit.” Glasgow Herald, February 18,1856 Kilbrannan shore, Carradale (1898) However, Carradale would have to wait...

The wreck of the Tynwald.

on Jan 26, 2018

This article comes from a brief snippet from the Greenock Advertiser in September 1866 regarding the Campbeltown paddle steamer Herald. “The Steamer Herald.—It was rumoured in town yesterday that the charterer of the steamer Tynwald, which we noticed on Thursday as having gone ashore at Skye, has offered terms for chartering the steamer Herald, employed on the Campbelton route. It is said if the offer is accepted, she will likely proceed to Iceland at once for the purpose of bringing cattle thence. The Herald was off her usual station yesterday.”—Greenock Advertiser, Sept 22, 1866. Although the report was shown to inaccurate, it did highlight an interesting story. “Steamer Herald.—The report that this favourite steamer was about to be dispatched to Iceland is incorrect. Today she was laid up in the East Harbour for the season.”—Greenock Telegraph, September 22, 1866. In 1866, the Isle...