Excursions

on Jan 20, 2015

The rapid extension of the railway network in the late 1840s and early 1850s brought forth the works excursion. For the first time it was possible for an employer to close a works for the day and for the operators, en masse, to board a train and steamer connection for a few hours respite from the daily toil. Refreshed by sea breezes and healthy fare, the workers returned with feelings of gratitude to provide another year of service to the generous employer. Dalmonach Works in 1851 Such was the situation in the Vale of Leven where the railway connection between Balloch and Bowling on the Clyde opened in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace. The Dalmonach Works of James Black & Co. had created a stir at the Exhibition and their order book was full. They began to organize an annual trip, making use of the railway. The annual trip in 1853 was on Saturday August...

Caledonia on the Holy Loch Run

on Jan 6, 2015

In the aftermath of the First World War, the Caledonian Steam Packet Company’s Caledonia resumed the role she had had since 1909 as the Holy Loch steamer for the pooled sailings for the Caledonian and G&SW fleet. From the time of her re-entry into service in November 1920 and on into LMS days following amalgamation on January 1, 1923, she was on this service summer and winter except for her annual overhaul when generally Marchioness of Breadalbane was her deputy. Caledonia at Princes Pier before 1923 Caledonia was the first of the ferry-class paddle steamers built for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company in 1889 and at just over thirty years old she was still a useful member of the fleet and well suited to the Holy Loch run where maneuverability at the piers was more important than speed. Caledonia around 1921 with her fore windows boarded for the winter (Robertson) The...

The Siege of Millport

on Jan 6, 2015

In June, 1906, the Clyde steamer ferry services to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae were shared between the Glasgow and South Western Railway, operating out of Fairlie Pier and the Caledonian Steam Packet Company, operating out of Wemyss Bay.  The Caledonian connected with Largs, Keppel, Millport and some services went on to Kilchattan Bay and Rothesay on Bute.  The Fairlie connection from the Glasgow and South Western was similar providing the shortest ferry crossing but also with connections to the Bute Piers.  The Piers at Keppel and Millport had recently been purchased by the Millport Town Council and a considerable improvement made at Millport.  As a consequence, the Town Council increased the annual payments to be made by the steamer companies.  The steamer companies’ responses were predictable and the resulting stand-off that took place at the end of June and the beginning...

One Man’s Vision of Dunoon—Edward McGeachie

on Dec 28, 2014

From the 1900s to the early 1930s a photographer, Edward McGeachie, opened for business in Pier Road, Dunoon, N.B., and among his subjects were the steamers frequenting the Cowal coast. McGeachie’s studio was located on the Pier Esplanade and many local families used him for portraits. He also did commercial work with publicity materials for local hotels and produced a number of fine postcards of Dunoon and its immediate surroundings. He was particularly adept in selecting excellent compositions and his negatives were used extensively by other postcard manufacturers.   Dunoon Pier around 1927 with Kenilworth and Kylemore  Edward was born in Newton, Ayr in 1877 where his father, Peter, was manager of the Ayr Chemical Works. His mother Betsy (Galloway) came from Limekilns in Fife. Edward was educated at Newton Academy where he won the due medal for Mathematics and French. By 1901, he had...

Paisley Steamers

on Dec 24, 2014

On June 27, 1816, there was a notice in the Glasgow papers:— “We understand the Prince of Orange steamboat arrived at the quay of Paisley upon the evening of Tuesday last, and sailed next morning with passengers for Greenock and Gourock. This having been the first steamboat that had sailed up the Cart, a vast crowd assembled to witness her arrival at Paisley.” Steamboat sailings from Paisley are occasionally documented through the following years but it was in the 1830s that a regular service was introduced, leading to the first serious attempt to improve the Cart for navigation. David Napier brought out the little wooden paddle steamer Cupid in 1828. Her hull was constructed by John Wood’s yard and the 10 h.p. engine was built by Napier himself. Initially Cupid was placed on the Glasgow to Greenock and Kilmun station. However, at that time, railways were beginning to compete with the...

Daniel Adamson

on Dec 11, 2014

When, in 1862, the Dumbarton Steamboat Company sold their two-funneled Chancellor to run the blockade for the Confederates in the American Civil War, sailings to Arrochar were left in the hands of the Lochgoil Steamboat Company. The important tourist connections with the steamers on Loch Lomond at Tarbet were neglected and as a result, there was an opportunity for the Loch Lomond Company to provide its own steamboat to complete the popular circular tour. A new company was formed, the Loch Long Steam Boat Company, and the new Chancellor was ordered from Blackwood and Gordon. She was 171 tons with a length of 163 ft and breadth almost 19 ft and her single diagonal engine provided 80 hp, giving her a comfortable speed for the tourist traffic. She was designed as a saloon steamboat with deck saloons the full width of the hull and the alleyways created by carrying the sponsons from stem to...