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...