Captain James Williamson’s classic, “The Clyde Passenger Steamer: Its Rise and Progress during the Nineteenth Century,” was published by Messrs James MacLehose & Sons, Glasgow, to great interest and acclaim in 1904. It is one of my favourite books. “The Clyde Passenger Steamer.—Rise and Progress during the Nineteenth Century.—We have received a copy of a book entitled “The Clyde Passenger Steamer: Its Rise and Progress during the Nineteenth Century, from the Comet of 1812 to the King Edward of 1901,” by Captain James Williamson, the well-known marine superintendent the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. No one can rise from perusal of the volume without being conscious of the fact that it is the work of man who has not only had lifelong connection with his subject but thorough acquaintance with and a feeling akin to love for all things pertaining to the steamboat passenger service on...

I’m working on an article on Lamlash and was reflecting on the last time I was in the village with my family, many years ago now. At the time my son had just entered his teens, and the visit to Arran with his grandfather had an impact. A year or so later, he submitted an essay to a Scottish-American magazine and won $100. I thought it might be worthwhile to post it on this Remembrance Day.      My heritage means a lot to me. I was born in Scotland, though I moved to the United States when I was less than a year old. I know a little about my heritage because of the stories that my father occasionally tells me about growing up in Scotland and about my family history. I have visited Scotland on four occasions and enjoy Scottish music and culture. I have also strengthened my heritage by learning to play the bagpipes.      My grandfather was in the 11th (Scottish) Commando during...

This is the final article in the series of negatives and slides from my collection that I have attempted to colourize with the aid of photoshop. For a very few of these slides, photoshop has not worked well and I have resorted to a more comprehensive colouring program that uses multiple layering like an impressionist painting to achieve the coloured image. This I dislike as it leads to some curious effects, but it does a better job on crowded scenes. The previous article featured the privately owned Clyde steamers. In this article the steamers of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., the Glasgow & South-Western Railway Co., and the North British Railway Co., are portrayed. A slide of steamers at Rothesay Pier. The funnel colours attract immediate attention. The only easily recognized steamer is the Caledonian Steam Packet Co.’s Galatea with her two rather awkwardly spaced funnels....

This is the third article in the series of negatives and slides from my collection that I have attempted to colourize with the aid of photoshop. This article features some of the Clyde steamers. The previous two articles featured the steamers of Messrs MacBrayne and the highlands and islands. Commercial software can often provide a reasonably acceptable representation of the background, although not always, and sky and sea colour are frequently problematic. I have also tried smart iterative software (Photorevive) in a few cases but while it generally does better with details and background, it end up with more complex impressionist-like colouring that I personally dislike. The colorings of steamers and their funnels require special attention. The simplest colourizations are those of the Buchanan and Williamson fleets where funnels are black and white. Some of the earliest slides of...

The hamlet of King’s Cross has a historical association as the spot from which King Robert Buce embarked from Arran to return to the mainland of Scotland and begin his campaign to free the country from the English. Whether the tale is true or not, there has long been a cairn to commemorate the event, not far from the remains of an early fortification last occupied during the Viking era. As the closest spot on Arran to Holy Isle, it has had a ferry from early times and subsequent to the extension of the Ardrossan steamboat service from Ardrossan to Whiting Bay, the ferry at King’s Cross became a port of call for steamers between Lamlash and Whiting Bay. It was never a busy call in its own right, but before the introduction of Whiting Bay Pier, when the weather prevented the call at Whiting Bay ferry, passengers used the more sheltered King’s Cross ferry. Service was maintained till...