Macbrayne’s Second Mountaineer

on Feb 6, 2016

The Hero steamer was part of the purchase of William Buchanan when he took over the assets of Messrs Keith & Campbell in 1884. She did not remain long in the fleet, and was sold to owners on the Tay early in 1886. “River Steamboat Sale.—Yesterday the well-known river steamer Hero was sold to the River Tay Steamboat Company (Limited), of which Messrs Simpson & Dow are the managers. The Hero will in future be employed on the Tay, plying between Dundee and Perth as a passenger steamer, a trade for which she is admirably fitted, being both commodious and steady. Occasional trips will also be made down the Firth during the season. The Hero, which was built by Wingate at Whiteinch in 1868, was latterly owned by Captain William Buchanan. She was for years employed on the Glasgow and Arran station, and did her work most admirably. The Hero left the river yesterday for her destination...

William Findlay Johnstone

on Jul 1, 2015

When Messrs. Burns withdrew from ownership of their Clyde and West Highland Steamers in January 1851, the steamers on the West Highland line went to Messrs. Hutcheson while the Clyde steamers were purchased by a company headed by the shipbuilders, William Denny & Brothers. Of the ships sold to the Denny concern, the Rothesay Castle of 1837, and Inveraray Castle of 1839 were immediately transferred to the ownership of Messrs. Roxburgh for the Glasgow and Lochfyne service. It is reported that the Rothesay Castle was subsequently sold in April 1851 to southern England but she certainly returned to the Clyde and made her way eventually to the Island of St Thomas in the West Indies where she had mechanical problems on her way to Australia. She survived there until May 1855 at least, as she was sold around that month for £420. “The Culloden and the Rothesay Castle, the last of the...

Linnet

on Jun 5, 2015

When Iona entered service in 1864, the connection with the Crinan steamer was accomplished by the horse drawn track-boats Maid of Perth and Sunbeam. The improvements made by the addition of the Chevalier in 1866 were enhanced by a small screw steamer, Linnet, that was built by J. & G. Thomson at Govan for Messrs. Hutcheson.  The Linnet provided the link through the Crinan Canal between Ardrishaig and Crinan. Track-boat Sunbeam on the west bank at Ardrishaig. The Linnet had two screws and at 34 tons and she was launched in a fairly complete condition.  Just 86 ft long and 16 ft broad with a shallow draft, she could fit into the locks of the canal.  Her blunt canoe-shaped bow was designed to allow her to push into the opening canal lock gates. Linnet at Crinan with Chevalier in the background Linnet at Crinan with Countess of Kellie in 1888 Linnet at Crinan Linnet heading for...

Iona 1864

on May 31, 2015

When Master William Hutcheson performed the naming ceremony on the new Iona as she slid down the ways on 10th May, 1864, from the yard of J. & G. Thomson, it was the start of an era that lasted over 70 years. The new ship was built for Messrs. D. Hutcheson & Co. who would employed her on the “Royal Route” sailing from the Broomielaw to Ardrishaig. She was 255 ft long by 26 ft broad and had deck-saloons with alleyways around them that had been removed from her predecessor when that steamer was converted to a blockade-runner for the Confederates in the American Civil War. Compared with that steamer, the new Iona was 7 ft longer and six inches broader in the beam. The increased breadth of the steamer provided a little more space for passengers between the bulwarks and the deck saloons. Immediately after her launch, the hull was towed to Finnieston Quay where her engines, also...

The Royal Route

on May 28, 2015

Steamboat travel from Glasgow to Oban and the West Highlands and Islands by way of the Crinan Canal originated with the Comet in 1819. As trade developed in the succeeding years, there were a number of innovations to reduce the time taken on the journey. The most important of these came in 1839 when cooperation between the owners Thomson & MacConnell and J. Martin and J. & G. Burns who dominated the trade, allowed the introduction of a “swift steamer” service where passengers could arrive “at Oban, Tobermory, or Fort William in the evening of the day they leave Glasgow, and at Portree and Inverness in the afternoon of the second day.” To accomplish this, the passengers had an early start leaving at 5:00 in the morning on Robert Napier’s Brenda, now running for Thomson & MacConnell, direct for Lochgilphead from there they transferred to the new track-boat Thornwood for...