The Latter Years of Iona

on Jun 13, 2017

In the previous article on MacBrayne’s Iona from May 31, 2017, the story left off when Iona had been displaced from the Ardrishaig mail service by Columba and sent to work out of Oban to serve the anticipated increase in traffic when the railway reached the town in 1880. The arrival of the Grenadier allowed Iona to return to the Clyde in 1886 where she provided a second service on the Ardrishaig mail run. Based overnight at Ardrishaig, she sailed for Greenock and the Broomielaw at 5:45 in the morning, making the usual calls at Tarbert, Tighnabruich, Colintraive, Rothesay, Innellan, Dunoon, and Greenock. She made her run from the Broomielaw, leaving at 1:30, and returning to Ardrishaig by the same route. Iona canting at the Broomielaw with Daniel Adamson and Benmore (Annan) Iona and Strathmore at the Broomielaw awaiting the 1:30 departure Iona and Strathmore at the Broomielaw...

The Latter Years of Columba

on Jun 7, 2017

An account of the early career of Messrs MacBrayne’s Ardrishaig Mail steamer, the stately Columba, can be found in an article of February 2015. In this article, more of an album than an account, the development of the steamer from the 1890s to her demise in 1935 will be traced. Some time in the 1890s, the promenade deck over the sponson houses fore an aft of the paddle wheels was extended and for the first time, Columba appeared with two lifeboats over the rear sponson houses, rather than a single boat aft. Columba with new lifeboats Columba in Rothesay Bay (Adamson) Columba leaving Innellan Columba Minor changes were also incorporated in subsequent years. The forward grandfather-clock ventilators for the aft saloon were turned around to face the stern following reboilering in 1900 and in the following year, a deck awning was erected aft of the funnels to protect the companionway to...

Southbank Grouping and Tartan Lums

on May 21, 2017

The Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. had all of its steamships called up for duty in World War I and had to rely on chartered vessels for much of the emergency. As with the other companies that had steamers serving, most of those that had survived the dangerous war time duties returned in dribs and drabs during 1919. Two of the steamers, Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose, had been lost while minesweeping during the war. At the beginning of April, Duchess of Fife returned to the Clyde, followed a few days later by Caledonia, damaged badly in a collision with a freighter on the Seine. In the last week of the month, Duchess of Rothesay arrived and a few days later, the turbine Duchess of Argyll, while Marchioness of Breadalbane appeared on the first of May. The remaining unit of the fleet, Marchioness of Lorne, did not return until 1921 and was laid up in Bowling Harbour for a...

Aerial Views of the Clyde

on Mar 4, 2017

Photographs of the Clyde Harbours and Resorts taken from the air and made into postcards have always been popular. They are an easy way of showing where you stay whether all-year-round, or on holiday. The earliest photographs of the Clyde that were released commercially appear to have been the work of an Edinburgh Company in the years shortly after the First World War, around 1920 or 1921. They are generally marked Aerial Photos Ltd., Edinburgh. They include a good selection of the Cowal Coast, including Dunoon, Rothesay and surrounding areas in Bute, and coastal towns in the Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The photographs are oblique, taken at an angle, rather than the vertical stereo-pairs associated with mapping of later years. Quite a few show some of the steamers of the day. It is not clear what aircraft were used to obtain these photographs. Hunter’s Quay and the...

Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd.

on Jan 15, 2017

The history of the steamer Ivanhoe has featured in earlier articles, up to the point when she was laid up in 1906 by the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. As the new century progressed, the pollution that characterized the upper Clyde began to be ameliorated and there was renewed interest in sailing from the heart of Glasgow. Shipyards on the Clyde were also experiencing full order books and sailing “doon the water” allowed the denizens of the city to see the latest developments that would make the Clyde known throughout the world. It was to accommodate this need that Captain Cameron brought out the Meg Merrilies and the Lady Rowena, and in 1911, the Ivanhoe was brought out of retirement. Ivanhoe in her 1911 color scheme The Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd. was registered on 16th February 1911 with a nominal capital of £6,000 and purchased, for £4,000 from the Caledonian...

John Williamson’s Up-river Revival

on Jan 15, 2017

In 1900, the Glasgow, Rothesay, and Kyles of Bute Steamers of John Williamson provided a summer service to Campbeltown in connection with the Glasgow and Southwestern Railway Co. with their newer vessel, Strathmore, and maintained the year-round Rothesay and Kyles of Bute connection with their veteran, Benmore. The introduction of the turbine steamer, King Edward, the following year, relieved Strathmore except at the very beginning and end of the season, and allowed Williamson to develop the Rothesay trade. This article covers the development of this trade in the years leading up to the first world war. Strathmore leaving Rothesay Strathmore leaving Princes Pier Strathmore passing Scotstoun Benmore passing Scotstoun on her way down river (Robertson, Glasgow) Glasgow Herald, June 20, 1901 Strathmore passing the cruiser Cumberland at Govan Strathmore waiting for her afternoon departure...