Glen Sannox of 1925

on Sep 16, 2017

The Rock magazine of March 1925 records: “The name of an old and popular Clyde steamer has been revived in the Glen Sannox, which was launched on 24th February. The new ship which was built for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company, for their Clyde services, is 250 feet long by 30 feet broad by 10 feet 6 inches to the main deck, and she will be fitted with three Parsons’ independent steam turbines, each driving a separate shaft with one propeller, capable of developing a speed of about 20¾ knots. The Glen Sannox is, in many respects, similar to the Duchess of Argyll, which has proved such a successful unit of the L.M.S. fleet, and which many people maintain is the most graceful craft on the Clyde. At the request of the owners, there was no formal ceremony at the launch, but as the vessel left the ways she was gracefully named by Miss Rosamund Denny, the youthful daughter...

Canadian Pacific Steamships on the Clyde

on Sep 4, 2017

The ships of the Canadian Pacific Line were well known on the Clyde, transporting Scots to and from Canada. The company also had deeper ties, coming to the shipyards on the river for many of the fine vessels for their Atlantic and Pacific routes as well as those for coastal and lake services. What follows in this article is a brief photographic record of many of the fine ships both on the Clyde and at other locations. It is by no means comprehensive in its coverage of Company. The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1886. In 1891, the Pacific Mail contract was awarded to the Canadian Pacific Railway and they had three liners built by Vickers Naval Construction and Armament Co., at Barrow for the service from Vancouver to Japan, China and Hong Kong. The first of the three vessels was named Empress of Japan and she was followed by her sisters the Empress of China and the Empress of...

Renfrew Ferry

on Jul 10, 2017

Marlin Ford, about five miles down the Clyde from the center of Glasgow allowed people and livestock to wade across the river when the tide was low. For those who had more urgent business or were unwilling to get their feet wet, there was also a ferry and the rights ferry were granted to the burgh of Renfrew from the time of the charter making Renfrew a Royal Burgh in 1614. The land on both sides of the river was part of Renfrewshire. The land to the south of the ferry formed King’s Inch and in 1760, the tobacco lord, Alexander Spiers acquire the ground on which he built his Elderslie Estate. It was Spier’s son, Archibald, who approached the Renfrew Town Council with a plan to re-site the ferry about half a mile downstream at the outflow of the Pudzeoch burn. Public access through the estate to the original ferry inn would be curtailed and the estate would furnish a new ferry boat,...

Rothesay Dock

on Jul 4, 2017

When the Clyde Navigation Trust projected a need for a new dock to handle increased coal and mineral traffic in 1898, it chose a site downriver at Clydebank, next to the shipyard of Messrs J. & G. Thomson. The primary need was good rail access and the area was served by both the North British and the Caledonian Railways. The site itself was a difficult one for an engineering works as it was reclaimed land but by sinking a novel system of concrete monoliths, the dock foundations were quickly prepared and dredgers moved in to excavate the dock. It was decided that the dock cranes and hoists should be powered by electricity rather than the hydraulic power used in the docks in Glasgow. This was the first extensive use of electricity for a dock in the country. Early in 1907, the dock was sufficiently well advanced that it could be opened for traffic and the opening ceremony was...

Macbrayne’s Fusilier

on Jun 11, 2017

Traffic to the Highlands and Islands through Oban grew rapidly through the 1880s as a result of the connection by rail and the improvements to MacBrayne’s “Royal Route” by steamer from the Clyde. A new steamer was ordered from Messrs Hutson & Corbett of Glasgow and they subcontracted the construction of the hull to the Paisley yard of M‘Arthur & Co. Fusilier was intended for the Portree and Gairloch mail service and it is interesting to note that in the report of her launch in the Glasgow Herald, there is also an article on the meeting of the Crofter’s Commission at Gairloch. Fusilier and Claymore at Portree “On Saturday afternoon Messrs J. M‘Arthur & Co. launched from their shipbuilding yard at Paisley a beautifully modeled paddle-steamer names the Fusilier, which has been built by them for Mr David MacBrayne, and will form a useful addition to his large fleet of West...

Macbrayne’s Grenadier

on Jun 9, 2017

The introduction of Columba by Messrs Hutcheson in 1878 and the subsequent change in management to Messrs David MacBrayne supplied new energy to the tourist services to the Western Highlands and Islands. The former flagship, Iona, was moved to the Oban to Corpach service and the Pioneer was mainly on the important Staffa and Iona cruise station. In 1880, the Callander and Oban Railway was opened in 1880, providing a further spur to the tourist traffic. New tonnage was ordered by the Company, Claymore, for the Glasgow and Stornoway service was built in 1881 and Cavalier for the Glasgow and Inverness service in 1883. David MacBrayne’s niece, Miss Brown, launched Grenadier on Thursday, March 19 of 1885 from the yard of Messrs J. & G. Thomson of Clydebank. The new ship was multi-purpose, designed for the Ardrishaig mail service in winter when Columba was laid up, and excursions out of...