“Steamboat Traffic on the Clyde
“Article VII
“In our brief notice of certain curiously constructed craft which have plied on the Clyde, we omitted to mention the Queen of Scots, one of the earliest of the iron passenger steamboats, and which ran between Glasgow and Ayr. Her majesty was built like a boiler—one plate over-lapping another, without angled frames, as they are constructed now—and in a moderately heavy sea the vessel waved like a wand, or one of those toy sea-serpents which are now so popular. Among its many peculiarities not the least awkward was its partiality for being under water. The passengers were never quite sure of a dry passage, and among other spots where it sank were the Ayr bar and the harbour. This, by the way, reminds us of one thing which has struck us forcibly in our investigations, namely, the comparative immunity which Clyde steamers have for so long enjoyed from serious accidents. With the exception of the loss of the Comet (No. 2), when run down by an Ayr steamer off Greenock in 1825, to the loss of seventy lives, and the explosion of the Earl Grey at Greenock Pier ten years later, to the loss or injury of more than 20 persons, we can call to mind no other great calamity to one of the river boats except the blowing up of the Telegraph in 1836.
Sinking of Comet (No. 2) by the Ayr
“The other accidents are few and resulted in no loss of life. Of such were the stranding of the Comet (No. 1) on Craignish Point in 1820, the wrecking of the Mars off Largs in 1846, the occasional sinking of the Queen of Scots, the sinking of the Dumbuck (30 h.p., engined by Napier) through being run into between Dumbarton and Glasgow in 1850 or 1851, and the loss of the first Ionas in 1862 and 1863.
Dumbuck
“But the calamity which befell the Telegraph was of so terrible a nature as to deserve more than a passing reference. This steamer had the reputation of being the fastest boat of its day. Its ordinary speed was from 15 to 16 miles an hour down river to Greenock, and eighteen or nineteen miles an hour below that port. It was of light yacht build, 120 feet by 14, 32 tons burthen, and fitted with a 50 horse-power locomotive engine, having two cylinders and one boiler, the locomotive engine being then regarded as a great novelty on the Clyde. If we mistake not, the telegraph was either the first, or one of the first, Clyde boats which were fitted with this sort of engine, and also one of the first whose helm was moved by a chain running along each side to the stern from a raised erection midships, on which were placed the wheel, and a station for the steersman. It was built by Messers Heddewick & Rankin, who had previously launched the precursor, Indian steamship, and engined by Messrs John M. Rowan & Co., Atlas Works, Glasgow. The ship was built in the autumn of 1835; and on Monday the 21st of March, in the following year, it left the Broomielaw at ten o’clock on its usual run to Greenock, Helensburgh, Roseneath, and back. All went smoothly until between twelve and one o’clock, when, as the ship was backing out from Helensburgh Pier, the boiler exploded with a terrific crash, splitting the vessel from stem to stern, blowing the timbers of the deck to fragments, sending part of the machinery and boiler high into the air and onto the shore, and killing thirteen persons on the spot, including the captain, and one of the builders, Mr Hedderwick.
“In our Fifth Article we gave specimens of certain poetical witicisms to which the rivalry of our river boats gave rise nearly thirty years ago; but we should do injustice to our subject if we allowed our readers to go away with the idea that the scanty quotations referred to are fair samples of what may be called the poetry of steamboats. As far back as the year 1818, Mr Falconer, Glasgow, published a neat little twelve page tract, entitled “The Steamboat Miscellany: A Series of Songs and Poems on the Clyde Steamboats.” These productions, although somewhat rude and uncouth, are not without a certain freshness and vigour, and we have often read worse compositions that have passed for very tolerable poetry. The first boat to be immortalised in verse was the Comet, and after it the Glasgow, which was launched in 1813, and considered the finest steamer of its day. The lines in honour of this vessel have all the appearance of earnestness and sincerity.
“The vessel which excited so much enthusiasm did not run long on the river of her nativity, having been despatched to the Thames after a brief but apparently merry career. Next in poetical order comes the tight little steamer the Argyle(No. 2) launched in 1815, and sailed by that jovial old skipper, Captain Macarthur, whose name still lives in Inveraray circles.
Another Highland boat of the same year, which also plied to Inveraray, the Dumbarton Castle (Captain Thomson), was celebrated in more ambitious strain, the verses being to the tune of “The Garb of Old Gaul.” The following will serve as a specimen of their quality:—
“Still a third Highland steamer of the same period was made the theme of poetry—the Britannia—which traded between Glasgow and Campbeltown.
“From the last verse we learn that the steward, Mr M‘Gregor, was one of the right sort, and in good repute with the passengers. The only other boats we shall mention in this connection are the Rothesay Castle and Waterloo, both launched in 1816. The song to the former boat is to the rattling and jovial tune of “Roy’s Wife of Aldivalloch.” Three verses will suffice:—
“The verses to the Waterloo are to the air of “The Garb of Old Gaul,” and from the second of them we gather that the cabin of the ship was gaily decorated with pictures of the great battle.
“After this who shall say that paddles are prosaic, and that there is no poetry in the steamboat? Nay, there have even been times when from Ardrishaig pier, on a brilliant day in August, we have watched the Iona steam in, a thing of life and beauty, crowded with animation, graceful in all her lines and motions, with her every spar and plank white like snow, and gleaming in the intense sunlight, that we thought her the finest realisation we had ever seen of poetry in motion—a very epic, in short, of swiftness and steam.”