Contents

Chapter 1 The Boats

The Colours of The Steamers and Their Numbers
The Boats of the Period
Some Boats
Engines
Boilers

Chapter 2 Comfort
The Cabin
The Dining Saloon
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Chapter 3 The Men
The Wheel and the Bridge
The Captain
The Purser
Assistant Purser
Tickets
The Crew
Bands

Chapter 4 The Little Things

Sails
Ropes
Bottom Cleaning
Mooring Buoys
Winter Boats
Christmas
A Cosy Corner
Rothesay Pier
Smells of The Broomielaw Boats
Pier Porters at Rothesay
Bellman al Rothesay.
Racing
Torchlight Evening Cruise

Chapter 5 The Visitors' Day

Eagle III at Rothesay

Preface

TO SOME of us there are few pursuits more full of interest and pleasure as research and discussion about the Clyde
Steamers in their finest days. Does there not exist in Glasgow a club for that very object and, though 27 years old, still
in a very flourishing state both in membership and attendance? We can approach this entrancing subject in so many
ways and all of them are rewarding. Mr Graham Langmuir, for instance, has already given us in several books the
necessary facts about the boats and one cannot sufficiently praise the care and labour that make his work so useful and
accurate a chapter for the historian. But Mr R. N. W. Smith and Mr Neil McArthur view the steamers from another
angle and even now are compiling an account year by year of what each boat was doing, together with her timetables
and her work throughout the season. A heavy task indeed! But to me there seems that a third chapter must be written
somewhere between Mr Langmuir and Mr Smith, between the tonnage and the timetables, a chapter of colour, of a

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closer looking at the picture, the passenger, and the personnel, of the intimate everyday things, and of the little
generous touches given so freely to humanity that spoke of a more gracious age. All trifles, but all things we love to
remember — the beading of teak round the hull of the Sou'West boats; the two gold stripes of the Caley; the thistle
entwined in the U of the Columba; the notepaper headed in colour; the golden effigy of the steamer's name on the N.B.
paddle-boxes; the pale-pink and pale-blue beading round the Caley windows; the warning bell for departure; the bible
on the saloon-table of the Columba — but all given by someone as a gracious embellishment to life.

These notes should be read along with the later chapters of Captain Jas. Williamson's immortal work on the Clyde
Steamers or with the latter half of Mr McQueen's 'Clyde Steamers of the last Fifty Years'.

Much is owed to all the many people who have helped me by their recollections or advice. I am deeply indebted to Mr
John C. MacKenzie who was so full of information particularly on Caledonian matters; and to Mr Neil Macintosh
whose memories of the Columba go far back into the days when she first proudly swept through the Kyles of Bute. My
thanks are also given to Captain Alex. Rodger, Honorary President of the Clyde River Steamer Club, and to Mr George
Stromier, also a former President, for reading the manuscript and making many proper corrections; and last but by no
means least to Mr C. D. Kirk, Principal of the Art Department of Rothesay Academy, for the bright attractive cover in
which he has so delightfully recaptured the form and spirit of the past. Messrs. John Leng and Co. Ltd., of Dundee,
have generously allowed me to reprint my notes on the Columba and my article on the King Edward which once
appeared in their popular Scots Magazine.

C.S.

Duchess of Hamilton off Ailsa Craig Light House

Chapter 1 COLOURS AND CRAFT

IT SEEMS a pity that there should be around us now generations who have never heard of the spacious times of the
Clyde Steamers in the glory of their supremacy in the fine days of the eighteen-nineties. These unfortunates have no
memories of the famous boats — of the South-Western Glen Sannox or the Isle of Arran, of Neptune, or Ivanhoe,
and who believe, pour souls, that all steamers from, and including the Comet, had yellow funnels with black tops and
never went faster than the Maid of Plywood. It is to correctsuch ignorance and the misconceptions that an effort is
here made, imperfectly enough, to recall some memories of the great days from 1890 to the Great War.

To men of 45 years of age and their sons one must explain that in the year 1897, say, of the Diamond Jubilee, there
were some 42 passenger steamers plying on the Firth: today there are only 18. Then there were seven varieties of funnel
colouring while now there are only two; and at least three colours of hull.

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The Colours

The Caledonian Steam Packet Coy. had an attractive colour scheme of green underbody (this was experimental and was
later changed to the brown which remained till the end), white boot-topping, giving to a blue-black hull with two gold
lines. The exterior decoration of the saloons was intricate but lovely, giving indeed some colour on the Clyde.

Commencing downwards from the 6-inch skirting-board at the rail of the promenade deck, there came first a narrow
band of pale blue, then all the saloon was pale pink down to the. window framing. (Each window-the glass - in these
days was always set in rolled frame and was never in an opening, nakedly cut or punched out of a steel sheet.) The
framework of each window was painted in white enamel with a beading of pale blue down the vertical edges. The
astragals, or the very narrow uprights between the frames, were then of the main colour — pale pink, with a vertical
white bar down the middle. The glass of each window was divided vertically down the centre by teak, but the
uppermost l/6th or l/4th was of little vertical panes of coloured glass, these forming one piece which opened inwards
and downwards as a fanlight. Of course the scheme differed from steamer to steamer for there were really only three
sister ships in the Caley Fleet.

The windows on all the Clyde boats were large and many, amazingly so, considering the stormy passages that had so
often to be made. The dazzling white paddle-boxes carried the glorious badge of her name, with the name itself in gold
leaf on a pale blue ground. The yellow funnel was done in columite, which, of course, you all know.

The steamers of the North British Railway had glossy black hulls with two gold lines all round, white boot-topping,
saloons pleasingly pencilled and panelled in two shades of ochre, black paddle-boxes with a golden image of the hero or
heroine, and much more gold round the edges of vents and name and red funnel with white band and black top:
Buchanan's boats were all black with white saloons, and a black funnel with white band: those of Captain John
Williamson had a black hull and white paddle-boxes, and a white funnel with black top: the Campbeltown funnel was
black, a broad band of red, and black again: the Lord of the Isles and the Edinburgh Castle had red funnels with two
white bands with black between and a black top: while the prettiest colours of all were those of the Glasgow and South-
Western Railway which, it is said, took their scheme from an experiment on the old Viceroy, and had a red underbody,
with pale blue-grey hull, a teak beading round the hull, white saloons, much gold lettering on the handsome paddle-
boxes, and bright red funnels with black tops.

From these descriptions one sees clearly that the waters of the Firth were busy in a way we cannot picture now, for, on
a fine day in the height of summer a procession of very colourful steamers was continuously moving up and down and
across the Firth and fiords of the Clyde. It was a busy and brilliant scene which thrilled the Glasgow heart and attracted
tourists from far and near.

To enliven still further the picture we must add some 30 piers and five ferries at which the steamers once made calls
and which each at one time (and not so very long ago) held its crowd of lively visitors. It is rather shocking to think that
30 piers are now abandoned and in ruins. How pleasant to recall the gay scene at the Ferry Rock at Corrie when the
Rothesay or the Argyll arrived, of friends climbing up and down from the ferry boat at King's Cross or Pirnmill, or the
peace and the shadows around the pier at Garelochhead or Ormidale. The G. & S.W. steamer "Jupiter" called at Corrie
and King's Cross also when she was on the Gourock-Arran run. It was the piers and the ferries and the folk at them
which gave the great interest to an excursion, and it still would, for enjoyment does not lie merely in sailing, sailing,
sailing, in monotony, with a fight for deck-chairs and another one later for lunch, but in the affairs of other folk on
holiday like ourselves.

The Boats of the Period

The years 1889 to 1892 were a period of complete reorganisation of the traffic of the Clyde Steamers. From very nearly
1812 right down to these years practically the whole of the traffic to the Firth towns went right down the Clyde from
the Broomielaw. That is why the fleet of Captain William Buchanan was so large and so important for he had bought-
up the smaller concerns and their trade to the small towns of the Gareloch, Holy Loch, and Arrochar, etc. Hence the
steamers with the black funnels and white stripe had by far the greater part of the trade to Dunoon, Rothesay, and the
Lochs and Arran. Most of Glasgow people, nay, moot of travelling Scotland, thought in terms of the Broomielaw route,
sailing all the way, down the water.

But in the years mentioned things were completely changed. Both old Captain William Buchanan and old Captain Alex.
Williamson died and the latter left behind him three very clever and energetic sons. Of these Captain James founded
the Caledonian Steam Packet Coy. under the Caledonian Railway, with railway piers at Wemyss Bay and Gourock, and
became its manager; Captain Alex, became manager of the newly-formed fleet of the Glasgow and South-Western
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Railway with railway piers at Princes Pier and Fairlie; while Captain John took over the remnant of his father's small
fleet and was later to introduce the turbine steamer. Meanwhile the North British Railway had built a new railway pier at
Craigendoran, brightened the funnel colouring of their boats and were preparing to enlarge their fleet.

The World's first commercial turbine steamer, the "King Edward" arriving at Campbeltown

The situation now was — that three new companies had been formed, all founded upon railways and on railway piers,
and each with a new fleet of splendid steamers in new designs unknown before and in a new colour scheme; and the
old Broomielaw route so well-known down the generations became less and less popular and was more and more
thought of as the old way and the slow way with craft of an older age.

The finest steamers in the eighteen-nineties were those of the Caledonian Steam Packet Coy.; the Glasgow & South-
Western Railway; and the North British Railway fleets; though the first two were more so. The N.B. boats were smaller,
and their furnishings were more strictly utilitarian, especially on the steerage side, but their powerful engines and large
boilers were well designed to make, with the lighter hull, a very economic and successful whole. They were very similar
in design, taking the Lucy Ashton as their pattern ship, always with a low bow and the bridge aft of the funnel, with
four big ventilators round the funnel, giving the silhouette at a distance a rather pyramidal appearance. They were very
fast, and good carriers.

The Columba

The Monarchs of the Firth were, undoubtedly, the Columba and the Lord of the Isles. In them Victorian grandeur,
opulence, and ornamentation were displayed in lavish abundance beyond that generally found in thai of other boats, but
it must be remembered that these two had each a special work or function which demanded this magnificence. Both
were especially designed and built for the aristocracy — the Columba, as an essential link between the nobility and
wealth in London and their estates in the Western Highlands: the Lord of the Isles also because she carried statesmen

5
and important personages to and from Inveraray, the seal of the Duke of Argyll, who was then exceedingly influential
and prominent in our national affairs. So these two big ships were rewarded rather with awe, as being apart and above
the general picture. At the other end of the scale, the four boats of Captain John Williamson were cheaper, slower, and
built not to attract the wealthy but to work. So also the Buchanan fleet, though well-maintained and well up to an older
standard of comfort and elegance was slow and rather old-fashioned, and in them no great effort was made to attract a
public which preferred to sail from tbe Broomielaw, and of whose patronage they were already assured.

Some Boats

One feels that certain boats of the old Clyde fleet call for special remark. Knowing full well that there are other
opinions yet I would declare the Glen Sannox to have been the loveliest of all the Clyde Steamers. Her long graceful
lines, her tall pencil funnels speaking of speed and elegance, the flowing curves of her white and gold paddle-boxes, her
most attractive colour scheme — red, white, and blue-grey — all made a picture of beauty that long lingered in the
mind. Her association by name and trade with Arran was particularly happy. The Juno of the same company impressed
one by her large proportions and massive appearance. She was unique in her having joggled plates, and also by her
bigger lines was obviously intended for deeper waters. She came second-hand to the Sou'-Western Company. In the
side-room of the Naval Architecture Department in the University there is a half-model of the Juno and another of the
Culzean Castle. Why are they there? Did Sir Henry Biles design both of these boats? And how came he to design boats
so very different ?

The Ivanhoe belonged to an older era, as marked by the alleyways round her saloons. By the time she came to the
Caledonian Coy. she was already a veteran with an honourable career behind her as the teetotal boat, and another brief
one on the Manchester Canal. We understand that Captain James Williamson, her manager, to maintain the paintwork
of the funnels in good appearance, had the space between the inner and outer casings filled with fire-clay bricks to the
amount of 20 to»s. Her louvred ventilators, like those of the Lord of the Isles, gaveatouch of D. & W. Henderson, her
builders.

The flagship of the Caledonian fleet, the Galatea, had a splendid appearance. Two funnels always give an air of great
distinction. Hers were unusual in their being so far apart, and she was unique in having her whistle in front of the after
funnel. Her engines were unusually far forward, the paddle shaft being forward instead of aft of the centre-line of the
ship. She was sold to an Italian company in 1906 and the official account is that she was broken-up at Palermo in 1913,
but there is strong evidence that she was a minesweeper based on Malta in 1916 and except for her grey paint was but
little disguised. One would much like to know the true story of her end.

To my mind the Isle of Arran was one of the most successful ships of the Clyde fleet in design, performance, and
finance. Her boilers and engines though somewhat old-fashioned were economical at her speed; she was fast enough
for her trade; she was sufficiently comfortable; she was most reliable; and she managed to combine the roles of
excursion with that of passenger and luggage carrier, for thousands of the more humble Glasgow folk still maintained
the old tradition of going to the coast from the Broomielaw and on one of Buchanan fleet. How often have we seen
her arriving at Rothesay packed to the rail! Her afternoon cruises were most popular and for them she carried a
different crowd. She was most distinctive in having a solid awning, which was also a life-raft, over part of her
promenade deck, and in having her brightly burnished copper steampipe in front of her black funnel. It is only proper
that a generous custom of the Buchanan brothers should be recorded.

Every Friday throughout the summer the Isle of Bute carried without charge the boys and girls of the Fresh Air
Fortnight to Rothesay where they were met by the four-in-hand brakes of James MacMillan and conveyed again
without cost to the two Homes near Ascog. Half of each Home changed each Friday. The coaches brought back the
returning half-contingent to join the Isle of Bute on her up-run. In modern days it is pleasant to recall such generosity
of steamboat owners and a coaching concern.

The Marquis of Bute, Vivid, and Benmore were markedly of the old style, and yet they were not greatly despised. For
one thing their ancient design was that which only very recently had been universal; and again the Bute and the Vivid
were both pretty and graceful and still had some speed. The Benmore with yellow funnel gave essential service to the
Caledonian Coy. in the years of the First War and up to the Glasgow Autumn Holiday of 1920.

It is difficult now to convey to the young readers of today the immense excitement and interest that was aroused by the
appearance of the King Edward and the early turbines. They were so absolutely NEW. It was quite clear to us all that a
new style of ship, new methods, and a new influence had come that would change the steamboats future of the Clyde.
The King Edward glided so silently to a pier. There was now no sound except for the engineroom telegraph which rang
out sharp and loud. There was no pulsation, no quiver, no throbbing, except when going astern. It is easy to smile at
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our excitement about her in July 1901 but her movement was so fast, so smooth, so silent, and therefore so completely
strange to us that she was indeed a wonder to the Clyde, and indeed to the world.

Engines

Captain James Williamson is quite right when he claims that the modern engine-room was now open, airy, and light.
Though that might bf true of the Caley, and the Sou'-West, the engine-rooms of the N.B. were still rather old-
fashioned, living in darkness, having a bulwark around and not a rail, and draughty forebye, because of the large open
space on the forward sponsons. These N.B. engines appeared as large, simple, and narrow, probably because they had a
single heavy connecting-rod and ponderous crank, and a simple link-motion. With them, especially at speed or when
forced, there was a heavy pulsation, and the passengers on the upper deck were swayed gently backwards and forwards,
while the paddle-beat was also very characteristic — ONE, two, three, four; ONE, two, three, four; — for the N.B.
paddle-wheel had eight floats, whereas those of the other new boats had seven.

The oscillating engine of the MacBrayne boats and especially that of theColumba lived in a very dark hole indeed,
poorly lit by swinging oil lamps, yet in the gloom it was a most impressive sight to see thy huge cylinders of the
Columba rocking to and fro alternately on their trunnions with their heavy piston rods and massive cranks all whirling
round in a soft and smelly mist of oil and steam. In her also the shaft was set so high that one had to clamber over it,
carefully wearing the felt hat as a protection against the beams, and the falling drops of condensation. That picture was
also true of the Iona and the Chevalier. Unusual engines were those of the Ivanhoe and Lord of the Isles. In both the
diagonal oscillating cylinders were on either side of the shaft, and the piston rods worked on a single crank, thus giving
a very smooth motion.

The engineer now had a single-breasted jacket with rounded front and brass buttons, but no gold braid.

To my great regret I never saw the steeple engine which was once so very popular and which lasted so long. In form it
was vertical, with the cylinder below the crank and shaft. The piston rod or piston rods rose up and through and above
the hurricane deck in a case with windows, and the connecting-rod hung down from the crosshead of the piston rod
and drove round the crank. Buchanan's Vivid, broken-up in 1902, was the only boat on regular service which had a
steeple engine; and she was the last. True, about the end of the First War the old Glencoe (1846) came to the Clyde for
a while, but she usually ran on thy outer waters.

The Chancellor and the Sultan racing off Gourock

Boilers

There were two fashions in boilers — the Haystack, and the Navy. The former was firmly established with MacBrayne,
the N.B., and with Buchanan; the more progressive ideas of the Williamson brothers installed the latter type into thy
Caley, and the Sou'-West steamers. The haystack had proved very suitable for the single engine, as it was light though
large, had alow pressure of 50 lbs., and gave plenty of steam to the large cylinder. This whole unit was reckoned very
economical if the engine was suitable and the coal was cheap. The main economy of the navy boiler lay in its high
pressure which allowed of compounding. The pressures were 110 to 150 lbs., with smaller but fast-moving engines and

7
smaller paddle-wheels. The first compound oscillating engine was in the Grenadier, and the first compound diagonal
was in the Caledonia.

Redgauntlet disembarking at Craigendoran

Chapter 2 OUR COMFORTS

The Cabin, or General Saloon

The Columba was the first Clyde Steamer to have her saloons built the full width of the boat, which allowed for the
first time of the seats being arranged thwartwise, thus forming square bays, instead of being round the sides. This was a
considerable advance and soon became general, for the bays now permitted of family grouping and of some arranging
of sitting and even of small seclusion. A narrow table or rack was sometimes down the centre for hats or parcels. Some
ships had a circle of three double seats back to back, or a circle round a pillar. The old alleyway round the saloon could
still be seen on the Iona, Chevalier, Ivanhoe, and the Chancellor, which was the last boat to be so built. Of course there
was always an alleyway round the foresaloon of the N.B. steamers.

The cabin was well furnished in the substantial Victorian style of well-upholstered seats, much conventional carving
around thy cornices, and the tops of the fluted pillars, with mirrors at either end, and much good panelling with floral
designs, birds-eye maple, and so forth. Some steamers, especially those on the winter run, had open fireplaces and good
fires. This end of the cabin was very popular with passengers. Boats that had this extra comfort were the Caledonia, the
Madge Wildfire, Marchioness of Bute, the Breadalbane, the Lome, the Rothesay, and the Hamilton, which latter had
one that was very ornate. They were also to be found on the Minerva, Glen Rosa, and Dandie Dinmont.

The Dining Saloon

And that last memory recalls a picture of the dining saloon, with its two long tables laid out in their white linen, with
the snowy napkins in their quaint shapes standing, well drilled, in double rows beside the plates, and the deeply set
port-holes adown each side. How lovely was the beautiful silver-plated tableware of these boats and of all the other
first-class steamers, and how much there was of it — soup-tureens, corner-dishes, entree-dishes, dish-covers of all sizes,
sauce-boats, cruet-stands and bottles, heavy teapots, cream-jugs, sugar-basins, forked tongue-plates, and all manner of
cutlery, each article beautifully chased and adorned with the Company's crest. On the tables was a great abundance of
sauces, pickles, relishes of all kinds, cheeses, jams, jellies, and marmalades, which did your heart good to have before
you. In these spacious times breakfast in the cabin cost you 2/- and had four courses; lunch cost 2/6 and had four
courses also, and high-tea was 2/-. On the Isle of Arran a whole day's sail (11.0 a.m. to 8.0 p.m.) including the
afternoon excursion lunch, and plain tea cost 4/6. This was the regular charge for many years.

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The Catering was, in these times, entirely under the Company, not as it is today. The exceptions were the Columba and
the Lord of the Isles where the dining arrangements were rented out to a caterer who made this his whole work.
Stewards on the first-class excursion boats wore blue Eton jackets, pointed at the back, and with brass buttons. On the
Yacht Club Steamer they always served in white gloves.

The Tearoom is a modern feature. Until the turn of the century it was just not there, and only gradually did the fashion
of a cup of tea become general and until after 1919 a very small room sufficed.

One has to admit that the lavatory accommodation throughout our period was poor by the standards of today. In some
of the older ships it was very inadequate. Often the closets were right out on the sponson and open to the wetness of
ropes, spray, and rain, and were themselves in water. They could not be otherwise. Their port-holes were those seen on
either side of the paddle-box.

Before leaving this delightful part of our memories we recall how free we were to go anywhere at all about the steamer
— to the very bow where we watched the sharp stem cut cleanly through the wave, or to the jack-s t a f f at the stern
with the foaming wake streaming behind us. Now, of course, under the British Railways, we are boxed-in by life-boats
and prevented by barriers. But I have eaten my sandwiches in great content willi my feel through the hawsepipe of the
Duchess of Hamilton or at ease among the ropes at the stern. In the N.B. boats a favourite place for your deck ch a i r
was on the little raised quarterdeck right aft in the shelter of the cabin windows. In the loss of this freedom and
comfort which made the steamer so dear to us we luive surely paid a high price for progress.

A n o t h e r i mportant arrangement for the comfort of the inner-man was the Galley where the food was cooked for
passengers and crew. On the older class of flush decked boats there was difficulty in finding a place for this feature, and
it was u s u a l l y located on either side of the port or starboard forward sponson. This made necessary another funnel, a
tall slim affair which stuck up in rather an odd fashion in front of the paddle-box. It was painted in the same colours as
the big funnel and had the same rake. Some boats that had galley funnels when they first appeared were — Minerva,
Guy Mannering, Jeanie Deans, Meg Merrilees, Madge Wildfire, Edinhurgh Castle, Marquis of Bute, Viceroy. From that
list it will be apparent that galley-funnels were almost the rule on all boats that were not originally saloon steamers.

Jupiter and King Edward

9
 Kenilworth and Caledonia at Rothesay

Rothesay Pier - Taken from the Queen Mary II - Queen Empress, Juno approaching

Chapter 3 THE MEN

The Wheel and The Bridge

Steering had progressed upwards through the decades, in a very literal sense. Beginning as a tiller at the stern; then a
wheel; then a wheel higher up between the paddle-boxes on the hurricane deck where the steersman was on a raised
grating among the passengers ("Don't talk to the man at the wheel." A long time at this stage. Even the Columba at
first affected this style). And then at last on to the bridge. In our period the wheel had gone upstairs beside the Captain,
and many of these elevated wheels now worked a steam-engine in the engine-room. Not a few of the boats were still
steered by hand — Vivid, Madge, Dandie, Bute, Breadalbane, Lucy A shton — as could be deduced in photographs by
the wheel being so large that it allowed of two men to handle it. With the coming of steam-steering the wheel could
become small and light, that of the Waverley being merely a plain brass ring without spokes. The chattering steering-
engine lived below in front of the main unit.

10
The bridge was at first little more than planks and a rail from one paddle-box to the other, with no canvas. In fact, all
through the racing period of the nineties the bridge had no dodgers and the officer on duty and the steersman were
fully exposed to all wind and rain. Hence the wearing of thigh boots and oilskins and heaven knows how much under-
clothes under the uniform. Gradually a less Spartan view prevailed and eventually came the very white and complete
dodgers we all know so well.

Guinevere and Ivanhoe at Lamlash

The Captain

It should be noted that, except on the newest of the Caledonian steamers, the bridge was across the paddle-boxes, and
therefore the Captain himself, and his every action, were seen by all the travellers on the steamer and by the sightseers
on the pier. His directions to the steersman, his orders about the ropes, and his handling of the telegraph were all
patent to the public and were even anticipated by the knowing ones. He was much envied and was a tremendous hero
to every boy and to their fathers as well. In the case of the Columba or Lord of the Isles, the Captain would direct
operations from the top of the very large paddle-box itself and would then tower high above the pier and the people, a
very god of importance.

The Captains of the railway steamers except the N.B.R. had white tops to their caps and two rings of gold braid on
each cuff with the executive curl, but the skippers of Buchanan's boats from the Broomielaw were not so swell. Captain
James Williamson had his own style in caps and liked the flat top to be rather large and floppy, and so had his caps for
the Caledonian Coy. especially made for him by Messrs. Orr& Allan, who for long made the uniformed caps for all the
large shipping companies. They were retailed by Paisleys. The masters of the very fine steamers would in fine weather
affect a frock-coat. At this period the frock-coat was a usual dress of the business man and certainly of all professional
people and its appearance on the bridge did not seem at all unusual where it gave an impression of immense dignity. It
may be recalled that tht llmi master at Rothesay, Captain MacNair, was an exceedingly hand man who had a pointed
beard and flowing moustache, who earned bin cap at a jaunty angle, and who always had his frock-coat flowing "round
him and could thus put the fear of death and much worse into nil lisbei men or an unruly puffer's crew.

Of course some Captains were famous. There was Angus Campbell of the Columba, to whom a cairn has been erected
overlooking Tarbert Pier, to be succeeded by Lachlan MacTavish. The reign of these two covered the period when the
Columba was at the height of her fame. Next to Campbell perhaps came Donald Downie of the first and second Lords
of the Isles, another who was popular with the aristocracy. In the Caledonian service the best known was Robert
Morrison of the Duchess of Hamilton who had been First Mate on the City of Rome under the Commodore of the
Anchor Line, Captain Munro, and was reputed to be a stern martinet. Other Caley Captains were namely, such as
Duncan Bell of the Galatea, Thomson, McPhedron, McNaughton (Spitty), William Gordon of the Marchioness of
Lorne and, of course, Allan McDougall. In the Glasgow and South-Western Company there was Colin McGregor of
the Glen Sannox, a fine man and an able seaman, and Peter MacGregor of the Jupiter and later the Atalanta. On the
North British boats there were several who were well known to the travelling public. Of these, genial Malcolm Gillies
of the Waverley was one, big Duncan McNeill of the Dandie and later the new Marmion was another, and John
McCaul Grey of the Talisman was one more. Roderick MacDonald was 25 years on the Lucy Ashton alone, and he was
the last bearded Captain on the Clyde. He, and his purser, William MacDonald, who himself had 43 years in a ticket-
office when he retired, must have been the two most prominent and popular steamer officials on the Gareloch. The
very old arrangement of Owner-Captain appeared again in the fleet of Buchanan Steamers Ltd., where Captain William
Buchanan was on the bridge of the Isle of Arran, and Captain John Buchanan on that of the Isle of Bute. They were
very popular skippers and did much to build the great success of their boats. Among the later Williamson men was
Angus Keith of the Queen Alexandra.

11
 The Duchess of Argyll at Brodick

The Purser

The Purser was a very fascinating figure. Very different from now, he was then in close contact with the passengers. His
business was to be popular, to be helpful, and to guard the interests of the company, and he did these things with
complete success. His duties included not only the ticket-office but also the passenger gangways. At the latter, so
different from now, he was in complete charge and personally took all tickets not already collected, gave information,
helped the frail, and smoothed the path of the passenger in every way. Then also, he went round the ship between the
piers collecting tickets, and would never think of entering the saloon without taking off his cap and carrying it under his
arm, a nice gesture of good manners. Because of his many duties — gangways, tickets, and luggage, he was much
outside his office and was therefore easily seen and approached, and the passenger regarded him as an important friend.
Some pursers were very popular if not, indeed famous, such as wee Alex, Paterson, so long of the Columba, who had a
fame beyond Scotland; so also his successor, James Fitzgerald; the brothers Robert and John Houston of the Caley;
Hugh Sloan and wee Davie Gilchrist of the Sou'-West; and Dawson Reid (Chuckie) of the first Lord of The Isles. In
later years John Duncan of the first Queen Alexandra and Colin Maclean of her successor were great favourites with
the public.

The assistant-purser was almost invariably a University Student. Their pay was about 15/- a week, with a set of brass
buttons and the cap, and they returned year by year and even after graduation. There was much joy in the University
Union when, on a bleak day in March when the snow was falling on Ben Lomond, the letter arrived telling you to
report on the 1st of June to the Minerva, or Dandie Dinmont, or to the Gipsy Queen. In after years in the manse study
or among the sadder surroundings of the surgery there must have returned some happy memories of the sunshine on
the deck and blue days at sea.

The three-funnelled Saint Columba in The Kyles of Bute

12
Tickets

The coast tickets of these days would be of great interest to the boys of today. They were of tough paper about six
inches long, and divided into four portions for train, steamer, steamer-return, and train-return. The usual colour for
"3rd, and cabin" was pink, but on the N.B. it was green, and the N.B. also had a little figure of an old-time paddle-boat
with masts and a clipper bow on the steamer portion, and a figure of a very old-fashioned engine indeed on the railway
portion, so that all who ran and caught the train could read. The L.M.S. of course, abolished these useful tickets and
substituted the little hard variety divided into three, and at first (could you believe it!) into four microscopic portions, in
the hope, probably, that you would lose one of the tiny fragments and have to buy another. They were dated by a hand
stamp. Excursion tickets were of the usual size and were of all colours and gay.

The Crews

The Crews were predominantly Highland and, as the sailor had often but little English, some difficulties and confusions
were unavoidable. Their quarters were very small and awkward. The foc's'le of the Duchess of Rothesay, for instance,
with her fine bow, was very confined and uncomfortable. They were better dressed than the men of today and much
cleaner. On some boats — Lord of the Isles, King Edward, Queen Alexandra — they wore jerseys with the name of
the steamer printed across the chest. On the railway boats that was reduced to the name of the company; and later still
to no name at all. They wore a real sailor's cap with the company's name in gold letters thereon. When the Duchess of
Hamilton was used as Yacht Club Steamer the crew wore white sailor jumpers or blouses with open blue collars as in
the Navy, and white caps. As well as managing the ropes they looked after the passengers' luggage, taking it from the
traveller, or bringing the contents of the van down to the steamer and, modern managers please note, taking the
passengers' baggage off the steamer for them and stacking it upon the pier to be claimed when convenient. In this way
a passenger did not touch his luggage at all from platform to pier, or vice versa. It is only the confusion of two wars and
the disorders of the L.M.S. regime that has destroyed these arrangements.

Another duty of the sailors was to swab down the decks and wipe dry the seats after a shower of rain. For the former
they used a mop made from a length of rope unravelled and teased out into a soft mass of single strands some four feet
long, knotted at the top, and with a length of light line attached. This, when swished about the deck, absorbed the water
and made things dry underfoot. How very different from today !

About five minutes before leaving the terminus pier the whistle was blown, and three minutes before starting the ship's
bell was rung. These practices were universal on all steamers and indeed on the N.B. boats, long after the whistle had
ceased to be blown, the bell was always rung, a practice which continued right down to 1914. Is there any reason why
this helpful custom is not carried out today ?

Throughout this description of the personnel of the steamers, one can trace a definite policy which stands out above all
other consideration — and that is the importance of the passenger. Above everything else the comfort, ease, and well-
being of the traveller was completely dominant. We note the affability of the Captain, the willing help of the purser who
would go to an immense amount of trouble to remedy every difficulty and supply every comfort, the deference and
ready assistance of the deckhands, all forming a pattern, a policy, in recognising the value of the passenger. This policy,
this point of view dominated all steamboat management right down to 1923 until the coming of pusillanimous ideas of
the L.M.S. and their wretched regime.

Bands

Throughout our period until 1914 one of the happiest features of the steamer holiday was the band. Seldom a boat
without its band. The German bands were composed of young students from German Universities made-up in groups
of some five, consisting of a first violin who was always the leader, another violin, a cornet, and a clarionet. Half-way
through the performance the cornet player tucked his instrument under his arm and went round with a shell for your
coppers. I liked the touch of using a shell. No later saxophone band had the wit to use this appropriate symbol of the
sea, and a shell was most fitting. We did not then know how prophetic it was. They gave us good music. Naturally they
excelled in waltzes, "The Blue Danube" being exceedingly well rendered, while "The Choristers", "Venus de Milo", and
"Over the Waves" were hot favourites. Even now there comes back to me a happy, dreamy, memory of a little boy
hearing the paddle-beats of the Galatea coming through and mingling with the dying strains of the waltz-song from
Florodora. In the evening the band came ashore and set up their stands at various likely points, or they might attend the
richer people in the garden, and during the dinner play selections from the Mikado. Strangely enough the music at
which they failed were the Scots songs. To hear these finely sung, one had to sail on the Isle of Arran, or on another of
the Buchanan boats. On the Isle of Arran there was a harp, two violins, and a concertina, and there was much good
singing of Scottish songs, in which the passengers joined with immense gusto, often led by a Mr Palmer, a friend of the
13
Buchanans. A few preliminary notes on the violin, then two vigorous strums on the harp, and away we burst joyfully
into "The Gard of Old Gaul". Also in the nineties there was settled in Rothesay a musical family called Hayward. There
were many members and all were talented so they formed an orchestra, adopting the name of the Brescian Family. They
organised "musical cruises and al fresco concerts twice daily at 3.0, and at 7.30" upon specially chartered steamers of the
Caledonian Steam Packet Coy. amid the picturesque scenery of the far-famed Kyles of Bute. "The Brescian Family will
appear at every performance". These ventures were not unsuccessful, and the Family was well known and popular for
many years.

The Glen Sannox

Chapter 4 LITTLE THINGS

A recollection of myself when a very wee boy is of passing Port Banna-tyne Pier with my father and of seeing there the
Galatea with her mainsail unfurled and hung out to dry and air. Even my young eyes noticed the folds and creases of
the canvas. All steamers at this time carried sails and the Clyde steamers carried two — the mainsail which was neatly
folded in its sailcoat up and down the mast, and the staysail to the bow, sewn and slung in its coat, with a sheet leading
to either rail. The Highland steamers such as Columba, Iona, Grenadier, Chevalier and others had a superior type of
mainsail which hung from a fixed gaff and was carried out to the peak by an outhaul. It was, therefore, square with a
loose foot while that of the other boats was a trysail. Sails disappeared sometime around 1907, though the MacBrayne
boats carried thy gaff for a few years longer.

Ropes

The arrangement of ropes on a Clyde steamer seems to have remained unchanged from the earliest days. Nor have I
seen elsewhere a better arrangement or smarter handling. On steamers abroad, in France, or on the Bosphorus, a
dreadful muddle is made in tying up to a quay with considerable loss of time. And when the Navy ties up ! On the
Clyde, in the hot racing competition of these hard days, no Captain could afford to have confusion or a moment's delay
at a pier.

There were usually four ropes, three of them having heaving-lines. There was the stern rope and its line, the quarter
rope and a short line, the for'ard quarter rope, and the bow rope with a long heaving line. Normally at a pier only the
stern and bow ropes were used unless there was to be some delay, or a strong tide or the sea was running. Of these two
the stern was much the more important and often it was alone sufficient. In calm weather when there were only a few
passengers to embark, a paddle steamer would not put out any rope at all. The Captain, much experienced, would
skilfully lay his boat close alongside the pier, the gangway would be smartly taken on board, and the young and aged
would nimbly sprint across, adjured to hurry by the Purser. This was the invariable rule in a race, and also the frequent
practice of the early morning steamer, say, the 6.50 N.B. at Craigmore where Captain Grey was clever with the
Talisman. When she left the pier the stern rope was never drawn inboard but the loop was hauled into the sponson on
flush-decked and quarter-decked boats. But with the coming of saloons the loop was hauled up to the upper deck and
secured to a davit or the rail. In this way only one man was necessary, managing both the heaving-line and the stern
rope from the upper deck. On starting the boat was usually swung on the sponson and the stern rope, hence its more
frequent use. In winter, ropes were often broken. Even in summer I have seen Lindsay on the Duchess of Montrose try
determinedly four times to take Colintraive Pier, break three ropes, and have at last to leave his passengers on the pier.
14
The throwing of the heaving-line across the water to the pier against a strong wind required more than merely strength.
Much depended on wetting the rope, the correct winding into loops, the number of coils retained in the left hand and
their use, keeping the throw low into the wind, allowing for windage and so on. It is said that the late Harry Blain,
Purser, could throw a line at Wemyss Bay at low tide from the Rothesay boat, up, across, over and down on to the deck
of the Millport boat on the other side of the pier. A mighty throw indeed !

Most of the steamers, and certainly all Buchanan's boats, carried a long heavy log fender in front of each paddle-box
and painted in the same colour. It was necessary when she was lying against the wharves of the upper river, but it had
another and more curious use. In these days every call at a pier was charged, and this was a very sore point with the
owners. It will be recalled that the Ivanhoe was especially designed to have no nett tonnage so that she might defeat
this charge. Therefore, when a special excursion was arranged one steamer carried the passengers from one pier or piers
and another boat those from another pier, and then both boats met at a pre-arranged spot, tied up alongside of each
other, and the wood fender equalised the different heights of the sponsons above the water, and the astonished
passengers were then transferred from the smaller to the larger boat at sea instead of at a pier, and in this amazing
manner pier dues were saved. The procedure was reversed on the homeward way. It is to be regretted that a heartless
B.O.T. regulation later forbade this interesting and thrilling manoeuvre.

About twice during the summer the steamer had her bottom brushed down and cleaned and antifouling applied. To do
this a convenient weekend was chosen, and the place was usually at the head of the Holy Loch, or the head of Loch
Ridden, or in some sheltered sandy bay. A precise spot was chosen clear, or cleared, of boulders, and towards high tide
she was run gently ashore on the sand with a couple of anchors streamed out to sea.As the tide went down the men
worked from the boats and when it was low water and the ship was high and dry, the work was finished. At high tide
strain was taken on the anchors and with the paddles going gently astern, she floated quietly off. The B.O.T. prohibited
this practice.

Often at the weekend or at night the steamer did not lie at the finishing pier but lay-off at moorings. This was invariably
done in bad weather when the wind was blowing on to the pier, and damage would be caused to the piling by the ship
grinding against them. For this purpose the companies usually had mooring buoys permanently placed in sheltered
places. Each railway company had its own permanent mooring buoy in Rothesay Bay. The last one here was only
removed about 1956. The Caley had such a mooring buoy in Balloch Bay on Cumbrae and another in Kilchattan Bay,
where the Sou'-West also had one. It was for this reason also of shelter among others that Captain John Williamson
used Port Bannatyne Pier (which he called Kamesburgh) as the headquarters of his Turkish fleet.

Most of the older boats were lit by silver paraffin lamps, but the Sou'-Western Chancellor had acetylene, and the more
modern boats had electric light. It must be remembered the greater part of the fleet sailed only in the summer months
when the evenings are long and the run in darkness only a short one so that lighting was not too important. Captain
James Williamson, who frequently writes with prejudice, notwithstanding, the electric set of the Victoria was reliable
and satisfactory. Of course, electric light was steadily introduced into most ships as our period went on.

Jupiter transferring passengers to the ferry boat off Corrie

15
At the end of the season about the beginning of October when the Glasgow Holiday was over, winter arrangements
came into force. All timetables were drastically reduced, steamers were laid-up, and others prepared for the stormy
weather to come. The Grenadier became the Ardrishaig boat, never the Iona, though the latter usually ran for a month
after the Columba was withdrawn as the Oban season lasted later than the Clyde. The Marchioness of Lome became
the Caley boat to Arran, and the Glen Rosa the Sou'-West. The Marchioness of Breadalbane and the Marchioness of
Bute ran to Rothesay and Millport, the Minerva from Princes Pier to Rothesay, the Benmore from the Broomie-law,
and the Dandie Dinmont from Craigendoran. All steamers were winter-boarded, that is to say, all their windows,
especially those forward, were protected by heavy shutters which had only a small round hole, giving the upper-works a
very different appearance from that of the summer, but they were now prepared for their battles with the winter gales.
In the case of the Duchess of Hamilton and the Marchioness of Lome the magnificent coat-of-arms on the paddle-
boxes were unscrewed and taken ashore in the autumn, and in war. In photos of these two boats taken in winter the
absence of the crest will be noticed. Ships that were surplus sought safety in Bowling Harbour, which also held
MacBrayne's excursion boats, Buchanan's whole fleet, and most of the N.B. As for the men, their steamers being now
safely secured, the Captains retired to Mount Florida, the Pursers to their lectures and their books, seamen went home
to the croft in Skye, and the snow and the squalls whistled through the cordages and the rails of the dismantled craft
secure in haven and harbour.

Christmas

A pleasant touch was the decorating of the ship at Christmas time, a feature that happily has not gone completely. Then
there were fastened evergreens around the rails of the bridge, bunches of holly at the jack-staff and at the masthead,
and a big bunch of mistletoe at the entrance to the companionway. The dining-saloon was bright with holly and
flowers, while greetings and streamers cheered the roof and pillars of the cabin.

A Cosy Corner

And do you remember — in winter, the alleyways round the engine-room of the Marchioness of Breadalbane on the
last Wemyss Bay run to Rothesay. Here, with showers of sleet and a tumbling sea outside, was the warmest place where
draughts were excluded by the winter-boarding for'ard and where one could sit at ease, with the pipe drawing well, in
the company of other men, drowsily watching the thrust and return of the great connecting rod as it slid up and down
the guides, the ponderous polished webs of the heavy crank as they went round and round, and round, in a winking,
flashing dazzle from brass and steel in lamps and levers, oil-kettles and cans, condenser and drains. The hum of talk
among us went on and on amid the many sounds from the pumps, gears, eccentrics, and the soothing whir of the
dynamo, until the deep gong on the telegraph warned us of Craigmore and one caught through a port-hole the glimmer
of the shore lights of Rothesay.

Until 1899 Rothesay Pier was a difficult pier for the large steamers because its front formed a concave hollow which
made the bow lie in towards the centre. Therefore the bigger paddlers arrived at the east end and left from the west.
The Columba, with her 300 feet, and the delicacy about swinging the ship on the sponsons against the piles, had her
bow rope carried out to a buoy in the Bay and hauled her bow out on that every afternoon at 3.30.

One recalls that from the "all-the-way" steamers from the Broomielaw there came a pungent and peculiar "nith" from
the region of the paddle-wheels. This was very true of the Buchanan boats who carried the odours of the upper Clyde
with them everywhere, but indeed all the Broomielaw steamers had the characteristic smell — the Columba, very badly
indeed at a high tide, the Culzean Castle, the Vivid, etc. But there were compensations. From both the Columba and
the Lord came also a rich opulent aroma, very satisfying, made up of roast beef, kippers, and tarry ropes.

Two institutions not strictly of the steamers must be recorded. At Rothesay one saw the famous Pointing Porters.
These were men, licensed by the Burgh licensing Court, who wore a white jacket and a white cap bearing their number
in gold letters, and a large metal number-plate. On the arrival of the steamer they took up their position on the pier, and
when they saw a passenger with baggage they pointed at him with forefinger outstretched. If the passenger wished to
engage him he nodded his head or waved or made some assenting sign, whereupon the porter came aboard and took
his luggage to a cab, or hotel, or to his rooms. If no porter was required, the passenger shook his head or disregarded
the pointing finger. At one time there were over 30 of these porters on Rothesay Pier. Their great moment was the
arrival of the Columba or Lord of the Isles and later the "12 o'clock steamers". They were very useful, popular, and a
considerable help to the traveller, the visitors, and to folk arriving for their fortnight at the coast with all their weans,
prams, hampers and brown tin boxes. The last of the Pointing Porters has died as I write these memories, Mr John
Maitland, in his 84th year.

16
The other institution peculiar to Rothesay was the Bellman. Bearded John Brown, small and humpy-backit, wore a
uniform jacket and the round peaked cap of the period, and carried a bell. He walked through the town along the front
street and the more important back streets and stopped at short intervals and cried his notice. Here is an actual one:
"Notice — The fine steamer Glen Rosa will go on an Evening Cruise tonight to the Kyles of Bute and Loch Ridden,
leaving Rothesay at 7.30 p.m. Fares for the Cruise, Cabin l/6d., Steerage 1/-." When not advertising a Cruise, he would
announce that the water would be turned-off at 10 o'clock, or a displenishing sale.

Racing

In the early nineties racing between the steamers was definitely encouraged. For one thing it was an excellent
advertisement both for the company owning the "greyhound" and for the yard that built her. As today, the public
wished to get to the coast as quickly as possible and insisted upon speed and so, as there was then a choice of steamers
and not the monopoly of today, the fastest boats were the most popular and most profitable. Another reason is found
in the geographical arrangement of Glasgow, for at that time the City had only horse-cars, cabs, and hansoms for a
limited transport and so it was natural that the main termini should each serve a special area. The north side of the river
(Maryhill, Partick, Kelvinside) tended towards Queen Street and the N.B.R.: those for the Ayrshire towns left from St
Enoch by the G. & S.W.R.: the south-side folk (Pollokshields, Langside, Crosshill) tended to favour Bridge Street and
the Caledonian Railway: while the Broomielaw route still had many advantages and a large public. Add to these reasons
the cheapness of coal, that the boats were new, that the crews had not yet, been taught to be always disgruntled with
employment and had a pride in their boat, and the Captains were willing. At any moment at a firm order from the
management, racing would have stopped at once, but for long it was to be nobody's advantage to give that order. The
public was intensely interested not only in the various companies, but in the individual steamers, which had each her
own body of supporters.

The Lord of The Isles in Loch Fyne

There were the famous races of course — Columba and Lord of the Isles (the former was probably slightly the
speedier, but the latter had the faster getaway); Glen Sannox and Duchess of Hamilton; Galatea and Mercury; Waverley
and Jupiter; and so on. It was not just all plain steaming either. A clever skipper could make something by his tactics.
When approaching a pier the inside boat had the right to be signalled first so there was much jockeying for the
favoured position to get the signal. So also it was well known what each boat would do in shallow water or deep. If the
rival was known to "sit on her tail" in shallows, as for instance when rounding Toward Point, then she would be firmly
maneouvred in towards the shore and left behind. Of course, the passengers being so well acquainted with each
steamer and her abilities, understood every move in the game and viewed every trick in the tactics with great
excitement.

The Torchlight Evening Cruise

Among the most successful forms of entertainment in the years before the First World War were the Evening Cruises
of this type. They were promoted by Duncan MacLennan, who was a dancing-master in Rothesay, famous widely for
his highland dancing and who was instructor to the children of the Marquess of Bute at Mount Stuart. An arrangement
was made between him and John Williamson of the Kyle-more who was rather tired of seeing his good boat tied up idle
at the outer pier all of a fine autumn evening. What usually happened then was this. A Grand Torchlight Evening
Cruise, starting from Rothesay, was advertised simultaneously at Largs, Millport, Fairlie, and Kilchattan Bay, next
Wednesday, to Toward, with pipe-band, dancing, torches, etc., price of the ticket 1/-. At 7.30 on that evening the
17
Kylemore left with all her flags up and her band playing, and went round the piers of the nearer Firth, at every one of
which friends met friends with rapturous pleasure, the parties joined themselves to other groups, and the steamer
became more and more crowded. At Toward the passengers would move in procession to a field nearby and there to
the piping of the band, and in the smoky romantic light from the flaring torches dancing was held for an hour or so.

The procession was then reformed, led by the band and illuminated by the wild light from the dying torches back to the
ship, which then left, repeated her calls around the Firth, friends parting from new friends at each pier in a gay
companionship. Later, they were advertised as Mystery Cruises to a destination unknown, though there's nothing very
mysterious about a pipe-band, reels, and dancers at Keppel, Colintraive, or Kilchattan Bay. These romantic cruises had
all the right touches of intelligence and genius. What could be more thrilling than to land on an island at the Narrows,
in the most beautiful part of the far-famed Kyles of Bute, when the brilliant splendour of the sunset is making one's
heart ache at the wonderful scene of the dark shadows and glorious lights on the hills around, and the red reflections on
the black waters at our feet, and to dance there with flambeaux and pipers while darkness came slowly down. In the
sunset the waters of the Kyles of Bute are like a brilliant pathway into the glorious riot of colour to the west. In the
sunrise — well, they say it is very fine in the sunrise.

Waverley, she to be lost at Dunkirk

Chapter 5 THE VISITORS' DAY

There remains now to record the visitors' day as regards to the steamers. One must remember that Rothesay Pier was
then free to all, an open quay, and that steamers were of absorbing interest to the visitor both because of the close
intimacy with the Captain, Purser, and crew, because of the rivalry of the companies, each of which had its own great
body of partisans, and because of the racing of the steamers and the relative merits of the boats themselves. The
steamers were the pride of the Clyde, and everyone from Glasgow to the Clyde-side who went down the coast was
deeply interested in them to an extent far greater than anything known today. Their movements were news, and the
newspaper would print as a news-item that the Lord of the Isles had moved into the dry-dock at Partick for overhaul.
The visitors' day began actually at 8 o'clock, for at 8.15 there arrived with haste and fuss the paddle tug of the Clyde
Shipping Co., the Flying Phantom or Flying Elf, with the newspapers. She was chartered for that purpose. Then from
10 o'clock onwards the Pier and the shores would be filled with people on a fine day to seethe 10 o'clock steamers,
meaning the arrival and departure of the principal tours, and especially the daily race between the Columba and the
Lord of the Isles which always aroused much excitement. Then one went on to the Pier some time later to see the "12
o'clock steamers" arrive, and a time of great excitement prevailed as the main body of visitors came down the
gangways, mostly the women folk and the weans with all their impediments — bags and bundles, prams and hold-alls,
hampers and husbands. The 9.55 from Glasgow, via Gourock, came in at 11.45 and racing with her the 10.5 from St
Enoch's; the 10.30 from Central by Wemyss Bay arrived 10 minutes later, and was usually hotly pursued by the North
British Talisman due at 12.2, her train having left Queen Street at 10.0.

Of course one had to see the Columba off at 3.30, and perhaps the Lord of the Isles at 5.30, but you were now getting
ready for the "6 o'clock steamers". The whole family, having had a piece and butter with a heavy sprinkling of Gourock
18
Jam (Sugar Carvies), now went down towards the Pier to meet their fathers and brothers returning from business in the
City. Speed was the thing, speed was essential. The fleet was led by the Sou'-West arriving at 5.36 (the famous 4.3
express), followed by the Gourock connection to the 4.5 which was due at 5.40 (only four minutes between the boats
and you know what that meant), and then the N.B. (Glasgow 4.10) and the Wemyss Bay 4.30 came together to the pier
at 5.50 after a ding-dong race from Toward.

The long day draws to a close when darkness comes on apace and the shadows deepen and lengthen beneath the black
hills like sleeping kings, and the lights of the distant evening-cruise can be seen, and softly across the still water comes
music and singing from the Brescian Band.

THE COLUMBA

The Columba was launched from the yards of J. & G. Thomson, Clydebank on 11th April, 1878. She was 301.4 feet
long; 27.1 feet broad; and 9.4 feet in depth; of 256 nett tonnage: 602 gross tonnage: 500 Reg. h.p.: 2,200 indicated h.p.
She was clearly an extreme vessel in having 11 breadths to length. There was every chance of her being crank, as an
earlier ship the Undine had been, but Providence intervened. Something happened at her launching. No one knows
now precisely what. Perhaps she strained her back, but whatever it was she always rode a little sagged, and perhaps it
was this peculiarity which saved her from failure and gave her success. It certainly made her tender. During the first
season additional stays and stiffening pieces were put into her, and her first Captain — John McGaw — would never
swing her on her sponson at a pier. She was only the second Clyde steamer to be built of steel and her builders were
inexperienced in the use of the new material. She carried 2,190 passengers and crew, and she cost round about £28,000.
She was substantially the largest steamer ever on service on the Clyde.

Description

The bow was curved or canoe shaped with a nice rise of sheer to the stemhead. Forward of the foresaloon she was
flush-decked with high bulwarks. There were saloons fore and aft, for the first time carried out to the full breadth of
the ship, and the forward promenade deck was extended a few feet beyond the saloon. The stern was very old-
fashioned, being square with fine scroll work. The sponson houses later became much altered but were originally
angular in the old manner. The mast carried, until about 1907, a fixed gaff in the Highland style and a square mainsail,
which was kept permanently bent, and when set was carried out to the peak by an outhaul, but which was usually kept
furled against the mast and travelled there by hoops. The foresail was not on the fore-stay proper but on a stay of its
own, well short of the stem head. In Lloyds Register she was rated as a smack.

In her early days she used the sails regularly after leaving Tighna-bruaich or after Ardrishaig, to the great interest of the
passengers. Remember it was 1878 and sails were still considered proper to a steamer. When she first came out she had
no ventilators at all, and the decks were clear from bow to stern, but after a time four cowls appeared round the after
funnel, two "grandfather clocks" farther aft, another two clocks farther aft still, and at the stern two white pillar affairs
with circular heads and louvres. At a later date four small cowls were added round the forward funnel.

The huge round Hutcheson paddle-boxes were most impressive. There were seven radial vents in the true Hutcheson
style, all richly embellished with gold leaf. The name was carried boldly over the top as usual, but here there came a
lovely touch form, from the 'U' of Columba there grew a Scottish thistle and its leaves. Through the openings one got a
glimpse of the 10 great red floats, 9lA feet by 3 feet IV2 inches, of the big wheel which itself measured 22.7 feet in
diameter, and one also got the smell so characteristic of the upper Clyde.

The Bridge was at first a mere plank crossing between the paddle-boxes and carrying the two telegraphs and a compass.
Following the time-honoured practice the wheel was on the deck below. Later the Bridge was enlarged and given a
round extension forward, and later still another extension was made aft for bicycles, which were always so necessary in
the Highlands. Later still came a deck house and a further extension.

It is understood that she had five funnelations during her long career. The first set were very short, but after a year or
so they were extended by the height of the black part. A third change came in 1885 with a second set. A third set came
in 1900, and so on — yet by these changes her fine appearance was not spoiled, but rather improved.

For many years she carried only one small dinghy slung on davits across her stern. This was her only boat. It is thus that
she appears on all the older official photos and pictures. By 1902 she had two boats, one on each after-sponson, and no
dinghy; and after 1912 she had two more boats slung on davits and resting inboard on the after top-deck.

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Her after-deck was clear to the stern when she first came out but a smokeroom was added behind the after-funnel after
1901 with a flat unrailed roof. Later this roof was strengthened, railed, and used as a top-deck, extending to the full
breadth and carrying the two boats already mentioned.

Engines

The engine consisted of two simple oscillating cylinders both 53 inches with a stroke of 66 inches giving 36 to 38
revolutions per minute, surface condensing.

In her early life she had four horizontal boilers, but in 1900 these were replaced by two haystacks giving a new pressure
of 55 pounds. The I.H.P was 2360.

The interesting thing about her re-boilering was that when 22 years old, and when a ship may reasonably be expected to
be beyond her best, the new boilers gave the amazing result of five inches more freeboard, 40 revolutions instead of 36,
and an increase in speed to over 19 knots.

The Engineroom was very dark and the shaft was so high that one had to clamber over it. In 1929 electric light was
installed in the Engineroom only.

The vertical engines were very massive, the cranks were thick and ponderous, and with the huge cylinders rocking on
their trunnions, the polished pistons rising and falling up and down, and the immense cranks whirling round in a soft
mist of oil and steam, one had the impression of smooth though terrific power.

She had steam steering gear and a steam capstan at the bow, with warping sheaves at the stern.

Of course, with such engines and boilers she was not very economical in fuel, and burned 19 to 20 tons each day in her
four furnaces. But the famous fliers of these days were all notorious coal-eaters. The Glen Sannox, the Waverley, the
Adder, all ate their 20 tons of coal to the great joy of their owners.

Someone has said — "Of course a speed of 19 knots was not attained on her daily schedule." But this is just not the
case. It is one of the most remarkable things about the Columba that until 1912 she was driven at her utmost speed
every day and all the days of her summer season and could maintain it. She had to. Her timetable demanded it. Route
She left the Broomielaw at 7.0 each morning. Called at Partick at 7.15, Govan, Custom House Quay Greenock at 8.40
for the mails, Princes Pier 9.5, Kirn, Dunoon, Innellan, Rothesay 10.15, Colintraive, Tighna-bruaich, Auchenlonan,
Blair's Ferry at Ardlamont, Tarbert, and Ardrishaig. There she had to wait to make the connection with the Linnet from
Crinan and the Chevalier from Oban with travellers from Fort William, Portree, and far Lochinvar. At Tarbert she
waited for the Islay connection (the Glencoe most likely) and the four-in-hand coaches from the West Loch, and from
Ford and the Loch Awe Tour. Speed! Every ounce she had and every knot was daily required for that exacting
programme.

After the Kaiser's War she left Glasgow at 7.11 a.m. and some calls were omitted. Not only the long Route, but also the
hard Race demanded her speed. For many years, during most of the '80's, the '90's, and until 1912 she had to compete
every day with the Lord of the Isles for Rothesay and the Kyles of Bute piers. The Lord was a formidable antagonist
and stretched the larger ship to her utmost. The race became famous and was watched after 10 o'clock each day with
great keenness and criticism by excited crowds along the Innellan, Craigmore, and Ardbeg shores.

Interior Appointments

The saloons being carried to the full width of the ship allowed of the seats being placed athwartwise. Her Cabin was
very handsome as it was furnished in Austrian ash-wood with ornated pillars with crown mountings and silver paraffin
lamps. There was also at the after end a large writing table well supplied with notepaper with a heading in colour of the
ship herself and envelopes with the MacBrayne flag, again in colour. There was also a Bible, for use at a marriage or
other misfortune, which had the signatures of the directors of G. & J. Thomson in 1878.

The Dining-saloon could accommodate 130 diners at one time. It was a most sumptuous apartment with a great display
of Victorian luxury and florid embellishment—the carving, gilding, pictured panels, etc., showed clever craftsmanship.
On the panelling there were pictures illustrating old Scottish sayings executed by a then-famous artist — W. H. Keir. A
stained-glass light by him on the Staircase leading to the Dining-saloon showed St Columba landing on Iona. The
background of the pictures was exceptionally heavy gold leaf. The wooden panels of this saloon were of bird's eye

20
Maple especially imported from Hungary. Up until 1933 there were footstools for the ladies both in this saloon and in
the general cabin.

The Silver-ware was massive and heavy being richly chased — tureens, ashets, corner dishes, sauce-boats, coffee pots,
tea urns, cream jugs and sugar basins. Everything spoke of the rich man's table and nothing at all of modern
institutional cooking or of the austere service of the modern canteen today.

The Post Office was not the first on a Clyde steamer for theLord of the Isles had one already. The Columba's Post
Office was at first kept by two brothers MacKinnon, one of whom became the postmaster at Tarbert. This
convenience was given up in 1915.

The Barber's shop was the first and only one on a Clyde steamer. In it was a rotary hairbrush which was removed only
as late as 1931. The tonsorial artist was a gentleman called Felix who made a very popular hairdressing which was
known and demanded long after Felix himself has retired. A bath could be had, and was probably enjoyed by night
travellers from London. After the Barber's shop was withdrawn it was unofficially re-opened by a Greenock man who
travelled to Loch Fyne and cut the hair of the crew en route. It should also be recorded that the minister and the
schoolmaster of Ardrishaig used regularly to travel to Tarbert on her to have their hair cut by Felix as there was then no
hairdresser in Ardrishaig. They got back some time in the evening by the Inveraray Castle. She also had a Bookstall and
a Fruitstall.

In June, 1929, having come into the combine of the Coast Lines and under the management of an Englishman and a
Liverpudlian at that, with all an Englishman's crude ideas of advertisement and ignorance of the value of tradition, she
was painted grey. She ran like that for a month — from before the 7th until the 29th June, and not for a week as
elsewhere stated wrongly. The result was so awful that she was repainted in black before July.

Personnel

Her first master was Captain John McGaw, from 1878 to 1886. The chief incident in his career was the ramming of the
Sheila in September, 1881 at Innellan Pier. He was followed by Angus Campbell, who held the telegraph with great
success from 1886 to December, 1903. He died at Tarbert, where a cairn to the memory of a very genial and popular
skipper was erected. Then came Lachlan McTavish from 1904 to 1913 inclusive. Then followed Captain MacKechnie in
1914 and McTavish again from 1914 to 1924. Her last skipper was Charles Cameron, 1924-1935, but he had no beard.
She had only two Pursers. Alex. Paterson, 1878-1910, was very well known and exceedingly popular. He was followed
by James Fitzgerald from 1910-1935. He too was a well-kent figure. There were also some six to eight ticket and
luggage clerks assisting the Purser.

An early Steward was James McAulay who came from the Iona. Another well-known Steward was James B. Turner
who resided in Craigmore, Rothesay. Whoever was the Steward was not in MacBrayne's service but paid MacBrayne for
the rights of catering. Reliable rumour mentions £1,000 for the catering, and that the Steward did very well from the
contract. Every morning the Steward received a wire from Euston Station telling him how many persons had booked
for breakfast next morning on the Columba after coming off the night train.

The Function of the Columba

The importance and fame of the Columba, and of the Lord of the Isles also, and the peculiar and distinguished position
they both held among the other and lesser steamers would not be understood unless one realised the two unusual
functions of these boats. The first point is that they were essential links in the long journeys from London to the West
Highlands. This was especially true of the R.M.S. Columba. She must not be regarded as being merely another Clyde
River Steamer. On her long daily journey she made so many vital connections with passengers, mails, and goods that
her service was of immense importance. The call at Tighnabruaich gave access and popularity to the Kyles of Bute.
Then at Tarbert the buses were waiting for passengers for the East side of Kintyre, for Skipness and Carradale, and
others for the people on the West side for Taynloan and Barr. Here also many crossed to the steamer at West Loch
Tarbert going to Gigha, Islay, Jura, or Colonsay. Then at Ardrishaig were the conveyances for Ford, Knapdale, and
Kilmelfort, and also the Linnet on the Crinan Canal to carry the tourists to the Chevalier waiting to take them to Oban.
There again a new set of steamer connections was ready for the Inner and Outer Isles, for Mull, Morven, Iona, Barra,
Tiree, Lismore and Loch Linnhe, Fort William, Inverness, and Lochinvar. Life in a hundred villages, inns, lodges,
castles, and cottages depended on the coming and going of the Columba. That is why she was so well known and why
her name was a household word all up and down the lochs and islands of the West of Scotland.

21
For to all these places she carried the mails, and in summer the immense stack of mailbags formed a huge mountain
under the tarpaulins.

But that was only one side of her summer story. Because she was such an essential link in the long route from London
to Lochinvar, and because she made so many connections and gave access to so many castles, estates, and lordly
residences, therefore, she carried the English aristocracy from Mayfair to their sporting places in the highlands. She was
the Society Boat. Her passengers were the wealthy classes, the people of national importance, peers, politicians, and
princes of finance. Every day in August and September were on her decks notables of every degree. In the light of this
second function one now understands many things — why there were the sumptuous appointments in cabin and
dining-room, the importance of a high class cuisine, of opulent serving of the meals, the barber's shop after the long
night journey, the bath, the writing-paper for immediate correspondence, the post-office for quick despatch, and so on.
These had to be there, and on the finest scale. Before the coming of the motor car and the shooting brake, the passage
on the Columba was an essential to the land-owner and the sportsman. One cannot sufficiently emphasise the two
functions of this great steamer which made her so distinguished and important, and so different in her trade from the
other steamers of the Clyde.

After the First War came the slump, times were different, the nobility, their servants, and their mountains of
paraphernalia now went by motor car. There were dissensions among the heads of the old company, the new chairman
was a Liverpudlian, he was infatuated by diesel engines, and all names had now to begin with "Loch".

The Columba was undoubtedly old-fashioned, and it was time for her to go.

The famous old ship, dear to so many Highland hearts, was towed by the tugs, Vanguard and Cruiser, to Dalmuir on
the 27th February, 1936 and broken up there, after 58 famous and lively seasons on the Clyde.

THE KING EDWARD — FIFTY YEARS OF FAME

The King Edward is undoubtedly one of the most important ships in world history. Her remarkable success introduced
an immense advance in steam propulsion and opened the way for newer and vaster ideas in marine design both for the
liner and the battleship.

Before her launching on the 16th May, 1901, the turbine invention had been used only in three small non-commercial
vessels, but there had been no testing in a passenger boat under service conditions nor had comparison been made in
power and economy with reciprocating engines in a ship of similar size. To prove the superiority of the turbine a
syndicate was formed on the Clyde including the Hon. C. A. Parsons, the inventor; Messrs. William Denny Bros., the
builders; and Captain John Williamson, the manager; to build and run a turbine excursion steamer.

She was a handsome craft, 250.5 feet long by 30 feet broad, by 10 feet in depth, and drew six feet of water. Her engines
consisted of three turbines, one of high pressure driving the centre shaft, and two of low pressure driving the side
shafts. In the exhaust-casing of each of the low pressure turbines was placed a reversing turbine unit which idled when
the ship was going ahead. When manoeuvring, the wings only were used, steam being admitted directly into the low
pressure or into the reversing turbine for ahead or astern respectively. When the main stop valve was opened to the
centre high pressure turbine all the shafts went ahead. On each of the two wing shafts were two propellers some
distance apart, thus giving her five propellers in all instead of three. The boiler was return-double tube ending with
eight furnaces working at 150 lbs. pressure.

The trials of the King Edward were run on the Skelmorlie measured mile on the 26th June, 1901, and aroused
considerable interest. Everyone was talking about her, in the Exchanges, in Miss Cranston's Tearooms, in Langs,
Browns, and in other lounges of the City, men were explaining to one another the new method of propulsion. She
produced a speed of 20.48 knots, with the centre shaft making 505 revolutions and the wing shafts 755 revolutions per
minute. On service, on the excursion run of 160 miles to Campbeltown and back, the average speed was 19 knots, and
she burned 18 tons of coal each day.

In design and dimensions she was nearly identical with the old Duchess of Hamilton, then commodore ship of the
Caledonian Steam Packet Company, but she had more sheer towards the bow. She had two funnels of suitable height,
close together, and yet nicely placed on the hull, coloured white with black tops, as these were the colours of John
Williamson. When she appeared at first there was only a small shelter-deck between the funnels, carrying two lifeboats,
but later that deck was extended considerably aft and the lifeboats re-arranged. With that exception she was at the end
in appearance much as when she was launched 50 years before, a very handsome ship with smart and speedy lines. Less

22
noticeable alterations have been the removal of the inner sets of propellers from the wing shafts, as it was found that
they gave no assistance; and the later fitting of a bow rudder.

Captain John Williamson, her manager, was a canny man, and until she was re-decked in 1936, marks were clearly
visible on the planking on each side of the deck to show where the sponsons were to be placed in the event of her
being a failure as a turbine and screw steamer and of her being re-fashioned as a paddle boat — another Duchess of
Hamilton.

The names of some of her earlier officers may recall memories to many West Highland seamen who were her crew.
Her first master was Alex. Fowler, formerly of the Glen Sannox but he left after only half a season, and was succeeded
by a long remembered Angus Keith, O.B.E., D.S.C., who in turn left the following year to take over the second turbine,
the Queen Alexandra. Thereafter, the command of the "King" was in the able hands of Captain Alex. MacKellar, who
met a tragic death at Havre in 1917, and who was succeeded by Turner McAllister. After the Great War various
skippers were on her bridge, including J. McGlashan, Peter Leitch, A. MacDonald, etc., until 1949 when Walter Lennox
took over and remained in command. The Chief best known, probably, in her engine-room was William Stewart, with
Dan Sharp as his Second; while the ticket-office has been under the charge of George Houston and Alex. McCallum,
among others. The crew have come mainly from the Islands, from Barra, Uist, and Skye. Year after year they have
gathered again in the springtime on the deck of the old "King" to fit her out for another sunny season on the Clyde;
and many a heart now in store or croft near Northbay, Portree, or Lochboisedale, looks back now on more stirring days
at the Fair time on the Rothesay run.

After trials she was placed on the Greenock, Dunoon, Rothesay, Largs, Fairlie and Campbeltown Excursion run,
replacing Captain John Williamson's paddle steamer Strathmore. In the forthcoming year she was on the Inveraray
Excursion, calling at Ardrishaig, to the high indignation of David MacBrayne, and in opposition to the famous Lord of
the Isles, which later succumbed to the new rival. On the appearance of the new King George V in 1927, she went on
to the Broomielaw service and, leaving at 10.0, sailed "all the way" to Dunoon and Rothesay and thence to the Arran
coast.

As we sailed on board her down river past the busy shipyards and look at this wonderful boat, we never thought of her
as being "dated". Her single mast, her slim funnels, her low bridge, her fine lines, and clean yacht-like appearance, all
speaking of speed and grace, were typical of older and perhaps prettier ideals. Her spacious saloon extended the full
breadth of the boat and ran to the counter-stern with seats around and across. Her tearoom was tiny; her silverware was
Victorian, for much of it came from the Lord of the Isles. What though her reversing power was very weak by modern
ideas, she was the first turbine steamer.

Her promoters claimed for her four advantages. The first was speed, and in this she excelled expectations. The new
Waverley and the older Columba could only offer 19 as against her 20V2 knots. For her size she was the fastest steamer
afloat. The second advantage was to be her economy in coal, and this was soon proved to be the case. For all her speed
she burned only 18 tons of coal per day. The third claim was the absence of vibration. To feel her smooth, gliding
motion through the water was a totally new experience to travellers on the Clyde, for all river steamers until she
appeared were paddle boats, and 17 of these had the single crank, and all shook, swayed and pulsated under the beat of
their engines. Knowing at that time nothing else, it was a wonderful novelty to the passenger to rush through the waves
on this new vessel in such quiet steadiness, and today it is difficult to describe the immense sensation created among
the public by this lack of vibration.

The fourth advantage, that of the increased stability given by the low position of the turbines, was not emphasised at
first, but its importance increased until it became the most dominant of all. From this factor came the new design in
cruiser and battleship, and the building of the great floating forts of a later day. The "Dreadnoughts", the Tiger, Hood,
Vanguard, all these, and so many others, owed their speed and power to this little pioneer. So also it was her success
that made possible those swift mail steamers, those ships of 1,000 feet, those greyhounds of 30 knots, and those giant
Cunarders.

In the First World War the Admiralty found in the King Edward a most useful boat. She sailed among the Channel
Islands, the nearer French ports as Calais, Dieppe and Cherbourg and the English railheads as Dover, Folkestone and
Southampton as a troopship. Later she was sent to the White Sea as an ambulance ship, and when returning from there
was nearly lost in a great gale.

In the Second War she was not taken over and continued to ply mainly between Gourock and Dunoon or Wemyss Bay
and Rothesay, either above or below the boom. On these services she carried passengers, and a great deal of cargo, for
it was the policy of the wretched L.M.S. to make each ship a cargo-boat as well as a first-class passenger ship. The result
23
was that the passengers were crowded anywhere, and the entire deck aft was packed with lorries, often between 20 and
30 of them, heaped high with potatoes in barrels, flour in sacks, milk-cans and merchandise of all sorts. In older times,
such bulk cargoes would have been carried by the luggage boats, but now that was not the policy of the London
Managers of the Clyde steamers.

Eventually she found herself, by a kind fate, back on the Broomielaw-Kothesay afternoon excursion made so popular
by the old Isle of Arran, leaving Glasgow at 11 o'clock, and sailing all the way, down and up the river.

Finally in June, 1952, she became redundant and was taken down to Troon where she was broken up.

Her turbine engines, however, were not scrapped, but were taken over by The Glasgow Corporation Museums
Department and were cleaned and re-mounted and are now on view in the Shipping Section of the Art Galleries at
Kelvingrove.

Funnels

Funnels are necessary to a steamer if only to enable your young son to tell you triumphantly her name. Undoubtedly
funnels give personality to a boat. The white band or red and black of the old North British Railway Co. on the Clyde,
or the white band of Buchanans, had almost the look of a human eye and gave facial expression. To a steam-vessel the
funnel is, of course, quite essential, but with the coming of the diesel engine, owners and builders fondly hoped that a
smokestack would not now be required, with a welcome saving in initial costs, but it could not be. No sight on the sea
is more ghastly than that of a liner not propelled by a funnel, and so, after a few horrible experiments with pipes and
exhausts, most motor vessels have now a funnel — of sorts. True, it is usually so short and stumpy and so amazingly in
shape as to look like an out-sized wart on an otherwise shapely design, but still it is a funnel, even if it only holds life-
belts or the deckchairs. Consider the Lochinvar, presently sailing to Portree which appeared at first with an interesting
arrangement of exhaust pipes, but which now has a squat affair made so low that the jib of the large crane can pass
over it. Compare her with the famous Comet which had a good funnel, a trifle on the thin side perhaps, but lacking
nothing in height —15 feet — and carrying a yard with a light sail. Early pictures show boats with tall and slender
funnels rising close to the paddle-boxes. That is correct. The great height was to give natural draught to the furnace;
and the return-flue boiler brought the uptake close to the sidelever engines. One man was probably stoker and engineer
combined and would obey the command to "stop" her if and when he was not engaged with the shovel, or in
conversation. These early funnels were not necessarily cut straight across at the top, but often expanded outwards (bell-
mouthed) and serrated like a lotus flower or the celestial crown of the Golden Text.

The position of the funnel has varied considerably. In the very early days the position was invariably aft of the paddle-
boxes. Thus appeared the early steamers to the West Highlands, the Castle Company's boats to Loch Fyne, and the
Burns and the Laird boats to Ireland. Some may recall the ancient Portree boat, the Glencoe, or the Inveraray Castle, or
the Lochness on the Caledonian Canal, or a Mountaineer at Oban, and, of course, the paddle tugs of the Clyde
Shipping Coy., as all having the funnel aft. The first Clyde steamer to have her "lum" forward was the Windsor Castle
of 1859 and she was immediately thought of as looking very strange and, indeed, no wonder, as she had broken a
fashion of nearly 50 years.

Ivanhoe
24
Two funnels allowed of more variation. By far the most frequent arrangement was to place them forward and behind
the paddle-boxes. What lover of old Clyde favourites does not recall the speed and grace of the first Glen Sannox, or
the handsome Galatea, and Ivanhoe, the stateli-ness of the Lord of the Isles, or the consequence of the Columba. The
variation from that position was to have the two funnels either forward of the paddle-box as on the second Eagle, on
the Benmore but for two years only, on the Brodick Castle, and then not again until the appearance of the second or
present Jeanie Deans: or to have them aft of the paddle-box as was seen on very early Channel boats of the Burns and
of the Laird Lines, on an early Eagle, and on the Dunoon Castle, later the Arran, but not again on the Clyde Steamers.
The colour of the funnels has always been of great importance for so often it is linked in our Scottish minds with so
many experiences and associations, grave and gay, and evokes so many treasured memories, perhaps of the Gondolier
on the Caledonian Canal, the Duchess of Argyll to Corrie and Arran, of a leisurely time on the Edinburgh Castle to
Loch-goilhead, or on the Waverley to Arrochar and the Banks of Loch Lomond. If we care to think of the colouring in
an aristocratic sort of way valuing ancient lineage then the oldest colour family of all was, of course, that of the Comet
and her immediate successors, and was, not unnaturally, plain black. Strange stoking and unlimited coal would make
black the only possible colour. Hence the black of the Clyde Shipping Company (1819) who were the first tugboat
owners in the world and whose cargo ships bear the names of lighthouses, and of the General Steam Navigation
Company, founded in 1824, which still carries the all-black, but with an emblem. The last of the famous Clyde paddle
tugs — the Flying Scotsman— was broken up in 1951.

Carrick Castle and Benmore at Glasgow's Broomielaw

The next Old Family had obviously a black funnel with a white band. The first child of this Old Family was the Castles
Company which appeared in 1814, and was at one time the largest and most important concern on the Clyde, serving
all piers and ferries innumerable on the Firth and also on Loch Fyne. About 1845 the Castle Company was purchased
as a going concern by G. & J. Burns of the Belfast trade but the steamers continued to ply to the West Highlands
unaltered in name or colour. In 1851 Messrs. Burns withdrew from these routes and confined themselves to their
Belfast and Irish traffic. Their smaller concerns passed into other hands and some of their West Highland steamers
were taken over and run by David and Alexander Hutcheson. The Castle Coy. was thus dissolved and their steamers
scattered. Other of their boats were bought by Denny of Dumbarton, who employed two Captains of marked ability —
William Buchanan and Alexander Williamson. These two put their pennies together and purchased several of the old
steamers and ran them in joint partnership, retaining the black with white band of the Castle Company. Later the two
partners broke their connection and there were then two fleets, that of Captain Buchanan and that of Captain
Williamson, until 1897 when Captain Williamson adopted white with a black top. Hence came now the funnel colours
of the Strathmore, Kyle-more, and the turbine steamers. The Buchanan steamers were merged with the Williamson
fleet in 1919, and so in that year this old funnel colouring that appeared with the Castle Company in 1814 passed from
the lochs and piers where it had been so well-known and so welcome for over a hundred years.

25
The third Old Family has an even more remarkable history. It probably starts with David Napier and his cousin Robert,
who made steamboat engines from 1816 onwards. When they supplied an engine they also supplied the funnel and
painted it in a colour scheme of their own which should be carefully noted — red, a black top, and on the red part one
or two thin hoops of black. Both cousins also owned many Highland steamers, David, starting, among other ventures,
the first steam St Catherine's ferry, and the first steamers on Loch Eck and Loch Lomond. David retired in 1882 and
Robert succeeded to many of his interests, and from now on the stock Napier funnel was supplied to the ships over
which he had a financial control. Eventually his West Highland steamers passed into the hands of Thomson &
McConnell with the Napier colours; when his concern became merged in that of G. & J. Burns in 1845 these colours
were again retained; and when David and Alexander Hutcheson took over the West Highland boats of Burns in 1845,
these colours were again retained; and when David MacBrayne succeeded to the business of his uncles, the Hutchesons,
in 1851, he changed many things but not the red and black.

And so, on the funnels of the Lochfyne tomorrow you may see the colours of old Robert Napier, but without the black
hoops. They should be there, and if the MacBrayne management were alive to history and the value of very old and
famous associations, they would replace that feature. It is too important a colouring for them to lose. The Hutchesons
certainly used it, for it was on the old Glengarry on the Caledonian Canal until her end in 1927, and on other boats also.
We would be very grateful indeed if anyone would give recollection of the Columba having carried the black hoop in
her early days. We think she did.

The Napier funnel went with his engines. In 1830 he built and engined the Mona's Isle, the first steamer of the Isle of
Man Steam Ship Company, and the company carry his colours to this day. But more than that. About 1840 Robert
Napier took a very leading part in the foundation of the Cunard Company being practically its head and manager in its
first formative years, and the first four mail steamers were Napier's ships if not all from his yard. These famous boats,
the Britannia (on which Charles Dickens crossed to America), the Acadia, the Caledonia, the Columba, had his funnel
and it has remained that of the Cunard Company to this day. That is why the funnels of the Manx boats are like those
of the Cunarders, and so also to those of MacBrayne, except for the unfortunate omission here of the hoop. That is
why the old Pioneer, Hamish MacLean's Marquis of Bute, the Mona's Queen and the present George V are all cousins
in colour, all associated by the same venerable funnel.

Yellow seems to have appeared rather late in the order of popualarity. It has for long been the colour of the private
steam yacht, and, indeed, it is difficult to remember any large yacht coloured otherwise. Sir Thomas Lipton's Erin had,
for instance, a yellow funnel and a green hull. Perhaps because of its "swell" associations it was adopted in 1878 by
Captain James Williamson for his Ivanhoe, the teetotal boat, which he ran with all the care, discipline, and deference of
a private yacht. Later, in 1889, he adopted it again when he became manager of the newly formed Caledonian S.P. Coy.,
whose steamers were far famed for their beauty and speed.

Once upon a time in a moment of tremendous inspiration a steamer expert gave us a new word — "funnelation". It
refers to a change in shape or colour. It is amazing the number of changes that may come to a ship with a long life. The
famous old Columba had, it is said, five different sets of funnels exclusive of colour. Her first pair were small, thick and
low, but were soon heightened by the depth of the black part, and so on. The Fair Maid, ex-Isle of Skye, ex-Madge
Wildfire, had six funnelations — all hite, under Captain Campbell of Kilmun, all yellow as a Caley boat, red and black
under Cameron, black and white under Buchanan, yellow and lack on the Forth, and all grey in the last war. The old
Jeanie Deans, better known perhaps as the Isle of Cumbrae had five colour schemes at least. The new Jeanie that is
running today is carrying her third funnelation. The first set were very short indeed, then taller and the forward one
raised so that they were then unequal, and now they are oval and too large. In the case of the popular little Portree boat,
the Lochinvar, her owners had all sorts of fun and games with her from three pipes that popped to funnels and cranes.
The modern tendency is to have the funnels too big and too many. Evidently, the public are to be impressed my
massive size and number, so the decks of the Waverley and Jupiter are full of funnels and the former therefore, does
not carry motor cars. So also the Lochfyne must have two affairs even if the forward one is a useful repository for deck
chairs, and the late, lamented Saint Columba which, as the Queen Alexandra, got along very well indeed with only two,
had to have a superabundance of three.

Clyde shipowners and builders have, since the earliest, shown such a happy combination of hull shape and funnel
design, that there have been few ugly boats, and we can look back upon some very fine achievements — the old
Waverley as when she first came out, the old Talisman, Duchess of Rothesay, Mercury, and many others. But now the
ideals of speed, smartness, and elegance are replaced by features that are almost wholly concerned with motor cars and
cargo, and with but the smallest regard for the passengers. But to uplift our hearts we still have our recollections, which
is the only excuse for these dull pages, and our memories of the clean thoroughbred lines of the wee Fife and the lovely
Glen Sannox, Minerva and Iona, and those thoughts and longings that are aroused by a distant trail of smoke on the
blue horizon.
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The Lucy Ashton

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