Glasgow harbor

[Ketzel]

Where would a large passenger ship like the Furnessia have docked, and how would passengers have gotten to it from, say, Bridgegate in Glasgow around 1906?

Ketzel

[Russell]

Hi Ketzel

Although the River Clyde started out as quite a shallow stretch of water once they started using steam ships they could use steam dredgers to deepen the river so that Port Glasgow was no longer the only accessible deep water. The river was dredged all the way up to the centre of Glasgow and deep draught vessels could sail right into the heart of the city. Indeed it was this ease of access that caused Glasgow to become one of the major exporters of steam railway locomotives, steam boilers and massive machines for foundries and metal fabrication. It also meant that the Clyde shipyards could make larger and larger steam ships and launch them across the river.
A passenger would only have a 25 minute walk from the Briggate to the Broomielaw loading dock which was right next to the main road bridge across the river. This was as far as large ships could go up-river. By the early 1950's most cargo was being handled by gantry cranes and container traffic further down river but pleasure steamers still plied from the Broomielaw to take jaded city folk a 'Sail doon the watter'.
Small passenger ferries were provided at points down stream to take folk across the river and vehicular ferries also ran moved by underwater chains so that they did not obstruct the passage of the big boats up and down the river. The river was lined with huge granaries, warehouses and giant cargo cranes of which only a few remain sadly.
Glasgow probably handled more tonnage of cargo that the rest of Scotlands ports added together.

Russell

[Ketzel]

Very helpful indeed! Thank you so much.

Ketzel

[Ketzel]

So to clarify: would a ship such as the Furnessia be visible from the Victoria Bridge as one crossed over it toward the Gorbals? On the right-hand side, I assume? Might there be more than one ship docked there at the same time?

Thanks, Ketzel

[Russell]

Hi Ketzel

The Mitchell Library here in Glasgow has a terrific range of archived photos. Look at these ones to do with ships.
http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualm ... lwcyI7fQ==

At its busiest ships could be lined up several deep and would probably be clearly visible for half a mile further up the Clyde until it bends round GlasgowGreen.

Russell

[Ketzel]

Hi Russell,

Great photos, although the boats in them seem to be pleasure steamers, not ocean-going vessels. A book I encountered online, published in 1907, An American Hobo in Europe, speaks of crossing the Atlantic from New York on the Furnessia and landing at Greenock, some twenty-five miles from Glasgow. His ticket included the price of a train ride, which took him to St. Enoch Station. So now I'm confused. Could passengers board a ship such as the Furnessia or the Caledonia (built 1905) at Broomielaw Quay or would they instead have gotten on a train at St. Enoch Station and boarded at Greenock?

Ketzel

[Russell]

Hi Ketzel

Although most photos showed what could be called 'pleasure steamers' some were giving regular ferry service to places on the other side of the Clyde like Rothesay and Dunoon. They provided a commuter service ( current ferries still do !)
If the Furnessia was too large to come all the way up the Clyde she might have been too large to come alongside at Port Glasgow/Greenock and might lie off at the Tail o' the Bank and passengers would be ferried out in smaller boats. Some cruise liners still do this.
Some emigrants tickets covered the cost of a train journey down to London (later Portsmouth) or Liverpool so a half hour train trip down the side of the Clyde would be a pleasant start to a voyage.

Russell

[Ketzel]

Thanks, Russell, all is clear now.

Ketzel

[Hibee]

Hi ketzel

The Furnessia drew 26 feet of water when built (this may have altered when it was substantially refitted in the 1890s).

The Encyclopedia Britannica gave the depth of water at the Broomielaw in 1911, at high tide, as 26 feet.

I think I'd rather get off at Greenock.

Hibee

[Russell]

Thanks Hibee

I couldn't find that info at the time. I think my brain had gone to sleep before the rest of me .

Russell