THE CLUTHASGLASGOWS WATERBUSES - 1884 to 1903 In April 1884 the Clyde Trustees, who had obtained powers under the Clyde Navigation Act of 1878, to run steamers, ran a passenger service between Victoria Bridge and Whiteinch, a distance of about 4½ miles, with calls at Glasgow Bridge, Springfield Lane,Finnieston, Highland Lane (Govan), Meadowside, Linthouse and Sawmill Road (Thornwood) If you look at the photo below you will see that Broomhill drive ran right down to the Clyde at Sawmill Road. The boats, which all bore the name of Clutha and were numbered 1 to 12. They measured 74 feet by 13 feet, and had accommodation for 235 passengers. At the various places of call were floating landing-stages, at a constant level with the steamers decks. The fare was a penny for any distance and the service, linking up as it did the two sides of the river. The District Subway, opened in January 1897, diverted part of the traffic from the Cluthasand the electric trams, introduced by the Glasgow Corporation in 1901, proved disastrous to them.The service was abandoned, The last run was made by Clutha No. 11 on the 30th of November 1903. that month, No. 12 went to Ireland, plying on Lough Neagh as the Lough Neagh Queen for a Mr MGhee of Toome Bridge and afterwards she was on Loch Leven as the Loch Leven Queen, becominglater the property of Messrs MacBrayne, who again re-named her Lochness and placed heron the Inverness and Fort Augustus station.It is pleasant to record that the Cluthas enjoyed the same immunity from serious accident asthe regular Clyde fleet, not a single fatality occurring in the whole period of twenty years,during which this interesting and well-nigh forgotten enterprise was carried on. This seemslittle short of miraculous, in view of the fact that when the traffic was at its zenith the steamers were carrying over two and a half millions of passengers annually. Source : Andrew McQueens Clyde River Steamers of The Last Fifty Years (1923)
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 13:14:24 +0000
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