Steamers of the Clyde: The White Funnel Fleet

Alistair Deayton takes us on another tour of Clyde pleasure steamers, looking at the ships of Williamson Buchanan and Turbine Steamers Ltd, two of the major independent players on the Clyde. The Williamson-Buchanan steamers served the routes ''doon the watter'' from the centre of Glasgow to the Clyde Coast resorts, whilst the ships of Turbine Steamers covered long-distance day excursions to Inveraray and Campbeltown. The book also includes the steamers of the Lochgoil Company and the two magnificent paddle steamers called the Lord of the Isles. From Arran to Rothesay and all ports in between, we''re taken on a nostalgic trip back to the days when steam was King on the Clyde and when you could travel from Arran to Glasgow in less than two hours. A special chapter is given to the development of the White Funnel turbines, which saw the world''s first steam-turbine-powered passenger ship, King Edward, sail on the Clyde.