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Victoria (1886)
Victoria leaving Ardrossan in the 1890s in a photograph by kind courtesy of Hamish Coutts ABIPP
Launched on May
26th 1886 by Blackwood & Gordon of Port Glasgow
Engines : Simple double diagonal 40 and 40 in x 66 in
Dimensions : 222.4 ft x 23.1 ft
341 Gross Registered Tons
Built for Gillies and
Campbell primarily for excursion work from their Wemyss Bay base
This use aggravated the relationship between Capt.Campbell and the
railway company with whom G & C provided connections.
In 1890 when the Caledonian Railway put their own vessels at Wemyss
Bay, Victoria was sold for use at Belfast.
Returned to the Clyde in 1892 for the Scottish Excursion Steamer Co
Ltd. (Mr Morris Carswell) and immediately reboilered.
Placed on the Fairlie - Campbeltown run in association with the
Glasgow & South Western Railway.
Seriously damaged by fire in September 1893
Appeared in 1894 for the Victoria Steamboat Association member London & East Coast Express Steamship Service running
between Great Yarmouth and Harwich
Returned to the Clyde in 1897 for The Clyde Steamers Ltd (Mr A Dawson Reid) and gained
extreme notoriety as a "Sabbath Breaker", sailing on Sundays.
Sunday sailing led to legal battles and battles with pier owners and
Sabbatarians
Victoria was withdrawn after the 1897 season and returned to the Thames
Broken up in 1900
Return
to
Gillies
& Campbell
Victoria Steamboat
Association
The Clyde Steamers Ltd
British Paddle Steamer
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