In 1812, the first paddle steamer to sail in European coastal waters made its first journey between Glasgow and Greenock. No longer was man restricted to sail, but steam had shown the way. Since then, over 400 paddle steamers have plied the waters of the Clyde. For the first time, a truly definitive record of the Clyde paddlers has been produced. Alistair Deayton has used contemporary records from the Clyde Trustees, as well as the steamship operators and the shipyards to produce a book detailing every one of the Clyde steamers from 1812 to the last survivors. From Bell's Comet of 1812 to the preserved Waverley of today, he records every paddler that carried a fare-paying passenger on the upper and lower Clyde, illustrating many of the vessels using rare images, some dating back to the dawn of photography itself. |
