Blog at the Ballast

Throughout the 1800s the Firth of Clyde was populated by steamers. These ships  were praised for their speed and would sail as far as Largs, Campbeltown and Inverary, taking holidaymakers to resorts and providing a commuter service for those travelling from holiday homes. They provided an integrated transport system, allowing for fast connections with the new railheads along the coast. The ships were...

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New puffer images have been added to our Dan McDonald collection on Flickr. This one is of two puffers, the Pibroch and  Smeaton, passing each other on the Crinan Canal and crew members taking the opportunity to have a break and a chat.  The Pibroch, the older vessel of the two, was built by Scotts of Bowling in 1923 for Mackie Brothers who owned the White Horse...

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More images have been added to our Dan McDonald collection on Flickr, including this one of the tug Flying Serpent pulling the cargo ship Laguna into port at the James Watt Dock in Greenock.   The Flying Serpent was built by Ferguson Shipbuilders and launched from their yard at Port Glasgow on 16 March 1909 and then completed in 1911.  It was owned...

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This week at the Ballast Trust we took delivery of the latest edition the Business Archives Council of Scotland's journal Scottish Business and Industrial History.  The journal formerly known as Scottish Industrial History has been published by the Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) since 1977 and is devoted to the dissemination of original historical research into all periods and facets of Scotland's...

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