PS Glen Rosa
1877 The GLEN ROSA was built by Caird and Co, Greenock, for Messrs. Shearer and Ritchie, to run to Arran via Rothsay and Kilchattan Bay; but as it frequently happened with privately-owned Clyde steamers, the enterprise was a failure. So in 1881 the GLEN ROSA came to the Thames, having been purchased by the Thames and Channel Steamship Co, London. In 1888, on one occasion, she made the trip from London to Clacton and back on the same day, that being the first occasion on which an excursion steamer had done so. The trip was not remarkable for speed, but merely because the GLEN ROSA was scheduled to turn back at Clacton. She gained a good deal of publicity by attaining a speed of 21 knots with wind and tide in her favour. In her early days on the Thames, the author well remembers the common remark “GLEN ROSA late again" this frequently happened, due to mechanical troubles.
Unlike most excursion steamers, the GLEN ROSA was not tied to any one route, but was run on various services. At one time, for example, she was put on between Harwich and Yarmouth, so as to connect with the KOH-I-NOOR at Harwich. She also ran from London to Southend and Sheerness.
Her owners - which were many - after coming to the Thames were as follows: —
- 1881 Thames and Channel Steamship Co
- 1883 London Steamboat Co
- 1885 River Thames Steamboat Co
- 1890 Victoria Steamboat Association
- 1893 Hastings, St. Leonards and Eastbourne Steamboat Co
- 1896 A. Campbell, Bristol
- 1898 P. and A. Campbell and Co, Bristol
- 1917-19 Taken over by the Admiralty and engaged as a mine-sweeper.
- 1921 Broken up by Pugsley and Co, Bristol.
The dimensions of the GLEN ROSA were as follows: Length 206.1 ft. by 20.1 by 7.5. Gross tons 254. Single-cylinder diagonal engine, the cylinder being 50 in. by 72 in.; N.H.P. 129. One haystack boiler, working pressure 50 lb. per sq. in. New engine 1887; new boiler 1891.
See Also
Sources of Information
- 'Steamers of the Thames and Medway' by Frank Burtt