From “Comet” to “Caledonia”

There have been several hundred Clyde built paddle steamers, which have plied the Estuary and the west coast of Scotland since the introduction of the first paddle steamer, Henry Bell’s Comet of 1812. The many papers, publications, advertisements, travellers tales, and pictures, etc., which have appeared since that time, have left us with an assortment of information, sometimes conflicting, about many of these ships. Gleaning information from some of the above sources, this book tries to establish what several of the Clyde paddle steamers actually looked like as originally built, what changes were made to them during their lives, and what they looked like in their final condition. Each steamer is illustrated by a three-view drawing carrying notes about the alterations made during the steamers life, there is a short text with brief details about the ship, and photographs or a sketch of each ship is also included.