PS Comet, 1812
£20.00
PS Comet: Helensburgh, Scotland, 1812 (scroll down for a more detailed Description)
Print published 1968 by © Hugh Evelyn Limited; drawn by Peter W.M. Griffin.
Print size: c. 48 x 40 cm [19” x 14”] (size may vary slightly from printers’ cut 60 years ago)
Printed on heavy white cardstock c. 135 g/sm2.
Print is LARGE size – shipping is the same for 1 to 10 prints (based on largest print size in your order) – see Shipping & Returns
In stock
Description
Owner: Henry Bell, Helensburgh, Scotland;
Builder: John Wood & Co, Port Glagow, Scotland;
Launched and Maiden Voyage: 1812;
28 tons; Leingth: 45 ft (14 m) Beam: 10 ft (3 m)
In 1811, engineer Henry Bell of Helensburgh, Scotland commissioned a Port Glasgow shipbuilder to build a 30-ton wooden paddle steamer with a 3hp engine. He named her Comet after a spectacular comet that had appeared the previous year. In August 1812, after a trial voyage from Port Glasgow to the Broomielaw (a street beside the River Clyde in Glasgow) and then back down to Greenock, during which the boat made 5 knots against a headwind and dramatically cut the usual journey time, Bell inaugurated a regular passenger service between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh. No longer did ferries need to be so dependent upon wind and tide. This was the first commercial steam passenger service in Europe. Lengthened and improved, the Comet then ran a service to Oban and Fort William via the Crinan Canal, but in 1820 she was shipwrecked off Oban. A successor Comet sank after a collision with considerable loss of life. Bell’s pioneering venture was soon superseded technically and eclipsed by rivals but he had shown the way.
Additional information
| Weight | 0.0235 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 48 × 34.5 cm |
