Two centuries of shipbuilding by the Scotts at Greenock

The London County Council Thames Steamers. 83
carries her cargo of about 4000 tons and her passengers
at a speed of 16 knots, for a consumption of ordinary
coal of about 50 tons per day.
In our historical Chapters it has been clearly shown
that the Scotts took a prominent "* part in the evolution
of Channel steamers, and reference may be made to the
latest vessels of this class now being built at the Company's
works — two steamers for the old and successful firm of
G. and J. Burns, Limited. These vessels, the dimensions
of which are : — Length 233 ft., breadth 33 ft., depth 24 ft.,
are to have a speed of 13 knots. They are to be employed
on the service between Glasgow and Manchester, and are
fitted for steerage passengers, and also for conveying cattle,
horses and sheep. The machinery consists of three-
cylinder triple-expansion engines of 1750 indicated horse-
power, having cylinders 23 in., 36 in., and 58 in. in diameter
respectively, with a stroke of 42 in. The boilers, of which
there are two in each ship, are 14 ft. in diameter and
12 ft. 6 in. in length, with a heating surface of 4000
square feet, and a grate area of 120 square feet. They
work under natural draught at a pressure of 175 lb. per
square inch.
We might continue almost indefinitely describing
different types of ships, but will content ourselves with a
reference to the fleet of Thames passenger steamers built
in 1905 for the London County Council. Of the thirty
vessels constructed for the Council, twenty had their
boilers and engines from the Scotts' Works. Ten of the
steamers, in which this machinery was fitted, were built
on the Clyde by Messrs. Napier and Miller ; six at
Southampton, by Messrs. John I. Thornycroft and Com-
pany ; and four at Greenwich, by Messrs. G. Rennie and
Company. These vessels are 130 ft. long, and of very
light draught — 2 ft. 10 in. when loaded. An idea of their
proportions is given by the engraving on Plate XXXIV.,