Tod & Macgregor Customers:
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Anchor Line (ships over 1,000 tons) |
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Year: |
Ship Name: |
Builder |
Tonnage: |
|
1855 |
Tempest |
Sandeman & McLaurin, Whiteinch |
866 |
|
1857 |
United Kingdom |
Robert Steel & Co. Greenock |
1,305 |
|
1860 |
United States | Tod and Macgregor |
1,197 |
|
1862 |
Caledonia (I) | Tod and Macgregor |
1,397 |
|
1863 |
Tod and Macgregor |
1,292 |
|
|
1863 |
Tod and Macgregor |
1,393 |
|
|
1864 |
Iowa |
John Horn, Neptune Iron Works, Waterford. |
2,273 |
|
1865 |
Hibernia |
Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Linthouse |
1,616 |
|
1866 |
Columbia |
Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Linthouse |
2,030 |
|
1867 |
Europa |
Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Linthouse |
1,701 |
|
1868 |
Shamrock |
L. Houghton, Bath, Maine. USA |
1,193 |
|
1869 |
India |
W. Sinons & Co. Renfrew |
2,477 |
|
1869 |
Cambria |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
2,141 |
|
1869 |
Tyrian |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
1,039 |
|
1870 |
Anglia |
Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Linthouse |
2,253 |
|
1870 |
Australia |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
2,252 |
|
1870 |
Sidonian |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
1,391 |
|
1870 |
Ismailia |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
1,630 |
|
1870 |
Alexandria |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
1,630 |
|
1871 |
Assyria |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
1,630 |
|
1871 |
Trinacria |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
2,051 |
|
1871 |
Olympia |
Charles Connell & Co. Scotstoun |
2,210 |
|
1872 |
California |
Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Linthouse |
3,287 |
|
1872 |
Victoria |
Robert Duncan & Co. Port Glasgow |
3,242 |
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Etc. |
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Notes:
The Anchor Line commenced service in 1852. However, it started to use this name only in 1856. The company was a partnership between two brothers, Nicol and Robert Handyside, and Thomas Henderson, a sailor who's last command had been wrecked off Portpatrick with considerable loss of life. Although blameless, the first mate was transported for seven years for his actions on the bridge, Henderson was placed under a cloud.
The first route worked was the Clyde to Melbourne route. The next route attempted was Glasgow to Valparaiso, followed in 1854 by the Glasgow to Lisbon route. Bombay, Ceylon and Madras were added in 1855.
It was late in 1855 that the Tempest was converted into a steamer and made her first sailing to New York from Glasgow on the 11th of October 1856. The crossing took 28 days. This got the North American route going, and although there was a pause during the Indian Mutiny from 1857 to 1859, services resumed and Montreal and Quebec were added.
John Henderson, the former commander of the United Kingdom, replaced the retiring Nicol Handyside in 1859. In 1860 the first Tod & Macgregor ship, the United States, was purchased. This enabled the Anchor Line to offer a three-weekly service across the Atlantic. This was an elusive objective as both this ship, and another Tod and Macgregor purchase (the Caledonia) were lost soon after coming into service.
The second Caledonia replaced the John Bell, which had been sold, but it was not until 1866 that the purchase of the Iowa and the Columbia enabled the company to better monthly sailings.
The advantage of the larger network was that when one route was doing poorly another route was generally profitable. The company continued to grow and in 1872 it jointly purchased the Tod & Macgregor shipyard with the Henderson brothers; David and William.
Robert Baird Handyside retired in 1873 and the company became "Henderson Brothers". The connection with the yard was close; 32 Henderson ships were built at the yard between 1876 and 1911.
[Anchor Line, R.S. McLellan]