THAMES BARGE.
THE STATIONERS’ BARGE.
But these have all now passed away, though the cargo barges, and some of the wherries may still be seen on the river. Steamers supply their places, and from the time when Napier, in 1815, started his “fire-boat,” steam navigation on the Thames, as on all other navigable rivers, has made a steady, if not, at first, a rapid progress.
First steamer between Liverpool and the Clyde.
On the 28th June, 1815, the first steamer arrived at Liverpool from the Clyde. She was built for the purpose of carrying on the passenger traffic between the Mersey and Runcorn. On her passage round she called at Ramsey, in the Isle of Man, whence she started early in the morning, and arrived at Liverpool about noon of the same day. This vessel, the particular dimensions and details of which it is difficult now to trace, was noteworthy in more ways than one. She was not merely the first regular steamer on the Mersey, but she was, also, in reality the pioneer of the fleet of steamers which now ply with so much regularity between Liverpool and the numerous ports on the English, Irish, and Scotch coasts.
The second steamer, introduced to the waters of the Mersey in 1816, was intended to supply communication for passengers and goods between Liverpool and Chester by means of the canal, an object she effectually accomplished.
The first application of steam for the purpose of towing vessels—now an important and invaluable part of the numerous services rendered by steam to navigation—was made in October 1816, when the Harlequin was towed out of the Mersey by the Charlotte, a steamer which, in the summer of the same year, had been placed as a ferry-boat to run between Liverpool and Eastham. But the first steamer specially built at Liverpool for the purpose of a ferry was named the Etna, which, early in April of that year, began to ply between Liverpool and Tranmere. She was 63 feet long, with a paddle-wheel placed in the centre, her extremities being connected by beams, and her deck 28 feet wide over all. This primitive vessel initiated the mode of transit by means of the ferry-boats which now bridge the Mersey.
H.M. steam-ship Comet, 1819.