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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
BRISTOL
CHANNEL - United
Kingdom
Barry Railway Company /
Barry and Bristol Channel Steamship Company
The Barry Railway
company was promoted by interests in coal mining and steel in the
South Wales valleys as an althernative to the existing rail service
to Cardiff docks and as such, its interests were very much in
transporting the commodities of its sponsors. It had no immediate
interest in steamers although it vigorously promoted the docks at
Barry and encouraged development in general, including the holiday
resort at Barry Island. The company persuaded P and A Campbell to run
steamers from a pier built alongside the dock, but later put their
own fleet on the station.
Having decided to compete for the steamboat business, they set about
development of a fleet capable of taking the Campbells at their own
business and PS Gwalia and PS Devonia appeared in 1905. PS Westonia
became the third steamer, bought second-hand, and PS Barry joined the
fleet in 1907.
Competition with the Campbells was never going to be easy, especially
as there was some bad blood between the two companies following
disagreement over the terms of Campbell's use of Barry Pier. The
Barry company was to run steamboats only until May 1910, selling
their fleet to avoid mounting debts and a shareholder's revolt
against a board which remained sympathetic to the venture.
Although the "Red Funnel" fleet as it became known gained a great
measure of popularity, the company was dogged by legal disputes with
its main competitors, the Campbells, legislation restricting their
freedom to develop services and the legacy of the high cost of its
three magnificent new steamers
As a railway company, parliamentary powers were required to operate
steamships and the powers granted generally included provisions which
limited operations to routes genuinely associated with the mother
company's principal business (ie railway connections to
non-accessible locations). The powers were also granted to take
account of the legitimate interests of existing operators.
The Company were limited to calls on the southern bank of the Channel
between Weston and Ilfracombe, with additional summer excursion
destinations allowed so long as the cruises started and finished at
Barry. To circumvent these restrictions, the company resorted to the
ploy of registering their vessels in the names of its directors and
set up an operating company, the Barry and Bristol Channel Steamship
Company. The Campbells resorted to successful legal action which
ensured that by July 1907, the Barry Railway Company was required to
abide by the terms of the original legislation.
Services were maintained despite deteriorating financial fortunes,
but as a cost saving measure, PS Gwalia was sold to the Furness
Railway Company on May 7th 1910. Five days later the remaining three
steamers were sold to Bristol Channel Passenger Boats Ltd. The latter
company struggled to make the business pay and after two seasons,
sold out to the Campbells.
Gwalia
Devonia
Westonia
Barry
Return to
Bristol
Channel