#marine engineer

John Elder, marine engineer and shipbuilder, died on the 17th of September, 1869.

John Elder was a marine engineer and shipbuilder, who developed practical compounding marine engines and conceived the modern integrated shipbuilding yard, basically without his work the shipbuilding yards of the Clyde would not be the same. Elder gave the world major contributions to engineering and shipbuilding:

The practical development of compounding in marine engines. This made long-distance steam shipping both possible and economic, and also improved the economics of shorter-haul steam navigation. It allowed the extension of steam power to cargo liners and tramp ships, and greatly accelerated the substitution of steam for sail in the world's shipping. To this should be added his patent for triple and quadruple expansion marine engines, foreshadowing later 19th century developments.

He initiated the conception of the modern heavy engineering workshop, with overhead gantry cranes developed, as seen in the still-existing Fairfield Engine Works in Govan.

The conception of the modern integrated shipbuilding yard. With only minor alterations the plan of the present Govan Shipyard survives largely as John Elder conceived it. It was the foremost yard on the Clyde until the great liners were built at John Brown's, and has outlasted most, including the builder of the "Queens". As one of BAe Systems' yards, it is still a highly effective production unit, notable for building the largest elements of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

At its peak production in 1868-69, the final eighteen months of Elder's life, the Fairfield Yard employed 4,000 people and produced 18 engine sets of 6100 aggregate horsepower and 14 ships of 27,000 aggregate tonnage. Elder had created one of the greatest enterprises of its kind in the world.

Elder was also a model employer of his 4,000 workforce, with a real concern for the well-being of his men and their families. At his funeral, as reported by the Rev. Norman MacLeod "a very army of workmen, dressed like gentlemen, followed his body - column after column. Respectful crowds lined the streets, as if gazing on the burial of a prince; and every one of us .. felt that we had left a friend behind us."

His statue in Elder Park, Govan, erected by public subscription in 1888, carries the inscription: "By his many inventions, particularly in connection with the compound engine, he effected a revolution in engineering second only to that accomplished by James Watt, and in great measure, originated the developments in steam propulsion which have created modern commerce" and: "His unwearied efforts to promote the welfare of the working classes, his integrity of character, firmness of purpose, and kindness of heart, claim, equally with his genius, enduring remembrance".

7th April 1767 saw the birth in Torphichen of Henry Bell.

Not a well known name to many but Bell would make his name by building the the paddle steamer PS Comet and, in 1812, using it to run Europe’s first commercially viable passenger steamboat service on the River Clyde.

Bell was educated in the local Parish school at Torphichen his family were well known at the time as millwrights, builders and engineers.

After schooling he spent time learning trades as a stonemason, Millwright and Model ship modeler, he was something of a visionary and a jack of all trades, it was another trade, engineering that he ended up excelling.

He became fascinated by the then experimental technology and potential of steam propelled ships. He corresponded with and may have assisted the American steamship pioneer Robert Fulton who, in 1807, introduced a steamboat service in New York. However, Bell failed to persuade the Admiralty to take any interest in his ideas about steam propulsion. While continuing to experiment and speculate, he and his wife moved in 1807 to Helensburgh where they ran an inn and superintended the public baths.

He must have been bored for as well as doing the two jobs in Helensburgh Henry was still tinkering with his steam engines, and he 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 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.

Bell was not a successful businessman and ended his days in poverty, dependent upon a public subscription on his behalf, supported by Thomas Telford among others, and an annual stipend from the trustees of the Clyde Navigation.