Video of ship launch at Ardrossan in 1919

[Mitchy]

Any board members admit to being in this!!!!

http://www.s1ardrossan.com/media/launch ... -1919.html

[meekan]

Mitchy,
I wonder if it was launched at the "new yard" into open sea or at the old yard?

[Meg]

Meekan - I was just going to ask where the yard was - it looks as if it is going straight into the sea -

Meg

[Mitchy]

Mitchy,
I wonder if it was launched at the "new yard" into open sea or at the old yard?

I never really gave that any thought. Perhaps some other posters could shed some light on this?

[mcgrattan]

Definitely the "New Yard" also called the South Yard. The giveaway is the absence of drag chains. Launched directly into thre Firth of Clyde, the next stop is Arran.

Attached is a photograph. taken in 1927, showing the location of the South Yard with Eglinton Dock and Glasgow Street etc. in the background.

Tom McGrattan

[meekan]

Thanks for that Tom, a great Photograph.

I believe the the "New Yard" was a threat to the yards on the upper Clyde (being able to launch large ships directly into deep water) and so was bought by Lord Linlithgow? and closed down.

[little plum]

meekan, I seem to remember an Ardrossan man ( McCrindle) owned the slips at one time, he also had a yard out at Troon. His offices/workshops were up the Dalry road.

[George Ardrossan]

This is a photo of McCrindle's Factory in Dalry Road, Ardrossan taken in 2002.


The premises were used by contractors building the Three Towns Bypass in 2003 and 2004.

George

[georgeflemingard]

Thanks Tom for that information on why the South Yard was closed. I often wondered why they closed a yard like that, which had so much potential, and stuck with the other one which was very limited to the size of ship they could build. especialy when the trend at that time, was to build bigger ships. Who knows what Ardrossan could have become, if they had expanded instead of closing.

[georgeflemingard]

Thanks Tom for that information on why the South Yard was closed. I often wondered why they closed a yard like that, which had so much potential, and stuck with the other one which was very limited to the size of ship they could build. especialy when the trend at that time, was to build bigger ships. Who knows what Ardrossan could have become, if they had expanded instead of closing.

[Mitchy]

Thanks Tom for that information on why the South Yard was closed. I often wondered why they closed a yard like that, which had so much potential, and stuck with the other one which was very limited to the size of ship they could build. especialy when the trend at that time, was to build bigger ships. Who knows what Ardrossan could have become, if they had expanded instead of closing.

I remember reading an article a few years back which had been released from Government archives under the 30 year rule. The article stated that the Ted Heath Government in the early 1970's had considered building a super yard at Ardrossan, and closing the upper clyde yards. Eventually all the costs were considered to be too great, as massive housing developments would have been required, and also a large percentage of the workers would have to be paid for a year for effectively doing nothing. I've searched again and again for that article online and can't find it. What puzzled me though was that the existing yards at Greenock at the time were capable of building very large vessels that launched into the open sea, so why the future of shipbuilding wasn't focused on that area is a mystery. One thought I had was that the then Conservative Government may have tried to open the new yard devoid of many of the restrictive working practices that existed at the time. I think it would have been amazing if this had happened at Ardrossan and there is no telling what this would have done for the area.

[hahaya2004]

Is this the article you were referring to, Mitchy?

http://news.scotsman.com/secretsof1972/ ... 2390148.jp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Irene