1850s tugs for France

[davidships]

Between 1855 and 1857 the newly-formed Compagnie de Touage de la Basse Seine et de l'Oise (TBSO) built seven iron-hulled "toueurs" ("warping tugs" connected to fixed chains laid along sections of the Seine and Oise rivers) at Hull. They were 100ihp, and named MALAKOFF, NAPOLÉON, SEINE (1855), OISE (1856), CRIMÉE, MONITOR and CHARLEROI (1857).
http://www.walewski.org/upload/File/his ... n.pdf(page 3)

Anyone have any idea who might have built these?

This postcard photo may be this CHARLEROI (these toueurs seemed to have long lives). it was taken after 1898, when TBSO merged with another company to form Société Générale de Touage et de Remorquage (SGTR).

David

[northeast]

An interesting find, David.
They don't appear on the full yard list for Earle's, who had started building in 1853.
The only others that show up in my lists over 1855-57 are Martin Samuelson and Brownlow, Lumsden, the lists I have for them may not be complete so they are possibilities .... but could equally have been from some other small builder not yet found!

[davidships]

Thanks George. I suspect one of the two you mention.

Here's another - the PARIS, taken a bit earlier, when still with TBSO.

and after 1898:

[wreckmaster]

Another building in iron at Hull around then was Thomas & Wakefield Pim.

I compiled a yard list for Thomas and Wakefield Pim about two years ago, I suspect I missed a few vessels for German or Russian owners, but I did not find any such as these. Brothers Thomas and Wakefield Pim (Pimm) were Quakers with connections to Waterford and the Malcomsons (Waterford SS Co) they went bust in 1856 or 1857.
You will find a short history on http://www.humberpacketboats.co.uk/hull.html .

[Whickham]

According to the Morning Chronicle, which was a London based paper, but quoting a Hull paper, the NAPOLEON was a screw steamer, but no mention of towing and she was a "sister" of others not mentioned in David's list. But . . .

[Whickham]

The site that Wreckmaster refers to states that Samuelson built 8 tugs for France in 1863. So I have started to look at 1863 instead. I found this article in a review of Hull activity for 1862 which does not bode well for finding anything.

[Whickham]

French tugs but the owner doesn't match:

[Whickham]

Samuelson launched four vessels on the same day to coincide with a visit by the Earl de Grey & Ripon. The fourth vessel was a "toueur" but not one of the ones we are looking for. The article is quite long so I have extracted the start and the end.

[davidships]

I have been looking into this 1863 batch also. Interestingly they are listed on Miramar as 1533grt iron tugs for British owners names "No.1"-"No.8", and Samuelson Yd No 69-76 (are those numbers documented or assumes, I wonder). But we know from contemporary reports that they were for France and that one launched on 29/10/1863 was named SOLFERINO. Samuelson launched four vessels on that day, which was also the day that Earl de Grey and Ripon was inaugurated as Lord High Steward of Hull.

<<<<<<<
"General and concise history and description of the town and port of Kingston-upon-Hull"
http://archive.org/stream/generalconcis ... a_djvu.txt

* The first vessel launched was christened, by Miss A. A. Croome, the Countess of
Ripon. She is a splendid ship, of above 1,200 tons register, and is intended to be an
East Indiaman. The next in order was the Lightning, christened by Miss Bannister,
and to be fitted precisely like the former ship, for the same trade. The third vessel
that left the stocks was christened, by Miss Moss, the Earl de Grey and Ripon. She
is a screw steamer, and will have engines of 90 horse power. Her tonnage, O.M., is
789. The last vessel launched was a tug, one of eight, built for a French company,
to trade between Rouen and Paris. She was christened by Miss M. Samuelson the
Solferino. She has two screws, her engines are of fifty horse power, and her tonnage,
O.M., is 247 tons. All the vessels were launched by the new guillotine system, an
ingenious and simple process used in the Portsmouth and other dockyards. The
launches were perfect. The splendid vessels glided into their future element mag-
nificently and majestically, amidst the cheers of the assembled thousands.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

But i have failed so far to find any refernce to these vessels in French sources. But will look at the London register books at Kew when I can as the last two were registered there as:
ON 48691 - NO SEVEN
ON 48692 - NO EIGHT
i must have seen these in the books before but not identified them as tugs.

[edit] And we now have confirmation that they were also "toueurs" (warping tugs) and built for Eugene Godeaux & Cie, via B Fothergill. Godeaux was the engineer who laid the chain system used by the earlier batch of toueurs built in 1855-57. Noted that the 26/6/1863 report doesn't name the tug.

[davidships]

At last had a chance to look out the registration documents at Kew for last two of the 1863/4 batch. No great revelations, I'm afraid. As was customary at that time, the ship type and the shipbuilder were not identified.

NO. SEVEN / NO. EIGHT - ON 48691 / 48692
153grt 68nrt 128.6 x 19.9 x 7.2ft
completed 24/2/1864 at Hull (iron hull)
steam 2cyl 45nhp 2-screw

26/2/1868 Benjamin Fothergill, London, civil engineer (reg London)
10/6/1868 "transferred to French owners at Rouen"