ELIZABETH was a 445 ton sailing
ship built at Bristol in 1832 for Miles & Co. She was
acquired by PSNC in January 1840 to transport coal to Valparaiso
where she was to be converted into a coal hulk. However, the
crew deemed here unseaworthy for a voyage round Cape Horn
and she was subsequently sold in the February.
PORTSEA was a 451 ton sailing
barque built at Calcutta in 1808 for the London - Calcutta
trade. She was acquired by PSNC in February 1840 as a replacement
for the Elizabeth. After completing the voyage to Valparaiso
she had her topmasts and yards removed and was used as a coal
hulk. Her subsequent disposal is not recorded.
CECILIA was a 325 ton sailing
barque built at Dunbar in 1815 for Alexander & Co. of
Glasgow for their Clyde - Australia service. She was acquired
by PSNC in 1841 for a voyage to Valparaiso where her topmasts
and yards were removed prior to being used as a coal hulk.
Her subsequent disposal is not recorded.
JASPER, of which no details
are known, sailed to Valparaiso with a cargo of coal and was
converted into a coal hulk at one of the South American stations.
Details of her disposal are not known.
CHILE (1) was built in 1840
by Curling & Young at Limehouse, London with a tonnage
of 682grt, a length of 198ft, a beam of 29ft and a service
speed of 8 knots. Launched on 18th April 1840 at a cost of
£11935 she was a paddle steamer with sails on two masts.
The funnel was hinged so that when she was under sail only
it could be stowed in the horizontal position on chocks. She
had accommodation for 116 passengers and 64 crew members.
Under the command of Capt. Glover she commenced her maiden
voyage on 24th June 1840 from Gravesend to Valparaiso via
Falmouth, Rio de Janeiro, and the Straits of Magellan. When
she arrived at Point Famine she rendezvoused with her sister,
the Peru, so that they could sail into Valparaiso at the same
time on 16th October. In 1841 she struck a reef and had to
return to Valparaiso in a sinking condition where she was
repaired and returned to service with the funnel forward of
the paddle boxes. She was replaced by the Santiago in 1852
and sold to the Chilean Government. Her subsequent history
is unknown.
PERU (1) was built in 1840
by Curling & Young at Limehouse, London with a tonnage
of 690grt, a length of 198ft, a beam of 29ft and a service
speed of 8 knots. Sister of the Chile she commenced her maiden
voyage under the command of Capt. George Peacock on 10th July
1840 from Gravesend to Valparaiso via Falmouth and the Straits
of Magellan. She then made the first coastal sailing between
Valparaiso and Callao which took eight days. She was due to
be sold in 1852 after being replaced by the Lima but before
that could happen she stranded and was lost.
BOLIVIA (1) was built in 1849
by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow with a tonnage of 773grt,
a length of 197ft 6in, a beam of 26ft and a service speed
of 8 knots. Similar to the Chile she commenced her maiden
voyage under command of Capt. Brown on 23rd October 1849 from
Liverpool to Valparaiso via Madeira and Rio de Janeiro. On
arrival she was deployed on the Valparaiso - Antofagasta -
Callao service. She was reduced to a coal hulk at Valparaiso
in 1870 and nine years later was towed out to sea and scuttled.
ECUADOR (1) was built in 1845
by Tod & MacGregor at Glasgow with a tonnage of 323grt,
a length of 120ft 8in, a beam of 21ft 6in and a service speed
of 8 knots. A simple side wheel paddle steamer she was the
company's first iron hulled ship and commenced her maiden
voyage in January 1846 under the command of Capt. N. Glover
from Liverpool to Callao via Valparaiso. She was then deployed
on the Callao - Guayaquil - Panama coastal service which linked
with Royal Mail's Panama overland route. In 1850 she was deemed
too small for the service and was sold to Pacific Mail Steamship
Corp. of America. After three further years service she was
wrecked at Coquimbo.
NEW GRANADA (1) was built in
1846 by Smith & Rodgers at Glasgow with a tonnage of 694grt,
a length of 177ft 5in, a beam of 24ft 7in and a service speed
of 8 knots. A schooner rigged side wheel paddle steamer she
commenced her maiden voyage in August 1846 under the command
of Capt. John Williams from Liverpool to Callao via Madeira,
Rio de Janeiro and Valparaiso. She was placed with the Ecuador
on the Callao - Guayaquil - Panama service. She was disposed
of in 1850 but details of the sale and subsequent history
are not recorded. As a point of interest, New Granada was
the former name of the Republic of Colombia.
SANTIAGO (1) was built in 1851
by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow with a tonnage of 961grt,
a length of 246ft 4in, a beam of 28ft and a service speed
of 10 knots. The first of four paddle steamers, which together
cost £140,000, were built to replace the Chile, the
Peru, the Ecuador and the New Granada. She was delivered for
the Liverpool - Valparaiso service under the command of Captain
Hind. In 1857 she was sold to the Peruvian Government and
converted, initially, into a frigate and then a non-seagoing
training ship.
LIMA
(1) was built in 1851 by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow with
a tonnage of 1461grt, a length of 249ft 6in, a beam of 29ft
2in and a service speed of 10 knots. She commenced her maiden
voyage on 2nd October 1851 and completed the voyage from Liverpool
to Valparaiso at an average speed of 9.75 knots consuming
2 tons of coal per hour. In 1852 she was fired upon by shore
batteries when she called to deliver the mails at Guayaquil.
She was the company's first ship to return to Liverpool in
1854 where she was lengthened and a compound engine installed.
This gave her a new speed of 10.5 knots on 1 ton of coal per
hour. On 11th July 1863 she was wrecked off Lagartija Island
in Southern Chile.
QUITO (1) was built in 1852 by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow
with a tonnage of 1461grt, a length of 248ft 8in, a beam of
28ft and a service speed of 10 knots. a slightly larger sister
of the Santiago she commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool
to Valparaiso on 25th January 1852. In August of the following
year during a voyage from Panama to Valparaiso she was lost
on a reef 12 miles from Huasco..
BOGOTA (1) was built in 1852
by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow with a tonnage of 1461grt,
a length of 248ft 8in, a beam of 28ft and a service speed
of 10 knots. The last of the quartet she commenced her maiden
voyage on 25th February 1852 from Liverpool to Valparaiso
and in 1856 returned to Liverpool where she was equipped with
a compound engine. In 1871 she struck a reef off Tarada Point
but was salvaged and reduced to a coal hulk. Seven years later,
in 1878, she was towed out to sea and scuttled.
LA PERLITA was built in 1853
by Bank Quay Foundry Co. at Warrington with a tonnage of 140grt,
a length of 106ft, a beam of 17ft 5in and a service speed
of 9 knots. A simple side wheel paddle steamer she was built
for the Buenaventura (Colombia - Panama service but on 17th
June she left Liverpool on her delivery voyage under the command
of Capt. Maughan and disappeared without trace. The journey,
via the Straits of Magellan, was over 11,000 miles and an
incredible undertaking for a vessel so small.
OSPREY was built in 1852 at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 609grt, a length of 169ft 7in, a
beam of 18ft 6in and a service speed of 9 knots. A simple
side wheel paddle steamer she was built as the Osprey for
the City of Cork Steam Ship Co. She was acquired in the following
year for the Callao - Pisco - Huacho service but was lost
during the voyage out to Peru.
VALDIVIA (1) was built in 1853
by Caird & Co. at Cartsdyke, Greenock with a tonnage of
573grt, a length of 128ft 6in, a beam of 21ft 2in and a service
speed of 9 knots. She was the company's first screw propelled
ship and the only one with a wooden hull. The intention was
to use her as a coastal feeder ship but she proved to be too
small. She completed her delivery voyage from Liverpool to
Valparaiso in 1853 and four years later she stranded and was
lost near Valparaiso.
PANAMA (1) was built in 1854
by John Reid & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 270grt,
a length of 128ft 6in, a beam of 21ft 2in and a service speed
of 9 knots. Iron hulled, she was built as a replacement for
the La Perlita but after commencing her maiden voyage from
Liverpool in April 1854 she struck a rock and sank near Point
Tamar.
INCA (1) was built in 1856
by Caird & Co. at Cartsdyke, Greenock with a tonnage of
290grt, a length of 130ft 8in, a beam of 20ft 9in and a service
speed of 9 knots. Sister of the Valdivia she was , with the
Valparaiso, the first ship to be fitted with the compound
inverted engine. In 1852 John Elder went into partnership
with Charles Randolph as Randolph & Elder. On 24th January
1853 they secured the patent for the vertical direct acting
compound engine. A high pressure cylinder and a low pressure
cylinder moved in opposite directions to drive two diametrically
opposed crankshafts. The compound engine reduced coal consumption
by 30% and the first ship to be fitted with such an engine
was the Brandon. On 15th March 1856 Randolf & Elder took
out a patent for an improved compound engine in the form of
a "V" which saved space and which was described
as compound inverted. In 1858 the two partners acquired the
old yard of James Napier & Hoey and added shipbuilding
to their activities. Charles Randolf retired in 1868 and the
company became John Elder & Co., a name which, in 1885,
was changed to Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.
Ltd. The Inca was delivered in 1856 for deployment on the
Callao to Chala mail service. She was sold in 1874, renamed
Union and later in the same year was wrecked at Puerto Bueno
in Chile.
VALPARAISO
(1) was built in 1856 by Randolph & Elder at Glasgow with
a tonnage of 1060grt, a length of 234ft 1in, a beam of 29ft
1in and a service speed of 13 knots. On completion she sailed
from Liverpool to Valparaiso where she was deployed on the
Valparaiso - Chileo service with nine ports of call. On 20th
February 1871 she was wrecked on Lagartiga Island, Chile during
a voyage from Calbuco to Ancud. Although known about locally
the wreck wasn't identified and some relics removed until
1976.
CALLAO (1) was built in 1858
by John Reid & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 700grt,
a length of 235ft, a beam of 29ft and a service speed of 13
knots. Similar to the Valparaiso she was built for the Valparaiso
- Pacific ports - Panama service and remained there until
she was converted into a coal hulk at Valparaiso.
CLODA was built in 1857 at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 699grt, a length of 214ft 5in, a
beam of 30ft 5in and a service speed of 9 knots. She was built
for an Irish company, supposedly by Randolph & Elder although,
at the time, all newbuildings were compounded at John Elder's
yard. Purchased by PSNC in 1858 for the South American Pacific
Coast services she remained with the company until 25th January
1865 when she was lost off Huacho in Peru without any loss
of life.
PRINCE OF WALES was built in
1854 by W Simons & Co. at Whiteinch with a tonnage of
700grt, a length of 195ft 5in, a beam of 26ft 4in and a service
speed of 10 knots. She was built as the Prince of Wales with
a funnel, red with a black top, whose rake great than that
of the masts, but not acquired by PSNC until 1858 to replace
the Valdivia. In the following year she was wrecked on the
coast of Chile.
ANNE was built in 1854 by Chas
Rennoldson at South Shields with a tonnage of 344grt, a length
of 153ft 4in, a beam of 22ft and a service speed of 9 knots.
She was built for the South American Mining Co. of London
for trading between Valparaiso and Puerto Montt. Acquired
by PSNC in 1859 to replace the Prince of Wales she was deemed
too small and sold in 1864. Her career thereafter is unknown.
SAN CARLOS was built in 1860 at Renfrew with a tonnage of
652grt, a length of 199ft 9in, a beam of 30ft 2in and a service
speed of 9 knots. She was built for the Callao - Guayaquil
- Panama service and sold in 1874 to unspecified buyers.
LIMA
(1) was built in 1851 by Robert Napier at Govan, Glasgow with
a tonnage of 1461grt, a length of 249ft 6in, a beam of 29ft
2in and a service speed of 10 knots. She commenced her maiden
voyage on 2nd October 1851 and completed the voyage from Liverpool
to Valparaiso at an average speed of 9.75 knots consuming
2 tons of coal per hour. In 1852 she was fired upon by shore
batteries when she called to deliver the mails at Guayaquil.
She was the company's first ship to return to Liverpool in
1854 where she was lengthened and a compound engine installed.
This gave her a new speed of 10.5 knots on 1 ton of coal per
hour. On 11th July 1863 she was wrecked off Lagartija Island
in Southern Chile. 
VALPARAISO
(1) was built in 1856 by Randolph & Elder at Glasgow with
a tonnage of 1060grt, a length of 234ft 1in, a beam of 29ft
1in and a service speed of 13 knots. On completion she sailed
from Liverpool to Valparaiso where she was deployed on the
Valparaiso - Chileo service with nine ports of call. On 20th
February 1871 she was wrecked on Lagartiga Island, Chile during
a voyage from Calbuco to Ancud. Although known about locally
the wreck wasn't identified and some relics removed until
1976. 
