KINFAUNS
CASTLE (1) .was built in 1879 by John Elder & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 3507grt, a length of 360ft 4in, a beam of
43ft and a service speed of 12 knots. She was delivered to D.
Currie & Co., which was still the registered name of the
company, was the first steel hulled ship ordered by the company
and constructed for potential conversion into an Armed Merchant
Cruiser. In 1883 she was sold to the Russian Volunteer Fleet
at Odessa and renamed Moscva (Moskva) and in 1895 became the
Russian training ship Proot (Prut), also based in Odessa. In
1909 she was converted into an operational minelaying training
ship. On 29th October 1914 she was hit by gunfire from the German
battlecruiser Goeben which had been temporarily renamed Sultan
Selim off Cape Fiolen, Sevastopol and was scuttled to avoid
capture. Ten days later the Sultan Selim was badly damaged by
two mines laid by her victim .(A.Crisp)
GRANTULLY
CASTLE (1) was built in 1879 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 3489grt, a length of 359ft 7in, a
beam of 43ft 10in and a service speed of 12 knots. Sister of
the Kinfauns Castle she was built in iron rather than steel
and joined the mail run in January 1880. In 1888 she became
the first Castle ship to be fitted with refrigeration for fruit
and carried 30 tons of grapes packed in cork dust. She was sold
to Booth Line in 1896 and renamed Augustine (2). On 2nd October
1904 she rescued the crew of the Greek ship Clementine, owned
by AG Vassiliadi of Syra, 24 miles west of Ushant. She was sold
for £8250 in August 1912 and broken up by Harris &
Co. at Falmouth, Cornwall. (Photo: Nautical Photo Agency)
GARTH CASTLE was built in 1880 by John Elder
& Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 3537grt, a length of
365ft, a beam of 43ft 6in and a service speed of 12 knots. The
first of two near sisters of the Kinfauns Castle she was named
after Sir Donald Currie's estate in Scotland. On 23rd July 1881
she hosted a dinner for leading personalities after a fleet
review in Leith Roads. Transferred to the Intermediate service
in 1890 she became surplus to requirements when the companies
merged in March 1900. She was sold to Elder Dempster & Co.
in 1901 for their Bristol to Jamaica service and in the July
was chartered to Franco-Canadian Steam Navigation Co. for their
Dunkirk - Bordeaux - Quebec run. In 1902 she was sold to Khedivial
Mail Steamship & Graving Dock Co. of London and renamed
Ismailia. She was sold on to Soc. Armatrice Radivo-Frausin of
Trieste, renamed Brunette and broken up in Italy in 1923.
DRUMMOND CASTLE was built in 1881 by John
Elder & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 3537grt, a length
of 365ft, a beam of 43ft 6in and a service speed of 12 knots.
Sister of the Garth Castle she was built for the mail run and,
in 1892, had the distinction of carrying the first cargo of
South African peaches in her 'cold chambers'. She was transferred
to the Intermediate service in 1894. On 28th May 1896 she sailed
from Cape Town under the command of Capt. W.W. Pierce with 143
passenger and 103 crew. On 16th June she was lost at night and
in poor visibility on Pierres Vertes Reef, Molene Island off
Ushant. The sea was so calm that there were no breakers to warn
the watch keepers that the ship was off course in the tide race.
Earlier, the Werfa (C.H.W. Grassdorf, Cardiff) had sighted and
logged the Drummond Castle as being off course. When the ship
hit the reef the captain was under the impression that she was
fast aground and ordered the lifeboats to be readied for lowering.
In accordance with company policy for ships at sea the lifeboats
were already slung out and all that was required was for the
braces and belly bands to be removed. The captain also gave
the order to let off steam in case of explosion. However, the
ship was not fast and had overshot the reef. Within four minutes
she had sunk before a lifeboat could be lowered and out of the
246 persons on board only three were saved, one passenger and
two members of the crew. M. Alphonse Bertillon of the French
Criminal Investigation Dept. was asked to investigate the scene
and identified 51 of the 53 bodies recovered, receiving a gold
medal from Queen Victoria for his efforts. In 1929, whilst searching
for bullion aboard P&O's Egypt which sank in 1922, the Italian
salvage vessel Artigilio of Soc. Sorima found the hull of the
Drummond Castle with a long gash in the hull from the keel to
the waterline.
PEMBROKE
CASTLE (2) was built in 1883 by Barrow Shipbuilding Co. at Barrow-in-Furness
with a tonnage of 3936grt, a length of 400ft 2in, a beam of
42ft 7in and a service speed of 12 knots. She was actually purchased
on the stocks, the only vessel built away from the Clyde prior
to the merger, the first four masted steamship and the largest
ship in the fleet at the time. On completion in July 1883 she
undertook a shakedown cruise carrying dignitaries around Britain
but also made a call at Copenhagen where the Tzar and other
royalty were received on board. In service she replaced the
Kinfauns Castle and was deployed on the Intermediate run and
as a relief mailship. In June 1901 she was used as a coastal
passenger and mailship following the loss of the Tantallon Castle.
She was sold to the Turkish Government in 1906 and renamed Bezmi-Alem
for use as a Black Sea and consular passenger ship to Trabzon.
In August 1915 she was sunk by Russian warships off Samsoun
in Turkey. (Photo: from UCPSC 01/01)
DOLPHIN was a tug built in 1883 with a tonnage
of 49grt, a length of 76ft and a beam of 16ft. She was brought
out from Southampton in 1883 and stationed at East London. In
1899 she was replaced by the larger Penguin and was sold to
Clifford E. Knight of Cape Town in January 1900.
DOUNE CASTLE (1)/DUNBAR CASTLE (1) was built
in 1883 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage
of 2682grt, a length of 335ft, a beam of 38ft 2in and a service
speed of 12 knots. She was laid down as the Doune Castle but
when it was discovered that the staff pronounced the name in
a variety of ways the name was changed to Dunbar Castle. The
same problem obviously didn't arise when the Doune Castle (2)
was launched seven years later. When delivered she was already
too small for the growing trade and was used as an extra steamer,
mainly on the Mauritius service. In 1895 she was sold to Fairfield
Ship Building and Engineering Co. in part payment for the Tantallon
Castle, renamed Olympia and re-sold to R. Barnwell of London.
Two years later she was acquired by the Scottish American Steam
Ship Co. of Glasgow with Sir W. G. Pearce as manager and later
by W. M. Rhodes for use in the USA as the Northern Pacific Steamship
Line. In 1898 when war with Spain was declared, she was sold
to the North America Mail Steam Ship Co. of Tacoma for operation
of the Tacoma (terminal of the Northern Pacific railway Co.)
- Victoria - Yokohama - Hong Kong - in parallel with the Canadian
Pacific service out of Vancouver. By 1903 she was owned by the
North Western Steam Ship Co. of Seattle with J. Rosine as manager
and in 1904 was sold to the Alaska Steam Ship Co. who removed
her yards and installed three lifeboats on each side. In October
1910, still as the Olympia, she was wrecked on the coast of
Alaska.
ARUNDEL CASTLE (2)/CLUNY CASTLE (1)/METHVEN
CASTLE was built in 1883 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 2681grt, a length of 335ft, a beam of 38ft
2in and a service speed of 12 knots. She was initially advertised
as the Arundel Castle then as the Cluny Castle but was delivered
as the Methven Castle. Sister of the Dunbar Castle she was also
too small for the growing trade and was used as an extra steamer
until 1897 when she was sold to the Scottish American Line,
renamed Columbia and used on the same routes as the Dunbar Castle
operating a bi-monthly service. In 1898 she was sold to the
North American Mail Steam Ship Co. of Tacoma and in 1904 became
the Rosecrans when she was re-sold to Matson Navigation Co.
of San Francisco and converted to carry oil in bulk to Honolulu.
By 1905 she was owned by the Associated Oil Co. of San Francisco
and in January 1913 was wrecked on the coast of California.
ARDTORNISH CASTLE/HAWARDEN CASTLE was built
in 1883 by John Elder & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of
4341grt, a length of 380ft 7in, a beam of 48ft 2in and a service
speed of 12 knots. Although advertised as the Ardtornish Castle
she was renamed Hawarden (pronounced 'Harden') Castle after
the Prime Minister William Gladstone's estate in North Wales.
Launched by Mrs. Gladstone she was Donald Currie's largest ship
at that time. Delivered for the mail run the class of three
vessels were heavy rollers in a cross sea. On 8th February 1893
she towed the Aberdeen Line's Sophocles into Cape Town after
she had lost her propeller when four days out of port. She transferred
to Union-Castle in 8th March 1900 and in 1904 was sold to Booth
Line of Liverpool and renamed Cyril (2). On 5th September 1905
she was lost below Para in the River Amazon after being in collision
with Booth's Anselm.
NORHAM CASTLE was built in 1883 by John Elder
& Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4012grt, a length of
380ft 7in, a beam of 48ft 2in and a service speed of 12 knots.
Sister of the Hawarden Castle she was built for the Mail service
and in June 1887 was one of the two Castle ships at Queen Victoria's
Jubilee review at Spithead. Transferred to Union-Castle on the
merger she was sold in 1903 to Compagnie Général
Transatlantique for their Bordeaux to West Indies service and
rename Martinique. She was eventually broken up in Italy during
1932.
ARMADALE
CASTLE/ROSLIN CASTLE (2) was built in 1883 by Barclay, Curle
& Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4280grt, a length of
380ft, a beam of 48ft 2in and a service speed of 12 knots. When
the keel was laid her intended name was the Armadale Castle
but she was launched on 24th April 1883 as the Roslin Castle
initially for the mail service but later on the East coast of
Africa routes. She was renowned for her tendency to roll and
was nicknamed the Rolling Castle. In 1888 she was re-engined
and, at the same time, had a new stern fitted in what proved
to be an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the rolling. Her new
triple expansion engine increased her speed to 15 knots and
in October 1889 she reduced the Cape - Plymouth run to 15 days
22 hrs 4 min. On 5th June 1891she carried the last mail from
Dartmouth when the mail embarkation port was changed to Southampton.
On 22nd October 1899, as HMT 26, she was part of the first convoy
of six troopships to carry troops to South Africa on the outbreak
of the Boer War being the first to arrive with part of the West
Yorkshire Regiment. She transferred to Union-Castle on 8th March
1900 following the merger. In September 1904 she was sold to
German interests in the Hamburg-Amerika Line, renamed Regina,
painted black and fitted out for use as a store ship for the
Russian Navy in the Far East. When the Japanese broke off diplomatic
relations with Russia on 5th February 1904 and attacked the
Russians at Port Arthur four days later German colliers were
used to coal the Baltic Fleet on its way to the Far East where
it suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Tsushima on 27th
May 1905. In March 1905, loaded with coal, the Regina grounded
on the coast of Mozambique and after the cargo was salvaged
she was eventually towed back to Durban where she remained until
engine repairs were made which enabled her to steam to Italy.
Records show that she never served under the Russian Navy and
in 1908 she was broken up at Genoa in Italy.
CLUNY CASTLE was a sailing ship built in 1883
by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1986grt,
a length of 276ft 6in, and a beam of 41ft 2in. She was used
to carry up to 150 emigrants on cheap assisted passages to South
Africa and Welsh anthracite to Calcutta where the coal was of
an inferior quality. On the return voyage she carried jute.
Since three sailing ships had been sold to Charles Barrie during
1883 her acquisition came as somewhat of a surprise but she
was Donald Currie's last and was eventually sold with the only
other remaining sailing ship, the Carisbrooke Castle, in 1889.
Sold to Edenmount Sailing Ship Co. of Greenock with R. Ferguson
as managers, she was renamed Rowena and remained until 1913
when she was re-sold to Rederiaktieb 'Delfin' of Helsingfors
(Helsinki) with G. Stenius as manager. She was eventually broken
up in 1924.
DOUNE CASTLE (2) was built in 1890 by Barclay,
Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4046grt, a length
of 396ft, a beam of 43ft 2in and a service speed of 12.5 knots.
She was the first ship to be specifically designed as an intermediate
liner initially for the London - South Africa - Mozambique ports
together with her sister the Lismore Castle. Unfortunately,
there were problems with the French and she entered service
on the Mauritius run. In 1904 she was taken back with her sister
by Barclay, Curle in part payment for the Cluny Castle and the
Comrie Castle which were being built. She was resold by them
to East Asiatic Co. (Ostasiatiske Kompani) of Copenhagen for
a passenger service to the West Indies and renamed Domingo.
In 1905 she was transferred to the East Asiatic Co., a Russian
subsidiary company, and renamed Curonia. She was sold to Goshi
Kaisha Kishimoto Shokai of Darien and renamed Kaijo Maru in
1913. Sold again in 1918 she was renamed Susanna II by Madrigal
& Co. of Manila and was broken up in 1936.
LISMORE CASTLE was built in 1891 by Barclay,
Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4046grt, a length
of 380ft, a beam of 48ft 2in and a service speed of 12 knots.
Sister of the Doune Castle she was delivered in Jan 1891 for
the same service. On 20th October 1899 she sailed from Southampton
bound for Cape Town carrying troops to the Boer War. After the
merger in 1900 she continued to be used as a troopship with
troops in 3rd class whilst being deployed on the Intermediate
service. In 1904 she was returned to Barclay, Curle as part
payment for new buildings and renamed Westmount. In the following
year she was sold to Cia Trasatlantica of Barcelona and renamed
C. Lopez y Lopez ,after one of the founders, for deployment
on their Central American service to Mexico. When wartime passenger
traffic increased in 1916 she was placed on the Barcelona -
Malaga - Cadiz - New York service until the US joined the Allies
in 1917 when she reverted to the Mexico service. She was finally
broken up in Italy during 1931.
DUNOTTAR
CASTLE was built in 1890 by Fairfield Ship Building & Engineering
Co. at Govan with a tonnage of 5625grt, a length of 433ft, a
beam of 49ft 8in and a service speed of 17 knots. Launched by
Lady Currie she was designed to outclass the other ships in
the Union fleet. On 20th June 1891 she loaded the first consignment
of mail at Southampton when it was substituted for Dartmouth
and completed the homeward run from Cape Town in 16 days 14
hours. In 1894 she grounded for two tides near the Eddystone
Lighthouse. She had a refit in 1897 when the funnels were heightened,
the yards were removed and she was given a wheelhouse. In November
1899 she carried General Buller and 1500 troops to Cape Town
for Boer War duties and on the following voyage carried Lord
Roberts and Lord Kitchener. On 8th March 1900 she became part
of the merged Union-Castle fleet and was the first ship to fly
the new houseflag. In December of that year her propeller shaft
snapped and she had to be towed into Dakar the Galician being
diverted to pick up the passengers and mail. In 1904 she was
laid up at Netley in Southampton Water but by 1907 she was being
chartered to the Panama Railroad Co. for their New York to Colon
(Panama Canal) service. In 1908 she was chartered to Sir Henry
Lunn Ltd for cruises to Norway and the Mediterranean, and in
1911 she took guests to the Delhi Durbar of King George V. She
was sold to the Royal Mail Line in 1913 for cruising, renamed
Caribbean and given a white livery. On the outbreak of the First
World War she was initially used as a troopship to bring soldiers
from Canada to Europe before being requisitioned as an Armed
Merchant Cruiser. However it was found that she was unsuitable
to carry gun mountings and was converted into a dockyard workers
accommodation ship in May 1915. On 26th/27th September of the
same year she foundered in heavy weather off Cape Wrath whilst
en route to Scapa Flow with the loss of 15 lives. HMS Birkenhead
took the crew off. (Photo: World Ship Society Library)
KINFAUNS
CASTLE (1) .was built in 1879 by John Elder & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 3507grt, a length of 360ft 4in, a beam of
43ft and a service speed of 12 knots. She was delivered to D.
Currie & Co., which was still the registered name of the
company, was the first steel hulled ship ordered by the company
and constructed for potential conversion into an Armed Merchant
Cruiser. In 1883 she was sold to the Russian Volunteer Fleet
at Odessa and renamed Moscva (Moskva) and in 1895 became the
Russian training ship Proot (Prut), also based in Odessa. In
1909 she was converted into an operational minelaying training
ship. On 29th October 1914 she was hit by gunfire from the German
battlecruiser Goeben which had been temporarily renamed Sultan
Selim off Cape Fiolen, Sevastopol and was scuttled to avoid
capture. Ten days later the Sultan Selim was badly damaged by
two mines laid by her victim .(A.Crisp) 
GRANTULLY
CASTLE (1) was built in 1879 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at
Glasgow with a tonnage of 3489grt, a length of 359ft 7in, a
beam of 43ft 10in and a service speed of 12 knots. Sister of
the Kinfauns Castle she was built in iron rather than steel
and joined the mail run in January 1880. In 1888 she became
the first Castle ship to be fitted with refrigeration for fruit
and carried 30 tons of grapes packed in cork dust. She was sold
to Booth Line in 1896 and renamed Augustine (2). On 2nd October
1904 she rescued the crew of the Greek ship Clementine, owned
by AG Vassiliadi of Syra, 24 miles west of Ushant. She was sold
for £8250 in August 1912 and broken up by Harris &
Co. at Falmouth, Cornwall. (Photo: Nautical Photo Agency) 
PEMBROKE
CASTLE (2) was built in 1883 by Barrow Shipbuilding Co. at Barrow-in-Furness
with a tonnage of 3936grt, a length of 400ft 2in, a beam of
42ft 7in and a service speed of 12 knots. She was actually purchased
on the stocks, the only vessel built away from the Clyde prior
to the merger, the first four masted steamship and the largest
ship in the fleet at the time. On completion in July 1883 she
undertook a shakedown cruise carrying dignitaries around Britain
but also made a call at Copenhagen where the Tzar and other
royalty were received on board. In service she replaced the
Kinfauns Castle and was deployed on the Intermediate run and
as a relief mailship. In June 1901 she was used as a coastal
passenger and mailship following the loss of the Tantallon Castle.
She was sold to the Turkish Government in 1906 and renamed Bezmi-Alem
for use as a Black Sea and consular passenger ship to Trabzon.
In August 1915 she was sunk by Russian warships off Samsoun
in Turkey. (Photo: from UCPSC 01/01) 
ARMADALE
CASTLE/ROSLIN CASTLE (2) was built in 1883 by Barclay, Curle
& Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4280grt, a length of
380ft, a beam of 48ft 2in and a service speed of 12 knots. When
the keel was laid her intended name was the Armadale Castle
but she was launched on 24th April 1883 as the Roslin Castle
initially for the mail service but later on the East coast of
Africa routes. She was renowned for her tendency to roll and
was nicknamed the Rolling Castle. In 1888 she was re-engined
and, at the same time, had a new stern fitted in what proved
to be an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the rolling. Her new
triple expansion engine increased her speed to 15 knots and
in October 1889 she reduced the Cape - Plymouth run to 15 days
22 hrs 4 min. On 5th June 1891she carried the last mail from
Dartmouth when the mail embarkation port was changed to Southampton.
On 22nd October 1899, as HMT 26, she was part of the first convoy
of six troopships to carry troops to South Africa on the outbreak
of the Boer War being the first to arrive with part of the West
Yorkshire Regiment. She transferred to Union-Castle on 8th March
1900 following the merger. In September 1904 she was sold to
German interests in the Hamburg-Amerika Line, renamed Regina,
painted black and fitted out for use as a store ship for the
Russian Navy in the Far East. When the Japanese broke off diplomatic
relations with Russia on 5th February 1904 and attacked the
Russians at Port Arthur four days later German colliers were
used to coal the Baltic Fleet on its way to the Far East where
it suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Tsushima on 27th
May 1905. In March 1905, loaded with coal, the Regina grounded
on the coast of Mozambique and after the cargo was salvaged
she was eventually towed back to Durban where she remained until
engine repairs were made which enabled her to steam to Italy.
Records show that she never served under the Russian Navy and
in 1908 she was broken up at Genoa in Italy. 
DUNOTTAR
CASTLE was built in 1890 by Fairfield Ship Building & Engineering
Co. at Govan with a tonnage of 5625grt, a length of 433ft, a
beam of 49ft 8in and a service speed of 17 knots. Launched by
Lady Currie she was designed to outclass the other ships in
the Union fleet. On 20th June 1891 she loaded the first consignment
of mail at Southampton when it was substituted for Dartmouth
and completed the homeward run from Cape Town in 16 days 14
hours. In 1894 she grounded for two tides near the Eddystone
Lighthouse. She had a refit in 1897 when the funnels were heightened,
the yards were removed and she was given a wheelhouse. In November
1899 she carried General Buller and 1500 troops to Cape Town
for Boer War duties and on the following voyage carried Lord
Roberts and Lord Kitchener. On 8th March 1900 she became part
of the merged Union-Castle fleet and was the first ship to fly
the new houseflag. In December of that year her propeller shaft
snapped and she had to be towed into Dakar the Galician being
diverted to pick up the passengers and mail. In 1904 she was
laid up at Netley in Southampton Water but by 1907 she was being
chartered to the Panama Railroad Co. for their New York to Colon
(Panama Canal) service. In 1908 she was chartered to Sir Henry
Lunn Ltd for cruises to Norway and the Mediterranean, and in
1911 she took guests to the Delhi Durbar of King George V. She
was sold to the Royal Mail Line in 1913 for cruising, renamed
Caribbean and given a white livery. On the outbreak of the First
World War she was initially used as a troopship to bring soldiers
from Canada to Europe before being requisitioned as an Armed
Merchant Cruiser. However it was found that she was unsuitable
to carry gun mountings and was converted into a dockyard workers
accommodation ship in May 1915. On 26th/27th September of the
same year she foundered in heavy weather off Cape Wrath whilst
en route to Scapa Flow with the loss of 15 lives. HMS Birkenhead
took the crew off. (Photo: World Ship Society Library) 
