The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, trading and transporting between

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had offices in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

. All five of Captain Allan's sons were actively involved with the business, but it was his second son, Sir Hugh Allan, who spearheaded the second generation. In 1854, Hugh launched the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company as part of the Allan Line, and two years later ousted

Samuel Cunard Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. ...

to take control of the

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

contract between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. By the 1880s, the Allan Line was the world's largest privately owned shipping concern. In 1891, the company took over the State Line (founded 1872) and was often referred to as the Allan & State Line. In 1897, Andrew Allan amalgamated the various branches of the Allan shipping empire under one company, Allan Line Steamship Company Ltd., of Glasgow. The company by then had added offices in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1917, under

Sir Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned ...

, who represented the third generation of the Allan family, the company was purchased by

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

, and by the following year the Allan name had disappeared from commercial shipping.

Media

The 1970s British television series ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971-1980) is a complex and veiled take on the Allan Line Family and their steamships.

Notable collisions

In 1891, the Allan Line steamer ''Carthaginian'' collided with the York River Line steamer ''Charlotte'' in the shipping channel at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Among those aboard the Carthaginian was the Danish-American composer

Asger Hamerik Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) (April 8, 1843 – July 13, 1923) was a Danish composer of the late romantic period. Aged 80 at time of death. Life and career Born in Frederiksberg (near Copenhagen), he studied music with J.P.E. Hartmann and Niels G ...

. While both boats were damaged, neither sank. In 1905, the Allan Line steamer ''Parisian'' was involved in a collision with the ''Albano'' off of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. The owners of the ''Albano'' were found by the Exchequer Court of Canada to be fully at fault, according to ''Reports of Cases Relating to Maritime Law.'' The case was later appealed to Canada's supreme court.

List of steamships

The Allan Line fleet evolved over the course of decades, changing as new ships were added, lost at sea, sold, or scrapped: Sardinian ALLAN LINE c1890.jpg, SS ''Sardinian'' Scotian C&W Hunt Liverpool.jpg, SS ''Scotian'' Ss drottningholm.png, RMS ''Virginian'' * RMS ''Alsatian''Ships List
Allan Line, Steamships
* SS ''America'' * SS ''Anglo Saxon''Norway Heritage
Allan Fleet List
/ref> * SS ''Assyrian'' * SS ''Austrian'' * SS ''Australasian'' (1857) * SS ''Australasian'' (1901) * SS ''Bavarian'' (1899) * SS ''Belgian'' (1855) * SS ''Bohemian'' * SS ''Brazilian'' * SS ''Buenos Ayrean''Gjenvick-Gjønvick Artchives

/ref> * RMS ''Calgarian'' * SS ''Californian'' * SS ''Canadian'' (1854) * SS ''Canadian'' (1859) * SS ''Canadian'' (1872) * SS ''Carthaginian'' * SS ''Caspian'' * SS ''Castilian'' * SS ''Circassian'' * SS ''City of Vienna'' * SS ''City of Bombay'' * SS ''Corean'' * SS ''Corinthian'' * SS ''Corsican'' * SS ''Damascus'' * SS ''Diamant'' * SS ''European'' * SS ''Gallia'' * SS ''Germany'' * SS ''Grampian'' * SS ''Grecian'' * SS ''Hanoverian'' * SS ''Hesperian'' * RMS ''Hesperian'' * SS ''Hibernian'' (1861) * SS ''Hibernian'' (1888) * SS ''Hibernian'' (1902) * SS ''Hungarian'' (1859) * SS ''Hungarian'' (1902) * SS ''Huronian'' * SS ''Indian'' * SS ''Ionian'' * SS ''John Bell'' * SS ''Jura'' * SS ''Lake Erie'' * SS ''Laurentian'' * SS ''Livonian'' * SS ''Lucerne'' * SS ''Manitoban'' * SS ''Melita'' * SS ''Mersey'' * SS ''Mongolian'' * SS ''Monte Videan'' * SS ''Moravian'' * * SS ''North American'' * SS ''North Briton'' * SS ''Norway'' * SS ''Norwegian'' (1861) * SS ''Norwegian'' (1865) * SS ''Nova Scotian'' * SS ''Numidian'' * SS ''Ontarian'' * SS ''Orcardian'' * SS ''Ottawa'' * SS ''Palestine'' * SS ''Parisian'' * SS ''Pretorian'' * SS ''Prussian'' * SS ''Peruvian'' * SS ''Phoenician'' * SS ''Polynesian'' * SS ''Pomeranian'' * SS ''Roacian'' * SS ''Roumanian'' * SS ''Saint Andrew'' * SS ''Saint David'' * SS ''Saint George'' * SS ''Saint Patrick'' * SS ''Samaritan'' * SS ''Sardinian''"The Steamer Sardinian; She Passes Queenstown in Tow -- The Story of the Voyage by a Passenger,"
''New York Times.'' February 22, 1882. * SS ''Scandinavian'' (1869) * SS ''Scandinavian'' (1898) * * SS ''Siberian (1946) '' * SS ''Sicilian'' * SS ''Southwark'' * SS ''State of California'' * SS ''State of Georgia'' * SS ''State of Indiana'' * SS ''State of Nebraska'' * SS ''State of Nevada'' * SS ''State of Pennsylvania'' * SS ''Sweden'' * SS ''Tainui'' * SS ''Tower Hill'' * SS ''Tunisian'' * SS ''Turanian'' * RMS ''Victorian'' * RMS ''Virginian'' * SS ''Waldensian''

References

Bibliography

* Appleton, Thomas E. (1974)
''Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line.''
Toronto:

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

. (cloth)
"C.P.R. Gets Allan Line; Report Declared to be Correct in Spite of Official Denials,"
''New York Times.'' August 17, 1910.

External links

{{commons category

GG Archives Defunct shipping companies of Canada Transport companies disestablished in 1918 Transport companies established in 1819 1819 establishments in Scotland 1918 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1819 British companies disestablished in 1918