Vulcan (barge)

In 1816, the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, which had earlier successfully adapted new technology to shipbuilding with the Charlotte Dundas, authorised the development of an all-iron ship, and they quickly settled upon building a canal barge.

The design called for iron sectionals to be riveted together with covering plates.

The Vulcan was built outside Glasgow, in Faskine, Airdrie, on the bank of the Monkland Canal.

The Vulcan was launched in May 1819 and carried passengers between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

In 1988, a replica of the Vulcan was constructed in Glasgow,[2] and now resides at the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life.