This book is a detailed history of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, from 1935 to the building of the last of the side-loading car ferries, Lady of Mann, in 1975.
Founded in 1830 the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the longest, continuously running, passenger shipping company in the world. Prior to 1830 a number of shipping companies had served the Isle of Man but none of them had proved reliable. Therefore, in 1829, a meeting took place in Douglas and a committee was formed to look into the cost of purchasing a steam-powered boat for transporting post, cargo and passengers. The result was the acquisition of a steam packet called Mona’s Isle, which from June 1830 ran between Douglas and Liverpool. Originally known as the Mona's Isle Company, the company then traded for a few months as the Isle of Man United Steam Packet until, in July 1832, it took on its present name.
During the First World War several of the company’s steamers were destroyed, therefore in 1935 the seventeen vessels owned by the company were an eclectic mix of boats. In Isle of Man Steam Packet Heyday the author, Adrian Sweeney (publisher of the bi-yearly magazine Ships of Mann) has assembled a comprehensive record of the company and its vessels between 1935 and 1977. The majority of the photographs used to illustrate the book have been taken from the author's own collection and a full fleet list is included.
55 black & white and 82 colour photographs. 120 pages.