PS Bromine (1831)

undefinedThe P.S. Bromine was a British channel ferry built for the Elemental Steamship Company in 1831. She was built safe and fast, with her reaching up to 9 knots with her steam engine and originally had two sturdy lifeboats. However, on her sea trials she was found to have awful turning and stability issues along with engine difficulties. Refits were put into place to try to mitigate these, such as substituting her twin boats for one on the cookhouse and some rudder fixing, but it was no use. Instead, the company had two options: scrap her or sell her in the hopes that another company may find some use in her. The latter option was picked, and later that year she was sold to the Montrose Packet Navigation Company.

She served the company well at first- she was considered to be one of the fastest Scottish ferries for her time, and was able to provide a bi-weekly service which helped the company pick up steam. However, as the years went on, her engine (although it was not the one she had under ESPC- it was replaced by a better one when she was sold) grew old and complaints of vibrations grew ever more frequent. By 1846, the 15 year old ship was very expensive to keep maintaining, and the next year she was laid up as she was costing the company more money than she could make them. After rotting for 5 years, she was once again put up for sale in the hopes that another company would take her, but to no avail. She was sold for scrap in 1854. Many citizens down the Mersey river watched with interest as the ancient steamer was sailed down the river and beached, where she was later broken up.