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Thomas: Orsay Lighthouse, Islay, Atlantic
Barque (19th Century), Brig (19th Century)
Site Name Thomas: Orsay Lighthouse, Islay, Atlantic
Classification Barque (19th Century), Brig (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Tomath; North Channel; Rhinns Of Islay; North Channel; Tomath (Or Thomas); Thomas (Possibly)
Canmore ID 116865
Site Number NR15SE 8003
NGR NR 16199 51258
NGR Description NR c. 164 515
Datum WGS84 - Lat/Long
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/116865
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Maritime - Argyll And Bute
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Maritime
- Former County Not Applicable
NR15SE 8003 c. 164 515
N55 40.4 W6 30.7
NLO: Orsay [lighthouse]: [name: NR 164 515]
Rhinns of Islay [name centred NR 21 57]
Islay [name centred NR 38 60].
Not to be confused with NR34SE 8016.
Location formerly entered as NR 1619 5129 (N55 40.3 W6 30.8).
Bowmore, 17th Aug. The THOMAS (ship), of St. John, NB, from Greenock, for Halifax, went on shore, last night, on the Rhins [Rhinns] of Islay, and it is feared she will become a total wreck: crew saved.
Source: The Marine List, LL, No. 13,537, London, Thursday August 20 1857.
Islay, 20th Aug. [recd., 20th, per E.T., at 11.45]. It is feared that the cargo of the THOMAS, from the Clyde to Halifax which went ashore at Islay 16th Aug., will be lost.
Source: The Marine List, LL, No. 13,537, London, Thursday August 20 1857.
Coultorsay, Islay, 24th Aug. The THOMAS, from the Clyde to Halifax, N.S., which went ashore on the Rhyns [Rhinns] of Islay, 16th Aug., has gone to pieces. Most of the cargo may probably be saved. [Record received incomplete].
NMRS, MS/829/72 (no. 9401).
Quality of fix = PD
Horizontal Datum = UND
Circumstances of Loss Details
-----------------------------
The brig TOMATH or THOMAS was wrecked near Orsay Island lighthouse, en-route to Canada with 2 locomotives as deck cargo.
Letters from P L Sellars and R Pringle-Scott.
Surveying Details
-----------------------------
5 March 1975. A sailing vessel was wrecked near Orsay Island lighthouse at approximately 55 40 19N, 006 30 52W. This wreck is from local knowledge, but seems doubtful. It may be confused with the EXMOUTH at 55 40 18N, 006 30 52W.
Letter from P L Sellars, 11 February 1975.
11 August 1977. Local folklore states that this wreck was the brig TOMATH or THOMAS, bound for Canada with 2 locomtives as deck cargo. It was wrecked in 1870. One area of the site does contain evidence which points to at least one steam locomotive and possibly some rolling stock.
Letter from R Pringle-Scott, 5 July 1977.
Hydrographic Office, 1995.
(Classified as wooden barque, with cargo of railway locomotives: date of loss cited as 16 August 1857). Thomas: this vessel was wrecked at Orsay Light. Capt. Hall.
Registration: St Johns, N[ew] B[runswick]. 765 nrt.
(Location of loss cited as N55 40.32 W6 30.87).
I G Whittaker 1998.
[Accurate location not cited]. The Thomas sailed from Greenock on 14th August 1857 for Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was towed out of the Clyde estuary but subsequently became becalmed and was wrecked on submerged rocks off Islay on the 16th August. The crew was saved but all the cargo was lost. No systematic attempt was apparently made at salvage but some items (including an anvil) were recovered by grappling.
Prominent among the items borne as cargo there were the disassembled components of two steam railway locomotives, packed in crates for assembly on arrival and intended to work on the Nova Scotia Railway, which was built on the broad gauge of 5ft 6ins (1.68m) then in use. It connected Halifax with Truro via Windsor Junction and was intended to form part of a trunk route from Bangor, Maine, USA through St John to Halifax.
Known locally as the 'railway engine wreck', the remains were rediscovered in 1976 with guidance from the late Mr McKinnon; the mechanically-polished brass fittings were immediately apparent at a depth of 15m in an area of gullies subject to severe wave action on the seaward side of Orsay, No stratigraphy or structural remains of the hull were apparently observed and no artefacts related to the ship were recorded.
The locomotive parts were investigated and recovered (as 'Operation Iron Horse') by amateur divers of the RAFS-AC and Staines Diving Club under (then) Squadron Leader M Corbishley, RAF from 1977 onwards. Visibility was variable, but generally poor, and swell was a constant problem. Plastic explosives were used to break up the kelp-covered concretion and release the locomotive parts, which were generally in a good state of preservation, although worn down by mechanical action in some cases. The non-ferrous fittings were typically in better condition than the ironwork, which required conservation.
The locomotives represented were initially thought to be 0-4-0 saddle tanks, but discovery of the builders' plates showed that these were works numbers 386 and 387 of Messrs Neilson and Co, Glasgow. These 4-4-0 tender locomotives were built in 1857 to a highly Americanised 'export' design; the diameter of the driving wheels was 5ft (1.52m).
Among the components represented there were wheels, connecting rods, parts of boilers and fireboxes, and smaller pieces. Pieces of trackwork (including chairs) were also found. All these artefacts passed to the National Railway Museum, York, in 1998, and are currently (October 2002) on display. They are significant as an unparalleled assemblage of components of the period in 'as built' condition.
Information from Mr D Wright and Mr R Hollowood (National Railway Museum, York), October 2002.
NMRS, MS/829/54, MS/829/57 and VID/28.
The location assigned to this record is essentially tentative, no accurate location being apparently available.
Rhinns of Islay (Orsay or Oversay) Lighthouse (NR15SE 15) is at NR 16345 51414.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 8 February 2007.
The locomotive lost in this sinking were 5ft 6ins gauge 0-4-0ST's (nos. 6 and 7: works nos. 386 and 387) and 4-4-0's (nos. 8 and 9: works nos. 388 and 389) built by Messrs. Neilson and on passage to Nova Scotia. Some parts were recovered in the 1980's.
Source: M Hudson and P Atkins in Railway Magazine, September 2007 (pp. 14, 16-17).
Loss (16 August 1857)
Bowmore, 17th Aug. The THOMAS (ship), of St. John, NB, from Greenock, for Halifax, went on shore, last night, on the Rhins [Rhinns] of Islay, and it is feared she will become a total wreck: crew saved.
Source: The Marine List, LL, No. 13,537, London, Thursday August 20 1857.
Islay, 20th Aug. [recd., 20th, per E.T., at 11.45]. It is feared that the cargo of the THOMAS, from the Clyde to Halifax which went ashore at Islay 16th Aug., will be lost.
Source: The Marine List, LL, No. 13,537, London, Thursday August 20 1857.
Coultorsay, Islay, 24th Aug. The THOMAS, from the Clyde to Halifax, N.S., which went ashore on the Rhyns [Rhinns] of Islay, 16th Aug., has gone to pieces. Most of the cargo may probably be saved. [Record received incomplete].
NMRS, MS/829/72 (no. 9401).
(Classified as wooden barque, with cargo of railway locomotives: date of loss cited as 16 August 1857). Thomas: this vessel was wrecked at Orsay Light. Capt. Hall.
Registration: St Johns, N[ew] B[runswick]. 765 nrt.
(Location of loss cited as N55 40.32 W6 30.87).
I G Whittaker 1998.
Evidence Of Loss (1995)
Quality of fix = PD
Horizontal Datum = UND
Circumstances of Loss Details
-----------------------------
The brig TOMATH or THOMAS was wrecked near Orsay Island lighthouse, en-route to Canada with 2 locomotives as deck cargo.
Letters from P L Sellars and R Pringle-Scott.
Surveying Details
-----------------------------
5 March 1975. A sailing vessel was wrecked near Orsay Island lighthouse at approximately 55 40 19N, 006 30 52W. This wreck is from local knowledge, but seems doubtful. It may be confused with the EXMOUTH at 55 40 18N, 006 30 52W.
Letter from P L Sellars, 11 February 1975.
11 August 1977. Local folklore states that this wreck was the brig TOMATH or THOMAS, bound for Canada with 2 locomtives as deck cargo. It was wrecked in 1870. One area of the site does contain evidence which points to at least one steam locomotive and possibly some rolling stock.
Letter from R Pringle-Scott, 5 July 1977.
Hydrographic Office, 1995.
Evidence Of Loss (October 2002)
[Accurate location not cited]. The Thomas sailed from Greenock on 14th August 1857 for Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was towed out of the Clyde estuary but subsequently became becalmed and was wrecked on submerged rocks off Islay on the 16th August. The crew was saved but all the cargo was lost. No systematic attempt was apparently made at salvage but some items (including an anvil) were recovered by grappling.
Prominent among the items borne as cargo there were the disassembled components of two steam railway locomotives, packed in crates for assembly on arrival and intended to work on the Nova Scotia Railway, which was built on the broad gauge of 5ft 6ins (1.68m) then in use. It connected Halifax with Truro via Windsor Junction and was intended to form part of a trunk route from Bangor, Maine, USA through St John to Halifax.
Known locally as the 'railway engine wreck', the remains were rediscovered in 1976 with guidance from the late Mr McKinnon; the mechanically-polished brass fittings were immediately apparent at a depth of 15m in an area of gullies subject to severe wave action on the seaward side of Orsay, No stratigraphy or structural remains of the hull were apparently observed and no artefacts related to the ship were recorded.
The locomotive parts were investigated and recovered (as 'Operation Iron Horse') by amateur divers of the RAFS-AC and Staines Diving Club under (then) Squadron Leader M Corbishley, RAF from 1977 onwards. Visibility was variable, but generally poor, and swell was a constant problem. Plastic explosives were used to break up the kelp-covered concretion and release the locomotive parts, which were generally in a good state of preservation, although worn down by mechanical action in some cases. The non-ferrous fittings were typically in better condition than the ironwork, which required conservation.
The locomotives represented were initially thought to be 0-4-0 saddle tanks, but discovery of the builders' plates showed that these were works numbers 386 and 387 of Messrs Neilson and Co, Glasgow. These 4-4-0 tender locomotives were built in 1857 to a highly Americanised 'export' design; the diameter of the driving wheels was 5ft (1.52m).
Among the components represented there were wheels, connecting rods, parts of boilers and fireboxes, and smaller pieces. Pieces of trackwork (including chairs) were also found. All these artefacts passed to the National Railway Museum, York, in 1998, and are currently (October 2002) on display. They are significant as an unparalleled assemblage of components of the period in 'as built' condition.
Information from Mr D Wright and Mr R Hollowood (National Railway Museum, York), October 2002.
NMRS, MS/829/54, MS/829/57 and VID/28.
Note (8 February 2007)
The location assigned to this record is essentially tentative, no accurate location being apparently available.
Rhinns of Islay (Orsay or Oversay) Lighthouse (NR15SE 15) is at NR 16345 51414.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 8 February 2007.
External Reference (September 2007)
The locomotive lost in this sinking were 5ft 6ins gauge 0-4-0ST's (nos. 6 and 7: works nos. 386 and 387) and 4-4-0's (nos. 8 and 9: works nos. 388 and 389) built by Messrs. Neilson and on passage to Nova Scotia. Some parts were recovered in the 1980's.
Source: M Hudson and P Atkins in Railway Magazine, September 2007 (pp. 14, 16-17).
Reference (2011)
Whittaker ID : 1887
Name : THOMAS
Latitude : 554019
Longitude : 63052
Registration : ST JOHNS, NB
Type : BARQUE (WOOD)
Tonnage : 765
Tonnage Code : N
Loss Day : 16
Loss Month : 8
Loss Year : 1857
Comment : Wrecked at Orsay Lt. Capt. Bell
Cargo : RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES
Reference (19 April 2012)
UKHO Identifier : 003697
Feature Class : Wreck
State : LIVE
Classification : Unclassified
Position (Lat/long) : 55.67212,-6.51513
Horizontal Datum : ORDNANCE SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN (1936)
WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 55.67205,-6.51607
WGS84 Origin : 3-D Cartesian Shift (BW)
Previous Position : 55.67195,-6.51445
Position Quality : Unreliable
Depth Quality : Depth unknown
Water Depth : 1
Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide
Name : TOMATH (OR THOMAS)
Type : SV (BRIG)
Cargo : INCLUDED RAILWAY ENGINES
Date Sunk : ??/??/1870
Bottom Texture : Rock
Contact Description : None reported
Original Sensor : None reported
Original Detection Year : 1975
Original Source : Other
Markers : SEE ALSO [3699]
Circumstances of Loss : **PASSAGE FOR CANADA. WRECKED NEAR ORSAY ISLAND LT HO. 2 LOCOMOTIVES AS DECK CARGO.
Surveying Details : **5.3.75 SV WRECKED NEAR ORSAY IS LTHO IN APPROX 554019N, 063052W. THIS WK IS FROM LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, BUT SEEMS DOUBTFUL, & MAY BE CONFUSED WITH THE EXMOUTH IN 554018N, 063052W. (P L SELLARS LTR, DTD 11.2.75). NCA.
**H1286/77/265 11.8.77 LOCAL FOLKLORE STATES THAT THIS WK WAS THE BRIG TOMATH (OR THOMAS), BOUND FOR CANADA WITH 2 LOCOMTIVES AS DECK CARGO & WAS WRECKED IN 1870. ONE AREA OF WK SITE DOES CONTAIN EVIDENCE WHICH POINTS TO AT LEAST ONE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE & POSSIBLY SOME ROLLING STOCK. (R PRINGLE-SCOTT LTR, DTD 5.7.77). POSN FOR FILING ONLY.
Charting Comments : POSN FOR FILING ONLY
Date Last Amended : 12/11/2009
Date Position Last Amended : 12/11/2009
Reference (19 April 2012)
UKHO Identifier : 003799
Feature Class : Wreck
State : LIVE
Classification : Unclassified
Position (Lat/long) : 55.67167,-6.51444
Horizontal Datum : ORDNANCE SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN (1936)
WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 55.67160,-6.51538
WGS84 Origin : 3-D Cartesian Shift (BW)
Position Quality : Unreliable
Depth Quality : Depth unknown
Water Depth : 3
Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide
Name : THOMAS (POSSIBLY)
Type : SV (BRIG)
Flag : BRITISH
Cargo : INC RAILWAY ENGINES
Date Sunk : ??/08/1857
Contact Description : None reported
Original Sensor : None reported
Original Detection Year : 1996
Original Source : Other
Circumstances of Loss : **RAN AGROUND. PASSAGE FOR CANADA WITH TWO RAILWAY ENGINES AS DECK CARGO. (SHIPWRECKS OF THE W OF SCOTLAND).
Surveying Details : **23.2.96 PART OF WK SITE CONSISTS OF WRECKAGE WHICH APPEARS TO BE REMAINS OF ENGINES. (SHIPWRECKS OF THE W OF SCOTLAND, B BAIRD). NCA, POSN FOR FILING ONLY.
General Comments : SEE ALSO WK [3797]
Charting Comments : POSN FOR FILING ONLY
Date Last Amended : 12/04/2005
