Balclutha and the Eppleton Hall in the harbour at Newcastle-upon-Tyne

In the 1890's most of the bulk carriers on the long ocean routes were British and the majority were built in the North East of England. Of the 942 ships launched from British yards in 1869, Sunderland with 124, claimed to build more ships than any other town in the world, with Glasgow (107) as the nearest rival. Gradually the Clyde became the shipbuilding centre of not only the British Empire but the whole world. It was here that Balclutha was built in 1886. Designed to carry Californian grain to Europe, she rounded Cape Horn 17 times before moving on to shorter voyages in the timber and salmon trades.

The tugboat Eppleton Hall, a sidewheel tug with twin Grasshopper side level steam engines, was built in 1914 by Hepple & Co. at their South Shields yard and spent most of her working life in and around the River Tyne.

Both boats are currently undergoing total restoration in the United States at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.