Millwright Randolph & Elliott Charles Randolph founded the company as Randolph & Co. He had been an apprentice at the Clyde shipyard of
Robert Napier, and at
William Fairbairn & Sons in Manchester. With the knowledge that he acquired, he started as a
millwright in partnership with his cousin Richard S. Cunliff, who managed the commercial side. By 1834 it built engines and machinery in the
Tradeston district of
Glasgow. It was the first serious local manufacturer of
cog and other large wheels for driving machinery, and soon became famous for accuracy. In 1839 Mr Elliott joined the firm and it became known as Randolph, Elliott & Co. Elliott died shortly after becoming a partner.
Randolph, Elder and Co starts to build ship engines In 1852 the company became Randolph, Elder and Company when
John Elder (1824–1869) joined the business. Elder had a natural talent for engineering and had also worked at the Napier shipyard. It enabled the company to start diversifying into
marine engineering. In this field, the company would acquire world fame. Its skills in this field also enabled it to become one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world. The story is closely connected to the application of the compound steam engine for marine use, in which the firm played a crucial role. With regard to the compound engine two specific phases can be discerned: 'low' pressure compound engines and 'high' pressure compound engines. The compound engine with low (as it would later be called) pressure would give Randolph, Elder and Co its first renown for economic compound engines. The company's attempts centred on trying to prevent energy loss due to friction and premature condensation of steam. In July 1854 the screw steamer
Brandon was fit with engines by Randolph, Elder & Co. It had a vertical geared compound engine with a patented (January 1853) arrangement of the cylinders. The
crankshaft was turned by two opposite
cranks (arms). One was driven by the high-pressure cylinder, the other by the low-pressure cylinder, with the pistons always moving in opposite directions.
Brandon, a vessel of about 800 tons and 800 ihp made her trials in July 1854. She had a coal consumption of about 3.25 lbs per
ihp per hour. At the time the lowest rate of consumption in other steamers was about 4-4.5 lbs per ihp per hour. The merits of the engine of
Brandon were not enough to persuade others, and from 1854 till about 1866 Randolph, Elder and Co were the only engineers who made compound engines under their various patents. The
Pacific Steam Navigation Company did become an enthusiastic customer. In 1855-1856 it operated on the west coast of South America. In that area, fuel was imported from Britain and therefore more costly. When the
Crimean War broke out, freight tariffs increased to the point that the price of coal almost doubled there. The directors then conferred with the company, resulting in the 'double-cylinder engine'.
Inca and
Valparaiso were paddle-steamers which got this engine, that got patented in March 1856. Construction of that for
Inca was started in May 1856. It had two pairs of cylinders, lying so their piston rods were at a 60-90 degree angle. Each pair consisted of a high- and low-pressure cylinder lying next to each other, so they could easily exchange steam. Their pistons moved in opposite directions and drove one crank, which was attached to the crankshaft opposite the crank of the other pair. This gave the optimal balance of driving forces that could be attained for this number of cylinders. Furthermore, the cylinders were 'jacketed' at the top and bottom. The jacket heated the cylinder from the outside to prevent condensation in the cylinder. It had been invented by
James Watt, but the company was the first to re-apply it, probably because it first understood its purpose. The company then supplied more double-cylinder engines, but with the cylinders completely jacketed.
Admiral by Robert Napier, made her trial in June 1858. Another ship with the same engine was
Callao built by John Reid in 1858. On trials fuel consumption for these ships was:
Inca 2.5 lbs/ihp/h,
Callao 2.7 lbs/ihp/h,
Valparaiso and
Admiral 3 lbs/ihp/h. It amounted to a saving of 30-40 per cent, and this was maintained later on. It made it possible to continue steam navigation on the Pacific Ocean with profit. In fact, in 1858 the Pacific Steam Navigation Company had 7–8 years old traditional machinery removed from three of her large steamers, and replaced by compound engines. It saved 40% in fuel and 30 feet of space amidships because less space was needed for coal. From 1854 till about 1866 Randolph, Elder & Co. constructed 18 sets of paddle engines and 30 sets of screw engines, all compound. A highlight was the conversion of the frigate
HMS Constance to steam propulsion in 1863, and her race against two frigates with engines by
John Penn and Sons and
Maudslay, Sons and Field. In 1860 the company started to use surface condensation instead of the jet condenser. In 1862 it increased steam pressure to 40 lbs per square inch.
Starts to build ships In 1858 the company acquired the Govan Old Shipyard, his wife ran the business for a while and renamed it in his honour. In 1869 she sold the company to a new partnership consisting of her brother John Francis Ure (1820–1883), J.L.K. Jamieson (1826–1883) and Sir
William Pearce. It kept the name John Elder & Co. William Pearce became sole partner in 1878. The new owners continued the expansion of the shipyard in 1870 and onwards. Important customers in the 1861-1875 time slot were: the Pacific Steam Navigation Company for 40 vessels at 2,500,000 GBP, the African Mail Company and British and African Steam Navigation Company for 16 vessels at 500,000 GBP and
Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland for 8 vessels at 600,000 GBP. Some qualitative notes further explain the leading position of the company at the time. In 1870 it launched Italy, a vessel of 400 feet, 4,200 tons gross measurement and 600 nominal hp. The largest vessel then afloat except for
Great Eastern. In 1870-1871 it built two steamers for the London to Aberdeen line:
City of London and
Ban Righ were about 20% faster than their predecessors, while their fuel consumption was less than half of theirs. In 1871
Tagus and
Moselle were launched for the Royal Mail Company's West India and Brazil trade. Both big steamers almost reached 15 knots on their trials. In 1873 it launched
Iberia of 4,820 tons and 650 hp, the second largest merchant steamer then afloat. In 1871
HMS Hydra was launched with engines by John Elder. == Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and successors ==