Private company
Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
British shipping company
The Allan Shipping Line was founded in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had offices in Glasgow, Liverpool and Montreal. All five of Captain Allan's sons were actively involved with the business, but it was his second son, Sir Hugh Allan, who spearheaded the second generation.2 It ceased to exist in 1917.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
- HeadquartersMontreal1
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The Allan Shipping Line was founded in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had offices in Glasgow, Liverpool and Montreal. All five of Captain Allan's sons were actively involved with the business, but it was his second son, Sir Hugh Allan, who spearheaded the second generation. In 1854, Hugh launched the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company as part of the Allan Line, and two years later ousted Samuel Cunard to take control of the Royal Mail contract between Britain and North America. By the 1880s, the Allan Line was the world's largest privately owned shipping concern.2
Timeline
Links
- WikipediaAllan Line
- More imagesWikimedia Commons
- WikidataQ2647999
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1
- 2
- 3Wikimedia CommonsAllan Line Royal Mail Steamers photo by Bazylevnik0, CC BY-SA 4.0