Scale: 1:24. A contemporary half block model of the dumb passage boat ‘Vulcan’ (circa 1816-18). The model is mounted on its original baseboard and is complete with a guard rail on deck and has the saloon windows with curtains painted along the side of the hull above the wale. The name ‘Vulcan’ has been painted onto the starboard bow and at the rear of the model is a small wooden pocket in which is kept a copy of the Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Shipbuilders’ Association, dated 3 October 1864, where this model was exhibited and the design tabled for discussion.

It was proposed to use this barge on the Forth and Clyde Canal. Designed by Sir John Robinson of Edinburgh, the keel measures 61 feet in length and the beam is 11 feet. It was built by Thomas Wilson (1781–1873) of Faskine and launched on 14 May 1819. Even in 1864, it was regarded as a pioneer in the early use of riveting iron plates for shipbuilding.