AN EXHIBITION featuring 75 model ships - including several notable vessels built in Inverclyde - will open to the public this week.

Chariots of Steam features ships constructed on the Clyde by some of the river’s famous companies, such as Port Glasgow-based Ferguson Brothers.

Among Lachie Stewart's collection of meticulous work are models of NLV Pole Star and Flying Phantom which were built by Ferguson Brothers.

The collection, which features models of NLV Pole Star amd Flying Phantom, belongs to former distance runner Lachie Stewart - who won gold for Scotland in the 10,000m at the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.

The lighthouse and buoy tender NLV Pole Star was built for the Northern Lighthouse Board in 2000 and incorporated the latest propulsion, navigational and buoy handling technologies.

Greenock Telegraph: NV Pole StarNV Pole Star (Image: Scottish Maritime Museum)

The Flying Phantom (1981) was built for the Clyde Shipping Company and based in Greenock. After the tug sank in 2008, with three crew members tragically lost, Lachie’s model was used to aid the salvage team.

The other vessels are PS Maid of the Loch, Volcano, the Kathleen M Stewart and Sealight Greenock.

Built by George Brown and Co, Greenock, in 1930, Sealight Greenock was a typical puffer, built to fit the locks on the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Greenock Telegraph: Sealight GreenockSealight Greenock (Image: Scottish Maritime Museum)

Puffers were named after the distinctive ‘puff, puff’ of steam from the funnel and were flat-bottomed so they could be beached on sandy shores to unload cargo.

Eva Bukowska, exhibitions and events assistant at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Dumbarton, where the display will open on May 26, said: “We are delighted to celebrate Lachie Stewart’s exceptional collection of model ships with our latest exhibition Chariots of Steam.

“We’ve chosen a selection of models which will give visitors the broadest insight into Lachie’s works and the rich variety of vessels built by some of our most famous shipyards.

“Lachie’s skills and his appreciation of shipbuilding on the Clyde shine through each of the models and we’re sure this is going to be a hugely popular exhibition for our visitors.”