 In June 1890, they established a service to Arran from the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway railhead at Ardrossan.In the years that followed, there was significant investment in piers and ships.After years of fierce competition between all the fleets, the CR and GSWR amalgamated with several other railways at the start of 1923 to form the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and their fleets amalgamated into the Caledonian Steam Packet Company, their funnels being painted yellow with a black top.