The Anchor Line.
This was the first successful line of steamers running from Glasgow to New York, established by Messrs. Handyside and Henderson, of Glasgow, in 1856, though it was not until 1863 that this branch of their business assumed much importance. Since then the trade has developed rapidly, giving employment to a weekly line of steamers, and in summer twice a week. The ships have large carrying capacity, from 3,000 to 5,000 tons and upwards, with good accommodation for passengers at very moderate rates. Among these are the Furnessia and Belgravia, of over five thousand tons; the Devonia, Anchoria, Bolivia and Circassia, upwards of four thousand tons each, not to speak of the City of Rome, a host in herself. This is one of the handsomest ships afloat, and of large dimensions, being 546 feet long between perpendiculars, and 600 feet over all; her width is 52 feet 4 inches, and her displacement at 25 feet draft of water, 13,500 tons. She is driven by three sets of inverted tandem engines of 10,000 horse-power; her single screw is 24 feet diameter, and the screw shaft 25 inches. She has ample accommodation for 270 cabin passengers and 1,500 steerage: was built in 1881 for the Inman Line at Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, where all the above-named ships were also built, but as she did not come up to the requisite speed she was left in the builders’ hands, and was taken over by the Anchor Line. She is not a slow ship, having made 18½ knots on her trial trip, and has crossed the Atlantic in 6 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes. From whatever cause, outsiders look upon her as a sort of “white elephant,” unable to compete successfully with the more thorough-paced ocean greyhounds. The entire Anchor Line fleet consists of some thirty-five steamers. The company has had its own share of losses by shipwreck, and more than its share of lives lost. One of the most appalling marine disasters was the sinking of the Eutopia of this line in the Bay of Gibraltar, in 1891, from collision with a man-of-war lying at anchor, resulting in the loss of 526 lives.