The history of steam navigation

by John Kennedy

Chapter XVII.

Steamship Companies of the past.—Inman Line.—National Line.—Guion Line.—Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Co.

In the early spring of 1850 Messrs. Tod and MacGregor, iron shipbuilders and engineers, Glasgow, launched the iron screw steamer City Of Glasgow, a vessel of 1,600 tons and 350 horse-power. During the spring and summer of that year she made several voyages between Glasgow and New York, but in the latter part of the year she was purchased by the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company, and sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia on the 17th December, 1850. This vessel was the pioneer of what is better known as the “Inman” Line. This ill-fated vessel left port on 1st March, 1854, with four hundred and eighty persons on board, and was never again heard of. In 1851 the Inman Company purchased the steamship City of Manchester, built also by Tod & MacGregor. Her registered tonnage was 2,125 tons; her length 274 feet, and her breadth 38 feet. She had a clipper bow and bowsprit, four masts square rigged on the fore and main masts, with her funnel between the main and mizzen masts. Other iron screw steamers, all having the beautiful clipper bow for which this line was noted, were quickly added to the fleet, comprising the Kangaroo, City of Baltimore, City of Washington, City of Boston, City of Bristol, City of Limerick, City of Lincoln, City of London, City of Durham, City of New York, City of Paris, City of Antwerp, City of Brooklyn, City of Brussels, City of Montreal, City of Chester, City of Chicago, City of Richmond and City of Berlin.

During the first five years of its existence, the Inman Company maintained a fortnightly service between Liverpool and Philadelphia, but in 1857 it enlarged the area of its operations by making New York one of its ports of arrival and by establishing a fortnightly line thither. On the collapse of the Collins Line, Mr. Inman at once assumed their dates of sailing, and increased the service to once a week, and was appointed to carry the United States mails between England and America. Nor were the Inman steamers, though screws, less swift than their predecessors. Their later steamers far surpassed the swiftest steamers of the Collins Line, and one of these, the City Of Paris, in 1869 conveyed H.R.H. Prince Arthur to America in six days twenty-one hours, the quickest passage (up to that date) ever made to any port of the New World from Cork.

Mr. Inman specially directed his attention to the conveyance of emigrant passengers across the Atlantic, and he and Mrs. Inman, greatly to their credit, made a voyage in one of their earliest emigrant steamers, expressly for the purpose of ameliorating the discomforts and evils hitherto but too common in emigrant ships. The following table shows how successful he was in catering for the emigrant passenger trade:—

Passengers Landed at New York from the United Kingdom
In 1870:—

		Cabin
Line.	Trips.	Passengers.	Steerage.	Total.
Inman	68	3,635	40,465	44,100
National	56	2,442	33,494	35,736
Guion	55	1,115	27,054	28,569
Anchor	74	1,637	23,404	25,041
Cunard	70	7,638	16,871	24,509

Of the vessels named in the preceding page the City of Washington and City of Boston met with the sad fate that overtook the President and the Pacific. They sailed, but never reached the desired haven, and in course of time were posted “missing.” Two of them, the City of London and the City of Limerick, were sold to Messrs. W. H. Ross & Co., and sailed for some time between London and New York. The City of Antwerp was purchased by Messrs. William Johnston and Co., who changed her name to Thanemore and employed her for several years in their Liverpool and Baltimore trade. By a strange fatality, each of the three steamers last named, sailed from its respective port and was never afterwards heard of. The first two disappeared in 1881, and the third in 1890. The City of Richmond was sold to a firm who were the first to employ ocean liners for ocean pleasure cruising, and for two or three summers she sailed from Newcastle to the Norwegian fjords.

Upon the death of Mr. William Inman, which occurred in 1881, the management of the line was taken over by Messrs. Richardson, Spence & Co. Since then it has undergone several changes. Its title of Inman Line was discontinued, and that of “American” Line adopted, and its British headquarters transferred from Liverpool to Southampton. It is now (1903) one of the group of Atlantic steamship companies included in the “Morgan” combine.

In 1863, a number of Liverpool merchants and shipowners, anticipating a large trade would arise between this country and the Confederate States of North America on the termination of the civil war then raging, formed themselves into a company under the title of the National Steam Navigation Co., with a capital of £700,000. It was the intention of the promoters of the company to establish a regular service of first-class steamships between Liverpool and the Southern States. The requisite capital was quickly subscribed, and three steamships were promptly acquired; but, alas! the hoped-for peace did not arrive as soon as the promoters anticipated. Under these circumstances the Directors decided to enter into competition with the Cunard and Inman Companies for a share of the passenger and goods trade to and from the Northern States. The pioneer vessel of the new company was the Louisiana, which vessel sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in the year 1863. She was followed by the Virginia and the Pennsylvania, each of these vessels being between 3,000 and 3,500 gross tonnage, and consequently they were the largest cargo carriers afloat at that time. During the following year (1864) three new steamers of still larger tonnage were added to the fleet. These were named respectively The Queen, Erin and Helvetia. So successful were these vessels that twelve months later (1865) two more steamers were built for the Company, viz., the England and Denmark, both of 3,723 tons gross, and these were followed in 1866 by the France, a vessel of about the same tonnage.

A great advance in the size of the Company’s steamers was made in 1868, when the Italy, a steamer of 4,300 tons, was placed on the line. Not only was the Italy the largest transatlantic liner at that date, but she was also the first in which compound engines were fitted. A somewhat smaller steamship, the Holland, of 3,847 tons gross, was built in 1869. The following year two very large and powerful vessels were added to the fleet. These were the Egypt, of 4,669 tons gross, and the Spain, of 4,512 tons; both steamers were built on the Mersey, the former by the Liverpool Shipbuilding Co., and the latter by Messrs. Laird, of Birkenhead.

The Company now possessed a sufficiently large fleet to maintain a regular weekly service between Liverpool and New York, sailing from Liverpool every Wednesday, and from New York every Saturday; and a fortnightly service from London to New York, via Havre.

The steamships of this line were good, roomy, comfortable boats, with lofty ’tween decks. They carried immense cargoes of cotton, grain, provisions, and other American produce from the United States to Great Britain, and though they could not compare with the Cunard or Inman liners in the elegance of the accommodation provided for saloon passengers, yet they were well adapted for the conveyance of emigrants, of whom they carried large numbers. As they did not specially cater for saloon passengers, and carried no mails, they were not driven at the high rate of speed maintained by the premier transatlantic steamship companies. It is true that for a time the National Line held the “Blue Ribbon” of the Atlantic, but this honourable position was held for a very short time only, and the vessel by which it was gained was sold to the Italian Government. The steamer referred to was the America, built and engined by Messrs. J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow, in 1883. Her gross tonnage was 5,528 tons, with compound engines of 1,064 horse-power nominal. Her length was 441 feet 8 inches; breadth, 51 feet 2 inches; and her depth 36 feet.

In less than twelve months from the date of her launch, she was purchased by the Italian Government, by whom she was equipped as an armed cruiser, and renamed Italia. Prior to the construction of the America, the Company had increased its fleet by the addition of the steamers Greece and Canada. On the 31st December, 1889, the Erin sailed with seventy-two persons on board, and disappeared without leaving a trace.

After trading successfully for a number of years, the National Steamship Company got into financial difficulties. Its vessels were dispersed; the Liverpool service to New York was abandoned, and only that from London retained. When the nineteenth century closed the only steamers sailing under its flag were the America, Europe and Manhattan. These three steamers are built of steel, and each carries four masts. They are all driven by triple-expansion engines, and the last-named vessel is a twin-screw steamer. The respective measurements are as follows:—

America, 5,158 tons gross, built and engined by Gourlay Brothers & Co., Dundee, in 1891, is 435 feet long, 46 feet 3 inches broad, and 25 feet 2 inches deep, with engines of 516 nominal horse-power.

Europe, 5,302 tons gross, built and engined by Palmers, Limited, Newcastle, in 1891, is 435 feet long, 46 feet 4 inches broad, and 25 feet 2 inches deep, with engines of 545 nominal horse-power.

Manhattan, 8,004 tons gross, built and engined by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, in 1898, is 490 feet 5 inches long, 56 feet 3 inches broad, and 25 feet deep, with engines of 478 nominal horse-power.

The National Line, like the Inman Line, has now been absorbed by the American combine.

For several years prior to 1863, Mr. Stephen B. Guion, of New York, had established a line of clipper ships between that port and Liverpool. Finding it impossible to contend against screw steamers in the ocean trade, he entered (in the year named) into an arrangement to supply, through his old connections and agents in America, the Cunard and National Companies with steerage passengers and cargo for their steamers. This arrangement held good until 1866, when Mr. Guion, in co-partnery with others, formed a steamship company whose official title was “The Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Co.,” but which was popularly known as the Guion Line. The first steamer of the new line was the iron screw steamer Manhattan, which sailed from Liverpool to New York in August, 1866. This steamer was still afloat in 1903, being then the property of Messrs. W. H. Ross & Co., by whom she was renamed the City of Lincoln. The fleet of the Guion Line was speedily sufficiently numerous to maintain a regular weekly service from Liverpool to New York, and within six years of the formation of the Company it possessed eight first-class iron screw steamships, each of about 3,000 tons burthen. They were named after the Western States of America, viz., Manhattan, Nebraska, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In 1874 the Montana, of 3,500 tons, was added to the fleet, which was further increased in 1875 by the addition of the Dakota.

None of the vessels named had distinguished themselves by their extraordinary speed; but in 1879 there was built for the Guion Line, by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, the steamer Arizona. She was an entirely new type of vessel. The older ships, though differing in their models, might be described generally as brig rigged screw steamers carrying a single funnel amidships, and having their saloons aft. The Arizona carried four masts, of which the fore and main were square rigged, and two funnels between the main and mizzen masts. The saloon was situated amidships, and was superbly furnished. The length of the Arizona was 450 feet, her breadth 45 feet, and her depth 35 feet. She sailed on her first voyage from Liverpool to New York on the 31st May, 1879, and is at the present date (1903) employed as a troopship by the U.S. Government, her name having been changed to the Hancock.

A sister vessel to the Arizona was built by the same builders in 1881. She was larger and more powerful than the Arizona, and increased the reputation for speed which that steamer had created. The Alaska left Liverpool on her maiden voyage on the 29th October, 1881. On the 12th September, 1882, she sailed from New York, and completed her voyage to Queenstown in 6 days 18 hours and 38 minutes. This rapid passage was, however, excelled by the same Company’s steamer Oregon, which sailed from Liverpool to New York on the 6th October, 1883, and made the passage from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in 6 days 10 hours and 9 minutes. The Oregon was also built and engined by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Co. She was 501 feet long, 54 feet 2 inches broad, and 38 feet deep. Her gross tonnage was 7,375 tons; and her engines developed 13,500 horse-power, giving a speed of 18 knots per hour. Her career was a brief but brilliant one. Built in 1883, she sank after a collision with an American schooner on the 11th March, in 1886.

These three celebrated steamers, the Alaska, Arizona and Oregon were popularly known as the “Greyhounds of the Atlantic.” As has been stated, the Oregon was lost after collision, the Arizona is still afloat, and the Alaska was sold in 1902 for the purpose of breaking up. After the decease of Mr. S. B. Guion, which occurred on the 19th December, 1885, the steamers of the fleet were gradually disposed of to various purchasers. The firm, however, of Guion & Co. is still in existence, as passenger agents, the business being carried on by Mr. Frank Ramsden and Mr. I. O. Roberts.

The Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Company, better known as the “Galway Line,” was established by a number of English and Irish gentlemen, who in January, 1859, proposed to the British Government to carry H.M. mails from Galway to Portland, Boston, or New York, via St. John’s, Newfoundland, or otherwise, for the sum of £3,000 on the round voyage. They further offered “to convey telegraphic messages from the United Kingdom to British North America and the United States in six days, casualties excepted.” As the Atlantic cable was not then in existence, the Government was favourably disposed to the scheme, and on the 21st April, 1859, a contract was entered into with the said company, based on the terms of the proposals made to the Government.

On the 10th June following, the Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Company contracted with Messrs. Palmer, of Newcastle, for the construction of two steamships, the cost of each to be £95,000; and five days later (15th June) they concluded a similar contract with Messrs. Samuelson, of Hull, for two steamships, to cost £97,000 each. As the date of the commencement of the postal service, according to the Government contract, was fixed for June, 1860, the contract with the builders stipulated for delivery of the vessels within eleven months from the date of the agreement. It was also a condition of the contracts, that the ships were to be built according to lines, plans, and specifications approved by the Admiralty. The four steamships referred to were almost uniform in model, measurement and equipment. Each measured about 2,800 tons, with engines of about 850 nominal horse-power. Their principal dimensions were—Length 360 feet, beam 40 feet, and depth of hold 32 feet. Those built by Messrs. Palmer were named Connaught and Hibernia, and those by Messrs. Samuelson, Columbia and Anglia. A clause in the Company’s contract with the builders specified “that each of the said vessels when completed was, on a fair and proper trial thereof, to accomplish a speed at the rate of 20 statute miles per hour in smooth water, and to consume not more than 8,800 pounds of fuel per hour.” In the case of the Connaught this condition was not complied with, for on her trial trip the Government Inspector reported that the speed of this “vessel was about thirteen knots.”

From its commencement the Company was in difficulties. The second steamer, the Hibernia, on being surveyed by the Government Inspectors, was found to be leaky. None of the vessels were delivered within the time agreed upon, and in order to keep faith with the Government the Company was compelled to charter a steamer to inaugurate the service. They accordingly hired from the Messrs. Malcomsons, of Waterford, one of their Liverpool and River Plate steamers, the Parana, which sailed from Galway on the 27th June, 1860, and arrived at St. John’s in seven days thirteen and a half hours, or one day thirteen and a half hours beyond the stipulated time for delivering the telegraph messages at St. John’s.

The second steamer to sail from Galway was the Connaught, which sailed for Boston direct on the 11th July, and was twenty-two and a half hours over contract time in arriving at that port. This steamer was totally lost on her second voyage in October of the same year.

The third steamer of the Company sailed from Galway on the 9th April, 1861, and returned in May following in a disabled condition, having met with ice on the passage. She made the slowest passage outwards of any of the fleet, having taken ten days seven and a half hours to reach St. John’s, and seventeen days twenty and three quarter hours to reach Boston.

As two of their own steamers were unavailable, the one being lost and the other disabled, the Directors found it necessary to take up outside steamers. They therefore chartered the Prince Albert, and purchased the Adriatic, one of the latest and most famous of the Collins Line. She appears to have been the only vessel belonging to the Company capable of carrying out the terms of the Government Contract. She completed the run from Galway to St. John’s in the specified time, six days, and to New York in one day fifteen hours and fifteen minutes less than contract time. On her return she made the passage from St. John’s to Galway in five days nineteen hours and three quarters, the shortest passage on record from port to port across the Atlantic. It is impossible to state what would have been the result had the steamers built for the Company been equal to the Adriatic, but she was secured too late to retrieve the fortunes of the Company. Unable under such adverse circumstances to raise fresh capital, the managers of the Company had no course left but to abandon their undertaking, and they terminated their contract in May, 1861. This unfortunate enterprise entailed a loss to the Government of about £15,000, while it is probable that the loss incurred by the shareholders of the Company was not less than £150,000 during the short period of its existence.