Since then, however, many changes have taken place that will be alluded to later on, so that to-day we have numerous boats running on the Atlantic at an average speed of 19 to 20 knots, with a reputation for being commercial successes as well as triumphs of engineering skill.

The most recent and noteworthy of these are the steamships Teutonic and Majestic, owned by the same enterprising gentlemen, and constructed by the same famed builders as the Britannic and Germanic; and the City of Paris and City of New York, sailing under the same house flag as the steamship City of Berlin, which was a worthy competitor of the Britannic.

The Majestic is a twin-screw steamer of 9,851 tons gross, 565 feet long (or 110 feet more than the Britannic). Each screw is driven by a set of triple-expansion engines. Her consumption of fuel is about two hundred and ninety tons per day, while on leaving port she will have on board about two thousand four hundred tons of coal. Her I. H.-P. on trial trip was 17,000. Her best speed on service is a mean of 20.18, and taking the mean of ten voyages it is 19.72 knots. A picture of the ship, taken while afloat on the Mersey, is shown on page [75].

The City of Paris is 10,499 tons gross register, and is 527 feet long: she also is a twin-screw vessel. It will be observed by comparison with the Majestic [see table, p. [78]] that the City of Paris is the larger ship, although she is 38 feet shorter, her extra beam of 5.4 feet giving her this advantage. Her speed with 20,100 I. H.-P. is 21.952 knots, her best run on service being 20.01 knots; and her daily consumption of coal is about three hundred and twenty tons, which necessitates her leaving port with over two thousand seven hundred tons of fuel on board for the trip.

The White Star Steamer Majestic.

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Previous to the advent of these vessels the Cunard Company’s steamships Etruria and Umbria were the fastest boats on the Atlantic, and their performances are highly creditable to all concerned. The best voyage from Queenstown to Sandy Hook by the Etruria was done in 6 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes, and the best from Sandy Hook to Queenstown in 6 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes, and the average in 1886 was about 6 days, 15 hours, as compared with the 11 days, 19 hours of 1856. The average of the Britannic for ten years was 8 days, 9 hours, 36 minutes, Queenstown to New York; and 8 days, 1 hour, 48 minutes, New York to Queenstown.

Comparative Table of Atlantic Steamships and their Speeds.