“OCEANIC,” FIRST OF THE WHITE STAR LINE, 1871.
The first ship of this line to appear in the Mersey was the Oceanic, in February, 1871. It was at once seen by her graceful lines that she was “a clipper.” Her machinery was the best known up to that time. A new feature was that the main saloon and passengers’ berths were placed as near midships as possible, and separate revolving chairs were introduced in the dining-room (a great boon to passengers); a number of other innovations served to attract the notice of the travelling community, while admirable management on shipboard and ashore inspired confidence in the line.
The original fleet consisted of six ships—the Oceanic, Baltic, Atlantic, Republic, Celtic and Adriatic—all about the same size, close upon 4,000 tons each. In 1874 and 1875, two remarkable vessels, as then accounted, were added to the fleet—the Britannic and Germanic—by the same builders, with engines from Maudslay, Son & Field. These boats are 468 feet long, of 5,000 tons and 5,000 horse-power. They easily made sixteen knots an hour, burning only 110 tons of coal per day, and were in every way so satisfactory they became very popular. No higher compliment can be paid them than the statement made in 1894 that “they had now been running regularly for twenty years, giving complete satisfaction to the owners and to the public, having still the same engines and boilers with which they started.”[19] In those twenty years these two ships carried 100,000 cabin and 260,000 steerage passengers.
“MAJESTIC,” WHITE STAR LINER, LAUNCHED IN 1889.
In the meantime the new Cunard steamers, Umbria and Etruria, had outrun the White Star clippers. Again an order was given to Harland & Wolff for a pair of larger, finer and faster boats than they had yet built. The magnificent twin screw steel ships, Teutonic and Majestic, filled the bill. The Teutonic was launched in January, 1889. On the 7th of August she left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York, having in the meantime taken part in the naval review at Spithead, where she was inspected and admired by the German Emperor and H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. She crossed from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in 6 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes, then the quickest maiden passage on record. The Majestic was launched in June, 1889, and made her first voyage to New York in April following, lowering the record to 6 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes.
These fine ships are each 582 feet in length over all, 57 feet 8 inches in width, and 39 feet moulded depth. Their gross tonnage is 10,000 tons, all to a fraction. They are twin-screw ships, each having two sets of triple cylinders, 43 inches, 68 inches, and 110 inches diameter, respectively, together working up to 18,000 horse-power. The screw-propellers are 19 feet 6 inches diameter, and so fitted that they overlap 5 feet 6 inches, the starboard propeller being six feet astern of the other. They have each twelve double-ended and four single-ended boilers, containing in all seventy-six furnaces. The steam pressure is 180 pounds to the square inch. The piston stroke is five feet, and the average revolutions seventy-eight per minute. About four thousand tons of coal are consumed on the round voyage. Not only do these ships combine in their construction and equipment all that is best in modern improvements, but some of the most valuable of these improvements originated with their builders, and have been largely imitated by others.
The whole service, food and attendance included, is unexceptionable. There is ample accommodation for about 300 saloon, 170 intermediate and 1,000 steerage passengers. As to speed, they “must have swift steeds that follow” them. The Teutonic has made the western voyage in 5 days, 16 hours, 31 minutes. The Majestic has done it in 5 days, 17 hours, 56 minutes. In ordinary circumstances the passenger who embarks at Queenstown may safely calculate that six days will land him in New York by either of these ships. They are not quite so fast as the Lucania, but to gain the difference, say, of ten hours in crossing the Atlantic, the Cunarder requires an enormous increase of driving power—no less than 12,000 horse-power over and above that of the other. The Teutonic and Majestic are under contract with the British Government to be used as armed cruisers whenever their services may be required, the company receiving an annual sum of £14,659 10s. as a retainer.[20] Each of these steamers has accommodation for one thousand cavalry and their horses, or for 2,000 infantry. They could easily reach Halifax from Queenstown in five days, Cape Town in twelve and a half, and Bombay, via the canal, in fourteen days from Portsmouth. They could even steam to Bombay, via the Cape, 10,733 knots, in twenty-three days without stopping to coal.