During the winter of 1832-3, the Quebec and Halifax Steam Navigation Co. built at Quebec a steamer, which they named the Royal William. She was a vessel of 1,370 tons B.M.; length over all, 176 feet; breadth, outside paddle-boxes, 43 feet 10 inches; inside, 27 feet; depth of hold, 17 feet 9 inches; draught laden, 13 feet. Her engines of 180 h.p., constructed in Birmingham by Boulton & Watt, were forwarded to Canada, and fitted on board the Royal William at Montreal, whither she had been towed by the steamboat British America. After trading for several months between Quebec and Pictou, Nova Scotia, the station for which her owners had built her, she was advertised to sail for London. In accordance with this announcement she was despatched from Quebec on the 5th August, 1833, and after calling at Pictou, N.S., where she took on board a further supply of coal at 15s. per chaldron, she proceeded direct to Cowes, Isle of Wight, accomplishing the voyage of about 2,500 miles in seventeen days. This voyage is remarkable as being the first instance of a vessel crossing the Atlantic from America by the use of steam only.

After the completion of her trans-Atlantic voyage, the Royal William was sold to the Spanish Government, who changed her name to the Ysabel Secunda, and fitted her up as a man-of-war carrying six guns. She took part in the first Carlist war and, finally, was totally wrecked on the rocks off the harbour of Santander, Spain.

After strenuous and prolonged efforts, Dr. Julius Smith succeeded in organising (1836) a Transatlantic Steamship Company, bearing the title of the British Queen Steam Navigation Co. The capital of the Company was fixed at £1,000,000 sterling, and its secretary was the celebrated Mr. MacGregor Laird. The shares were promptly subscribed for, and the Directors placed a contract with Messrs. Curling and Young, Blackwall, London, to build their pioneer steamship, the British Queen. The order for the engines was placed with a Glasgow firm, Messrs. Claude Girdwood & Co. This firm, however, before they had finished the work entrusted to them, became bankrupt, and a new contract was made with Mr. Robert Napier, the famous Clyde engineer, to supply the engines. It was at first the intention of the Directors (as stated in their prospectus) to build a vessel of 1,862 tons burthen, but before the completion of the ship they decided to increase her size to 2,400 tons. Although contracted for in the summer of 1836, it was not until 24th May, 1838, that the British Queen was launched. This unfortunate delay, caused by the bankruptcy of Messrs. Girdwood & Co., enabled a rival company at Bristol to build and equip their steamer, the Great Western, before the British Queen could be got ready for her service. In order to save the prestige of their Company the Directors of the British Queen chartered from the St. George Steam-Packet Co. the steamer Sirius, and advertised that she “would leave London for New York on Wednesday, the 28th of March, 1838, calling at Cork Harbour; and would start from thence on the 2nd April, returning from New York on the 1st of May.”[17] The sailing from Cork Harbour was, however, delayed, waiting the arrival of the steampacket Ocean from Liverpool with the mails and passengers, until the morning of the 4th of April. She started on this memorable voyage at 9 o’clock on the morning of the date named, having on board 94 cabin passengers. Three days later (7th April, 1838)[18] she was followed across the Atlantic by the Great Western, from Bristol for New York, with goods and passengers. As the dates of the intended sailings of both steamers had been conveyed to New York, their arrival at that port was eagerly looked for. They both arrived on the same day, the Sirius early in the morning of Monday, the 23rd April, and the Great Western in the afternoon. The excitement which prevailed on the arrival of these steamers was described as follows by the New York Press: —

“At 3 o’clock p.m. on Sunday, the 22nd of April, the Sirius first descried the land, and early on Monday morning, the 23rd, anchored in the North River immediately off the Battery. Nothing could exceed the excitement. The river was covered during the whole day with row-boats, skiffs, and yawls, carrying the wondering people out to get a close view of this extraordinary vessel. While people were yet wondering how the Sirius so successfully made out to cross the rude Atlantic, it was announced about 11 a.m. on Monday, from the telegraph, that a huge steamship was in the offing. ‘The Great Western!—the Great Western!’ was on everybody’s tongue. About 2 o’clock p.m. the first curl of her ascending smoke fell on the eyes of the thousands of anxious spectators, and a shout of enthusiasm rose on the air.... Thus the grand experiment has been fairly and fully tested, and has been completely successful. The only question now in the case is that of expense. Can steampackets be made to pay?”

British & African S. N. Co.British & Irish Steampacket Co.
British India S. N. Co.T. & J. Brocklebank.
G. & J. Burns.R. Burton & Son.
Canadian Pacific Railway.Cayzer, Irvine & Co.
City of Dublin Steampacket Co.Cork Steamship Co.
Cunard Line.Donald Currie & Co.
Elder, Dempster & Co.J. R. Ellerman.
Fletcher, Woodhill & Co.Greenock Shipping Co.
T. & J. Harrison.Alfred Holt.
Samuel Hough.Houlder Bros.

During the early part of her voyage westwards, the Sirius experienced strong head winds, during which she only steamed 4 to 5 knots per hour. During the latter portion, the weather was favourable, and she made good progress, averaging 9½ knots. She sailed from New York as advertised on the 1st of May, and reached England on the 18th idem after a voyage of sixteen days. The Great Western left New York on the 7th of May and arrived at Bristol on the 22nd, being fourteen days on the passage. There was a remarkable difference in her consumption of coal on the two voyages, accounted for, probably, first by the stormy weather referred to as experienced by the Sirius on her outward voyage, and secondly by the prevailing westerly winds on the homeward run. On the voyage Bristol to New York, the Great Western averaged per day 208 knots, or 8·2 knots per hour, with a total consumption of 655 tons of coal. On her homeward voyage she averaged 213 knots per day, or nearly 9 knots per hour, with a total consumption of only 392 tons of coal. Fuller details of the Sirius will be found in the History of the Cork Steamship Co. in Part II. of this work. It is but fair to state that she was only half the size, and had only half the power of her famous rival. The principal dimensions of the two vessels were as follows:—

Gross
Length.Breadth.Depth.Tonnage.Engines.
Great Western236 ft.35·4 ft.23·3 ft.1340750 h.p.
Sirius178 ft.25·6 ft.18 ft.703320 h.p.