Prior to the declaration of War between the Northern and Southern States of America, in 1861, the B. and I. Co. had maintained a regular service between Dublin and Wexford. The vessel employed in this service was a small paddle steamer named the Mars. In 1863 the Mars was sold, crossed the Atlantic, and began the exciting career of a blockade runner.
Two years later (1865) the Lady Wodehouse was built in Dublin, for the Company, by Messrs. Walpole, Webb and Bewley, and in 1869 the same builders launched another B. and I. liner, the Countess of Dublin. The year 1870 saw an important and advantageous change in the fortunes of the Company, who purchased the interest and steamers of Messrs. Malcomson’s London-Dublin line, since which time the sea trade between Dublin and London has been entirely in the hands of the British and Irish Company. The vessels purchased from Messrs. Malcomson were the Avoca and Cymba. In 1879, the B. and I. Company was registered as a Limited Company, and a new steamer, the Lady Olive, 1,096 tons, was added to the fleet. The Lady Olive was the last iron vessel built for the Company, and the last of the compound engine type of steamer. All her successors—the present vessels of the fleet—are built of steel, and fitted with triple-expansion engines. The first ship of the new type was the Lady Martin, of 1,356 tons gross register, built in 1887 by Messrs. Workman & Clark, of Belfast. Her carrying capacity is much greater than that of any of her predecessors, and further increase of tonnage has marked all the vessels added to the fleet since. Her principal dimensions are—Length 269 feet 6 inches, beam 34 feet 2 inches, and depth of hold 16 feet 4 inches.
S.S. Lady Wolseley leaving Falmouth.
She was followed in quick succession by the Lady Hudson-Kinahan, built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1891; the Lady Wolseley, built by the Naval Construction and Armaments Company, Barrow, in 1894; and the Lady Roberts, built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1897. The last-named four steamers now carry on the trade between the two capitals, the Lady Olive acting as stand-by ship. In their main features, all the vessels are very similar, and vary only slightly in size and power, from the Lady Martin, of 1,365 tons, to the Lady Roberts, of 1,462 tons. It will be seen from the particulars given, that the steamers of the B. and I. Co. are amongst the largest coasting vessels in the United Kingdom. The average berthing accommodation of each vessel is—120 saloon and 50 second cabin, in addition to steerage passengers. Each vessel is fitted up on the most approved plan, and electrically lighted throughout. Deck cabins and state rooms can be secured at a small extra charge. Smoking rooms are also provided, as well as bathrooms. In the summer season pianos are put on board, and a full complement of stewards and stewardesses is carried. Under ordinary circumstances the vessels average 13 knots per hour, which is quite fast enough for the requirements of the trade; and it may be mentioned that they are well able to hold their own with the majority of channel steamers. Any person travelling by these steamers will find that very few vessels will pass them, and those which do are probably some crack mail packets running short passages.
The ships of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company are as well-known at Falmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, and Portsmouth as they are at the terminal ports of London and Dublin. Being so well-found, roomy, comfortable, and up-to-date, and calling in at all the principal southern ports, it is but natural that they should be favourites with the holiday-making and touring public. So favourably are they held in this respect that during the “fine weather” months they seldom leave port without having a full complement of passengers, of whom (as has been stated) they are designed to carry a large number.
Chapter VII.
THE BIBBY LINE.
Reference has been made, in a previous chapter of this work, to this old-established firm. It was engaged in shipping in 1807, five years before the first British steamboat was launched. At that early date the fleet consisted of small sailing vessels, but in 1821 a regular line of ships to the East Indies was established. Of the old Liverpool shipowning firms which had their flag signal posts on Bidston Hill, only three now remain, viz., Messrs. Bibby, Brocklebank, and Sandbach Tinne.
In 1851 the firm, then under the guidance of the late Mr. James J. Bibby, went into the steam trade, their first boats, the Tiber and Arno, being built on the Clyde by John Reid and Co.