The railway companies early saw the advantages to be gained by the addition of steam-ship services to and from the ports to which their lines ran. Steam-ship owning by the railway companies was not permitted by Parliament at one time, and the proposal, whenever brought forward, was strongly opposed by the private steam-ship owners. The first company to enter the field was probably the North Lancashire Railways, which were subsequently absorbed by the London and North-Western Railway Company, and which, in conjunction with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, instituted in 1844 a steam-ship service between Fleetwood and Dublin, the Hibernia being the first steamer employed for the purpose. The venture was a success and brought to the Dublin Company such an immense increase in its trade between England and Ireland that in the following year the directors decided to add to their line three auxiliary screw schooners and five paddle-steamers.
In 1839, the Government arranged that the mails should be despatched every morning and evening from Liverpool to the Irish capital, via Kingstown, on the arrival of the mail trains from London. The morning service was by Admiralty steam packet and the evening service by the boats of the Dublin Steam Packet Company. The strong rivalry which immediately sprang up between the two services was intensified by the agreement between the North Lancashire Railways and the City of Dublin Company, and resulted in a vast improvement being effected in the steamers employed. For ten years this battle of the services was waged with unabated vigour on both sides, but finally in 1850 the Admiralty withdrew their steamers and left their rivals in full possession of the carriage of the Irish mail service.
The Dublin Company was not, however, long permitted to enjoy the fruits of their well-earned victory over the Admiralty, but was almost immediately involved in a similar conflict with the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, this time over the conveyance of the mails from Holyhead to Dublin. Recognising the importance of Holyhead as a port, the directors of the Dublin Company had not only placed some of their vessels there, but had also put in a tender for the Trans-Irish Channel mail service, which was accepted by the Admiralty. The Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, who were also steamship owners, were under the impression that no one could compete with them, and believing that they could obtain their own terms from the Admiralty neglected to tender. Prior, however, to the ratification by the Government of the Admiralty’s acceptance of the City of Dublin Company’s tender, the railway company, by some means best known to itself, obtained information of what was going on and used every means in its power to bring pressure on the Government to prevent the conclusion of the contract. These efforts were so far successful that fresh tenders were asked for by the Admiralty. From the facts which have since been made public, it would appear that the Dublin Company were not at all fairly treated in the first instance, because the amount at which they tendered having been allowed to leak out, the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company was enabled to undercut them. Fearing that similar tactics might be employed on the second contract, the Dublin Company, in consideration of the importance of the issue involved, put in at a very much lower figure than on the former occasion, secured the contract, and without loss of time inaugurated their new service. Further complications ensued owing to the persistent attempts made by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company to wrest the contract from their opponents. They, however, were unsuccessful and the matter was finally settled in favour of the Dublin Company by the appointment of a Parliamentary Committee, which reported in favour of the arrangements already made.
Before many of the railway companies became steam-ship owners they made working arrangements with existing steam-ship lines. This method of dealing with the passenger, coasting, and over-sea traffic was due, not to any lack of initiative on the part of those responsible for the management of the railways, but to the uncompromising antagonism of the steam-ship companies, who objected to the railway companies being permitted to own steamers. A Bill empowering the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company to purchase and work steamboats was brought before Parliament in 1848, but was strongly opposed by the steam-ship companies on the ground that it would create undue competition and would interfere with their existing rights, and further, that over-sea competition was outside the legitimate sphere of a railway company’s operations. The directors and large shareholders of the Chester and Holyhead Company retaliated by forming themselves into a small independent firm to run steamboats between Holyhead and Ireland. The necessary capital was subscribed, and four new iron passenger steamers, the Anglia, Cambria, Hibernia, and Scotia, were built. They were each of 589 tons gross, and were 207 feet long, 26 feet beam, and 14 feet in depth, having a draught of 8 feet 10 inches. Each carried 535 passengers. Parliament was thus placed in a difficult position, because even if the Bill were thrown out, the boats were advertised to run on August 1, 1848, and as they belonged to a private firm the Legislature and the opposition companies were powerless to interfere. A month later, at the half-yearly meeting of the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, the directors reported that their Bill had been successfully passed, and that the boats had commenced running on the advertised date. These boats were able to attain a speed of from 14 to 15 knots per hour. The opposition of the steam-ship companies, although not entirely killed, was less effective than formerly. The battle was won by the railway companies, and steam-ship owning by railway companies is now regarded as a matter of course.
The Turbine Steamer “Marylebone” (G.C. Railway).
The “Cambria” (L. & N.W. Railway).
Along the south-east and south coasts, between Harwich and Falmouth, the greater part of the Anglo-Continental passenger traffic, with a large amount of goods traffic, is carried by railway-owned steamers. To meet the heavy requirements of the cross-channel service between Dover and Calais, the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway Company run steamboats. These are the large paddle-steamers Empress, Dover, Calais, Lord Warden, Le Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, and the three turbine steamers Queen, Victoria, and Empress. The Victoria was built by Messrs. W. Denny Bros., Dumbarton, and is one of the finest boats owned by the company. On her trials she attained a speed of over 22¹⁄₂ knots, being 1³⁄₄ knots in excess of the guarantee and sufficient to make the Channel passage under the hour. The Empress, built by the same firm, is generally similar to the Victoria; she is 310 feet long, 40 feet in moulded breadth, and 24 feet 6 inches deep from the awning deck, which extends from stem to stern. The rudder is of the balanced type, of a form specially designed by the builders for their turbine vessels, and is worked by a steam tiller, controlled on the flying bridge by a telemotor. For convenience in canting and backing out of English and French harbours the vessel is fitted with a large bow rudder worked by steam steering-gear controlled by a wheel on the flying bridge. The propelling machinery consists of three turbines, each driving a separate shaft and propeller. For their Folkestone-Boulogne service the company also have the steamers Princess of Wales, Duchess of York, Grace, and Mabel, each of which is exceedingly fast and powerful.