In the following table, which we borrow from the work on Railway Economy, from which we have already derived so large a portion of our information, are given the dimensions and the details of fourteen of the principal steamers plying on the Hudson in the year 1838:—
| Names. | Length of deck. | Breadth of beam. | Draught. | Diameter of wheels. | Length of paddles. | Depth of paddles. | Number of engines. | Diameter of cylinder. | Length of stroke. | Number of revolutions. | Part of stroke at which steam is cut off. |
| ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | ft. | in. | ft. | ||||
| Dewit Clinton | 230 | 28 | 5·5 | 21 | 13·7 | 36 | 1 | 65 | 10 | 29 | ·75 |
| Champlain | 180 | 27 | 5·5 | 22 | 15 | 34 | 2 | 44 | 10 | 27·5 | ·50 |
| Erie | 180 | 27 | 5·5 | 22 | 15 | 34 | 2 | 44 | 10 | 27·5 | ·50 |
| North America | 200 | 30 | 5 | 21 | 13 | 30 | 2 | 44·5 | 8 | 24 | ·50 |
| Independence | 148 | 26 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 44 | 10 | — | — |
| Albany | 212 | 26 | — | 24·5 | 14 | 30 | 1 | 65 | — | 19 | — |
| Swallow | 233 | 22·5 | 3·75 | 24 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 46 | — | 27 | — |
| Rochester | 200 | 25 | 3·75 | 23·5 | 10 | 24 | 1 | 43 | 10 | 28 | — |
| Utica | 200 | 21 | 3·5 | 22 | 9·5 | 24 | 1 | 39 | 10 | — | — |
| Providence | 180 | 27 | 9 | — | — | — | 1 | 65 | 10 | — | — |
| Lexington | 207 | 21 | — | 23 | 9 | 30 | 1 | 48 | 11 | 24 | — |
| Narraganset | 210 | 26 | 5 | 25 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 60 | 12 | 20 | ·50 |
| Massachusetts | 200 | 29·5 | 8·5 | 22 | 10 | 28 | 2 | 44 | 8 | 26 | — |
| Rhode Island | 210 | 26 | 6·5 | 24 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 60 | 11 | 21 | — |
| Averages | 200 | 26 | 5·6 | 24·8 | 11 | 30 | — | 50·8 | 10 | 24·8 | — |
The changes more recently made all have a tendency to increase the magnitude and power of those vessels—to diminish their draught of water—and to increase the play of the expansive principle. Vessels of the largest class now draw only as much water as the smallest drew a few years ago, four feet five inches being regarded as the maximum.
It appears from the following table that the average length of these prodigious floating hotels is above 300 feet; some of them approaching 400. In the passenger accommodation afforded by them no water communication in any country can compete. Nothing can exceed the splendor and luxury with which they are fitted up, furnished, and decorated. Silk, velvet, the most costly carpetings and upholstery, vast mirrors, gilding, and carving, are profusely displayed in their decoration. Even the engine-room in some of them is lined with mirrors. In the Alida, for example, the end of the engine-room is one vast mirror, in which the movements of the brilliant and highly-finished machinery are reflected. All the largest class are capable of running from twenty to twenty-two miles an hour, and average nearly twenty miles without difficulty.
In the annexed table are exhibited the details of ten of the most recently constructed passenger vessels:—
| Names. | DIMENSIONS OF VESSEL. | ENGINE. | PADDLE-WHEEL. | |||||||
| Length. | Breadth. | Depth of Hold. | Tonnage. | Diameter of cylinder. | Length of stroke. | Number of strokes. | Diameter. | Length of bucket. | Depth of bucket. | |
| ft. | ft. | ft. | in. | ft. | ft. | ft. | in. | |||
| Isaac Newton | 333 | 40·4 | 10·0 | 81 | 12 | 18-1/2 | 39·0 | 12·4 | 32 | |
| Bay State | 300 | 39·0 | 13·2 | 76 | 12 | 21-1/2 | 38·0 | 10·3 | 32 | |
| Empire State | 304 | 39·0 | 13·6 | 76 | 12 | 21-1/2 | 38·0 | 10·3 | 32 | |
| Oregon | 308 | 35·0 | — | 72 | 11 | 18 | 34·0 | 11·0 | 28 | |
| Hendrick Hudson | 320 | 35·0 | 9·6 | 1,050 | 72 | 11 | 22 | 33·0 | 11·0 | 33 |
| C. Vanderbilt | 300 | 35·0 | 11·0 | 1,075 | 72 | 12 | 21 | 35·0 | 9·0 | 33 |
| Connecticut | 300 | 37·0 | 11·0 | 72 | 13 | 21 | 35·0 | 11·6 | 36 | |
| Commodore | 280 | 33·0 | 10·6 | 65 | 11 | 22 | 31·6 | 9·0 | 33 | |
| New-York | 276 | 35·0 | 10·6 | 76 | 15 | 18 | 44·6 | 12·0 | 36 | |
| Alida | 286 | 28·0 | 9·6 | 56 | 12 | 24-1/2 | 32·0 | 10·0 | 32 | |
| Averages | 310 | 35·8 | 11·0 | 71·8 | 12·1 | 20·8 | 35·0 | 10·8 | 37 | |
It may be observed, in relation to the navigation of those eastern rivers (for we do not here speak of the Mississippi and its tributaries), that the occurrence of explosions is almost unheard of. During the last ten years not a single catastrophe of this kind has been recorded, although cylindrical boilers ten feet in diameter, composed of plating 5-16ths of an inch thick, are commonly used with steam of 50lb. pressure.
Previously to 1844 the lowest fare from New-York to Albany, a distance of 145 miles, was 4s. 4d.; at present the fare is 2s. 2d.—and for an additional sum of the same amount the passenger can command the luxury of a separate cabin. When the splendor and magnitude of the accommodation is considered, the magnificence of the furniture and accessories, and the luxuriousness of the table, it will be admitted that no similar example of cheap locomotion can be found in any part of the globe. Passengers may there be transported in a floating palace, surrounded with all the conveniences and luxuries of the most splendid hotel, at the average rate of twenty miles an hour, for less than one-sixth of a penny per mile! It is not an uncommon occurrence during the warm season to meet persons on board these boats who have lodged themselves there permanently, in preference to hotels on the banks of the river. Their daily expenses in the boat are as follows:
| Fare | 2s. | 2d. |
| Separate bedroom | 2 | 2 |
| Breakfast, dinner, and supper | 6 | 6 |
| ——— | ——— | |
| Total daily expense for board, lodging, attendance, and travelling 150 miles, at 20 miles an hour | 10 | 10 |
Such accommodation is, on the whole, more economical than a hotel. The bedroom is as luxuriously furnished as the handsomest chamber in an hotel or private house, and is much more spacious than the room similarly designated in the largest packet ships.