Steam-ships

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.

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.

London, Brighton, and South Coast Rly. Co.

A considerable amount of difficulty was experienced by the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company in their preliminary attempt to open up the Newhaven-Dieppe route in 1847. As Brighton was a very unprotected departure and arrival station, and they were unable to come to terms with the Shoreham Harbour authorities, the company decided on Newhaven as the base for their cross-channel operations. The Brighton, Newhaven, and Dieppe steamers carried both passengers and cargo. As, at that time, it was illegal for railway companies to own steamboats, the South-Eastern Railway Company entered a complaint, and the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company were mulcted in a heavy fine for the cross-channel trading that had already been carried on. The service was in consequence completely stopped and the boats sold. For three years Anglo-Continental trade was left to private steamship owners, and then an arrangement was entered into with Messrs. Maples and Morris to run steamers ostensibly on their own account, but really on behalf of the company. Among the earlier steamers thus employed were the Ayrshire Lassie, Culloden, and Rothesay Castle, all built at Glasgow. The extra amount of business anticipated from the Great Exhibition of 1851 necessitated fresh arrangements being made in connection with the service, and an agreement was entered into by which Mr. Maples was to run his steamers for seven years. In the meantime the company endeavoured, but unsuccessfully, to obtain powers to own steamers themselves. At the expiration of Maples’ contract, it was extended for another four years. During the second period the powers for which the company had been asking were granted by Parliament, but Maples would not release them till his contract expired. When he did leave the service he took with him the Paris, Rouen, Dieppe, Marco, Hope—the latter an iron brig noted for having about seven feet of false keel—and another, and £38,000 in hard cash, which he subsequently lost. The three Scotch boats mentioned ran through the whole of the summer of 1851, at the end of which the Aquila was also chartered for the company. Two of Maples’ privately-owned boats on the Newhaven-Dieppe service were the screw steamers Collier and Ladybird. The latter was about 160 feet long, of 150 horse-power and steamed 11 knots. She was fitted with inverted geared engines to work the screw shaft, the ratio being 2¹⁄₂ to 1. Subsequently she went to Australia, and in 1854 carried the first Sydney to Melbourne mail. One of the most remarkable of the earlier boats employed by the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company was the Wave Queen. She was built in 1852 by Messrs. Robinson Russell and Co. for a Belgian gentleman, whom she did not suit, and was sent to Newhaven by Mr. Scott Russell until he could get the Lyons and Orleans ready for use. She was of iron with a length of 200 feet, but her breadth was little more than 13 feet. For her beam she was one of the longest boats ever constructed, and consequently attracted a considerable amount of attention. Her engines were of 80 horse-power. She had clipper bows with very fine lines even for so narrow a vessel, and she had also an exceedingly long overhanging counter. A special feature of her construction was the total absence of sheer, and she enjoyed the reputation of being a swift and dry boat. According to contemporary records she was held to be the smallest vessel then afloat capable of attaining the speed required. Her engines were of the oscillating type and made fifty revolutions per minute, and steam at 25 lb. pressure was supplied by two tubular boilers. These were 15·7 feet long, 10·5 feet wide, and 6·5 feet high, having a total grate area of 100 square feet and 2342 square feet of heating surface. The aggregate weight of engines, boilers, and water was 55¹⁄₂ tons. Her paddle-wheels, which were unusually small for her length, were 12·4 feet in diameter, and each had sixteen feathering floats 6 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, her average speed being 15¹⁄₂ knots and her load displacement 225 tons with a gross register of 196 tons. On one of her trips she ran into the West Pier fourteen feet, but although she remained fixed during one tide she did not start even a rivet, and was got off on the next tide without having admitted a drop of water.

The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company started their Littlehampton trade in 1866. In 1875 the company acquired from Messrs. Elder the celebrated Paris, commonly spoken of as the most handsome steamer that ever crossed the Channel. Larger and faster vessels being required about this time for the Dieppe and Honfleur routes, they purchased the Honfleur from Messrs. Gurley Bros. She was 376 gross tonnage, had engines of 45 n.h.p., with two cylinders of 18 inches and 34 inches diameter and a piston stroke of 18 inches. The twin-screw Rennes, built in 1866, was sent to the Thames to be overhauled, and her engines were compounded by Messrs. J. and W. Dudgeon, the result being a great increase in speed and a reduction of somewhere about 45 per cent. in coal consumption. Two new screw steamers, the Newhaven and Dieppe, were built for the company by La Société des Forges et Chantiers at Havre, but owing to structural imperfections, a considerable amount of trouble was experienced before they could be made to meet the requirements of Lloyd’s and the Board of Trade. At their best they were very slow. A great increase in traffic being expected from the Paris Exhibition of 1878, two paddle-steamers, the Brighton and Victoria, were ordered from Messrs. Jno. Elder and Co. of Govan. Their bridges were filled with the first steam-steering gear ever seen at Newhaven. A larger type of boat than had been used heretofore was adopted in 1882, when the Normandy and Brittany were purchased from the Fairfield Company of Glasgow, and in 1885 the Lyons and Italy were obtained from Govan for the cargo trade. The vessels now employed are the Arundel, Brighton, Calvados, Dieppe, Paris, Sussex, and Trouville.

London and South-Western Rly. Co., etc.

Farther westward on the south coast, an equally important line of communication between England and France is maintained by the steamboat service now carried on by the London and South-Western Railway Company from Southampton to Havre and Honfleur, St. Malo and the Channel Islands. The early boats employed in the cross-channel traffic were all of much the same type and size on whatever line they were engaged, and as the same limitations of ports applied to those run by the South-Western Railway Company as to the steamers of other companies, there was little to choose between them in regard to speed, seaworthiness, or accommodation.

During the early years of the past century the mail and passenger service between England and the Channel Islands was performed by cutters similar to those employed in the French mail service between Dover and Calais. Later the mails were conveyed under the auspices of the Admiralty from Weymouth to Guernsey and Jersey by the ships of H.M. Navy, Meteor, Dasher, Wildfire, and Cuckoo. The Dasher was employed until very recent years in guarding the fisheries off Jersey.

The first records of the steam-packet services from Southampton are dated 1835, and mention a service between Southampton and Havre twice a week in each direction by the Camilla, of 186 tons; and between Southampton and the Channel Islands by the Ariadne, 218 tons, these vessels being the property of the South of England Steam Navigation Company, who appear to have been the pioneers of these services. Even at that time there was opposition on the Channel Islands Station by the Lord Beresford and on the Havre station by the Apollo, both vessels belonging to the British and Foreign Steam Navigation Company. About one hundred passengers were carried to the Channel Islands on each trip during the summer season of 1835.

One of the earliest steamers employed in the Channel Islands service was the Lady de Saumarez (January 1836) of 350 tons, belonging to the British and Foreign Steam Navigation Company, with two 40-horse-power engines and fitted with Seaward’s improved vibrating paddles.

In May 1836 the Monarch was launched from the shipyard of Rubie and Blaker, Northam, and was the largest steam vessel which had been constructed on the Itchen. Her dimensions were 140 feet long, 23 feet beam, 360 tons, and she was built in four months. Her engines, of 120 horse-power, were supplied by Horseley and Co. of Tipton, near Birmingham, and the vessel was sent to London to receive them. The Monarch was placed on the Havre station by her owners, the South of England Steam Navigation Company. On June 2, 1836, the Atalanta, of 400 tons and 120 horse-power, was launched from the yard of Mr. Thomas White, West Cowes. She began running on the Channel Islands station for the South of England Steam Navigation Company during the month of July. The Atalanta was lengthened by Mr. White some years later, her bows being cut off and up-ended in his yard for a workmen’s shelter. She ended her days as a coal-hulk in Jersey.

In July 1836 the Watersprite, a vessel of 200 horse-power, was put on the Channel Islands station by the British and Foreign Steam Navigation Company, which two years later became the Commercial Steam Packet Company. This company owned also the Grand Turk, a vessel of 500 tons and 300 horse-power, and she was reputed to be the fastest and most handsomely furnished ship of her day. Her saloon was 50 feet in length by 30 feet wide. She ran both to Havre and the Channel Islands, and in 1841-1842 had opposed to her the steamer Robert Burns.

The Grand Turk was chartered in 1848 for two years to run between Alexandria, Beyrout, Tripoli, and other Mediterranean ports with passengers and mails. On her return she plied between Southampton and Morlaix for the South-Western Steam Packet Company.

The Transit, another of the old steamers of the South-Western Steam Packet Company, was running in 1836 under the ownership of the British and Foreign Steam Navigation Company, between Southampton and Spanish ports, carrying cattle and general cargo. She is recorded to have made the passage from Lisbon to Falmouth in three and a half days during the winter of 1836. When withdrawn from this trade she was run to the Channel Islands by the South-Western Steam Packet Company, and she, too, ended her days as a coal-hulk.

Between 1838 and 1845 the mail service between England and the Channel Islands appears to have been performed by a steam-packet service from Weymouth, of which no reliable records can be discovered. The transfer of this mail service to the steamers of the South-Western Steam Packet Company from Southampton took place on April 1, 1845. But in October 1899, when the steamers of the London and South-Western Railway Company from Southampton and the Great Western Railway Company from Weymouth were joined in the Channel Islands service the mails were once more carried via Weymouth three days a week during the winter months.

The advertisement columns of the Hampshire Advertiser of 1845 refer to the “South-Western Steam Packet Company” as the owners of the cross-channel steamers, and they seemed to have remained so until 1860, when their steamers were taken over by the London and South-Western Railway Company.

The merchants of the Channel Islands started an opposition company, called the Weymouth and Channel Islands Steam Packet Company, with the steamers Aguila, Cygnus, and Brighton. This opposition continued until 1888, when the service was taken up by the Great Western Railway Company. After keeping up a keen opposition to the London and South-Western Railway Company for eleven years an amicable arrangement was entered into for a joint service, which still continues.

In consequence of the opposition of the Weymouth and Channel Islands Steam Packet Company a South-Western Railway Company’s steamer, the Wonder, was sent to Weymouth. This ran until 1860, when the Weymouth service was given up by the London and South-Western Railway and all their energies were concentrated upon the Southampton route.

Although steamers ran from Southampton to Jersey and thence to St. Malo from 1845, the regular connection between Jersey and France was by a French company’s steamer called the Comet. This company was bought out by the London and South-Western Railway Company in 1867. The latter company then commenced running their steamer Dumfries regularly from Jersey to Granville and St. Malo in connection with the Southampton and Channel Islands service.

In 1860 a direct service was opened between Southampton and St. Malo by the new iron screw steamer St. Malo, the first of this type built for the London and South-Western Railway.

The paddle-steamer South-Western, the first iron steamer employed in the Channel Islands service, had a speed of about 12 knots. She was 131 tons net and was sold in 1863. Her floats were taken off and after being rigged for the purpose she was sailed out to Japan.

After the South-Western came the Wonder, Express, Courier, and Dispatch. They each had a speed of thirteen to fourteen knots. The Express was built and launched in six weeks. At the time she was laid down the engines put into her were in the yard ready for a Government steamer, but were used for the Express instead. This same Express was the steamer which brought Louis Philippe a fugitive from France in 1848, her commander on that occasion being Fred Paul, R.N., who had been lent by the Government to the company for that purpose. Louis Philippe, disguised as a fisherman, crossed from Honfleur to Havre in a fishing smack and was put on board the Express lying in the avant-port of Havre. As soon as his feet touched her deck, Commander Paul, who was lying under a full head of steam, slipped her moorings, steamed away and landed the fugitive at Littlehampton. A brass plate stating the facts was fastened to the sofa in the saloon, on which Louis Philippe slept. The Express was lost on September 20, 1859, on the passage from Jersey to Southampton in the Jailer Passage off the Corbière Lighthouse, Jersey.

The next steamers acquired by the company were the Alliance in 1855, Havre, Normandy, and Southampton in 1860, and Brittany in 1864. Until she was outclassed by larger and faster ships the Alliance was on the Havre route. She was afterwards transferred to the service between Jersey and St. Malo, and was sold in 1900.

The Havre ran alternately to her name-port and the Channel Islands until her career was ended on February 16, 1875, by the Platte Boue, a sunken rock in the Russel Passage near Guernsey. There was no loss of life and the mails were also saved.

Equal ill-fortune attended the Normandy. This boat, which was employed almost exclusively on the Channel Islands service, was sunk on March 17, 1870, in collision with the screw steamer Mary while on the outward passage, some twenty-five of the passengers and crew being drowned. The Southampton, built by Palmer in 1860, was reckoned the strongest vessel of her tonnage at that time. In 1880 she was lengthened and given new engines and boilers by Day, Summers and Co., and was engaged in the Channel Islands trade until 1880, when the service was entirely performed by screw steamers. She was then transferred to the Havre route and continued running there until the present twin-screw steamers, Columbia and Alma, came out and superseded her. Her last piece of active service was to make a trip round the fleet at Spithead on the occasion of the Jubilee Naval Review in 1897. The Brittany, built at Cubitt Town in 1864, was also employed in the Channel Islands trade until 1880, when, like the Southampton, she was transferred to the Havre route until 1894. Her last appearance was at the same review. She was lengthened thirty feet and given new engines and boilers in 1883. The company in 1868 purchased for their Channel Islands service the Waverley, a paddle-steamer of about fifteen knots, which had been employed running from Silloth to Dublin. She was the finest ship which had yet been employed on that service. She came to grief on June 5, 1873, when she struck upon the Platte Boue rock. The whole of the passengers, mails, and baggage were brought off in safety.

The outbreak of hostilities between France and Germany in 1870 brought about the purchase by the company of the paddle-steamers Alice and Fannie. These each had a speed of fifteen knots, and were placed on the Southampton-St. Malo route and conveyed horses and provisions for the French. Both ships ran backwards and forwards for some months at their highest possible speed, only remaining at the quay side just long enough to load and discharge cargo.

The Waverley was also employed during that period running to and from Havre taking British provisions for the French, and conveying to England fugitive French families and all the valuables they could bring with them. These valuables were transhipped in Southampton Water to a steamer of the French Transatlantique Company, which was moored there for that purpose.

The Fannie and Alice ran alternately upon the Havre and Channel Islands stations until 1887, when they were sold out of commission. They were always favourites owing to their speed and spacious deck and cabin accommodation.

In 1871 the company purchased the paddle-steamer Wolf, which had been sunk for some time in Belfast Lough. She was employed, until sold in 1900, on the Havre route.

The first screw steamer to be employed in the Channel Islands mail and passenger service was the steam yacht Griffin, purchased in 1865 from a Mr. Beard, a Scotch iron-master.

The Diana was the first of the new screw boats built for the company and was launched in 1877, and in 1881 was supplemented by the Ella and in 1882 by the Hilda. Nine years later these vessels, together with the paddle-steamers Brittany and Southampton, were in their turn superseded by the twin-screw steamers Lydia and Stella. The latter had a very successful career until March 30, 1899, when she foundered on the Casquets, her sailings being taken by the Alberta. A further change was made in 1894, the Southampton, Brittany, and Wolf being replaced by the Columbia and Alma, which were faster and more up-to-date boats. In 1896 the Princess Ena, a twin-screw vessel, was launched to replace the Hilda, and the Vera was also purchased as an auxiliary boat for the Channel Islands and Havre routes. Numerous additions have since been made by the company to their fleet, which now numbers twenty-six vessels. These are the Ada, Alberta, Alexandra, Alma, Atalanta, Bertha, Cherbourg, Columbia, Duchess of Albany, Duchess of Connaught, Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Fife, Duchess of Kent, Ella, Frederica, Guernsey, Honfleur, Laura, Lydia, Lymington, Princess Ena, Princess Margaret, Solent, South-Western, Vera, and Victoria. These steamers all carry sufficient coal for the out and home trip, with an additional quantity to meet any contingency that may arise.

Great Western Rly. Co.

Another important south-coast mail and passenger service is carried on by the Great Western Railway Company from its southern terminus at Weymouth to the Channel Islands and Brittany. Formerly this company also conveyed mails and passengers between England and Ireland by their line of steamers from Milford to Rosslare. This has since been discontinued in favour of the Fishguard-Rosslare route.

Great Eastern Rly. Co.

Working arrangements exist between certain of the railway companies and the steam-ship lines, one of the most important being the joint service maintained by the Great Eastern Railway Company and the General Steam Navigation Company from London to Hamburg, via Harwich. The steamers on this route sail twice weekly. There is also an agreement between the Great Eastern Railway Company and Danish Royal Mail steamers of the Forenade Line of Copenhagen by which these vessels convey passengers three times per week between Harwich and Esbjerg. The Great Eastern Railway Company also maintains a fleet of fast and powerful steamers for their Anglo-Continental mail and passenger business. This was started in 1863, when the company chartered two steamers for carrying goods between Harwich and Rotterdam. This service was made a biweekly one in 1864, and a similar service was also run to and from Antwerp. The company then introduced four new steamers specially built for the trade and conveying both passengers and cargo. In 1882, owing to the development of the traffic, the Harwich services to and from Rotterdam and Antwerp were extended to every week day.

The Hook of Holland quay at the mouth of the River Maas was finished in June 1893 and the company’s steamers began to call there. This greatly accelerated the service to Berlin and other parts of North Germany and a daily service was then started. In the same year the company acquired larger steamers for this service. A new railway line round Rotterdam was opened in May 1899 which shortened the journey to Berlin; and in May 1903 an express train was run between the Hook of Holland and Berlin in connection with the steamers. Since the opening of this route the passenger traffic has trebled.

The company now have a fleet of eleven fast and powerful turbine and twin-screw steamers, all of which are fitted with apparatus for wireless telegraphy and submarine signalling. The latest addition is the Royal Mail turbine steamer Copenhagen, with a speed of 20 knots, on the Harwich-Hook of Holland route. In her passenger accommodation she has many features of the latest type of Atlantic liner.

Great Central Rly. Co.

Farther along the east coast, the Great Central Railway Company maintains a service between Grimsby and several of the Continental ports. The company in 1864 secured parliamentary powers to run steamers to Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Flushing, Lubeck, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Revel, Cronstadt, St. Petersburg, and Königsberg. Subsequently they purchased the Anglo-French Company’s fleet and began to run steamers to Hamburg in July 1865. In April 1866, the railway company initiated a new service of steamers between Grimsby and Rotterdam, and in the August of the following year the service was extended to Antwerp. On December 1, 1885, the sailings between Grimsby and Hamburg were increased from two to four per week; and on July 1, 1891, a daily service was established. The sailings between Grimsby and Rotterdam were increased in September 1906 from two to three per week, and early in 1907 two new 18-knot turbine steamers Marylebone and Immingham were placed on this service.

In essential particulars these are sister ships, though differing somewhat in their internal arrangements. The Immingham has a length over all of 282 feet, beam 41 feet, and depth moulded 21 feet 6 inches. Accommodation is provided for seventy first and twenty-four second-class passengers, and three hundred in the third class, besides one thousand tons of cargo. She is driven by three Parsons turbines actuating three shafts. These two steamers marked a new era in the Continental service from the Humber, being far in advance in accommodation and speed of anything hitherto employed.

London and North-Western Rly. Co.

On the west coast the principal part of the cross-channel, Irish mail, passenger, and cargo traffic is divided between the services organised by the London and North-Western Railway Company, the Midland Railway Company, and the Great Western Railway Company. For four years after the London and North-Western Railway Company had absorbed the Chester and Holyhead Railway, they continued to work the Irish service with the boats acquired from the latter company. A new type of paddle-boat, 230 feet in length, with carrying capacity of 700 tons, their speed being fourteen knots per hour, and conveying both passengers and cargo, was then put on for the service. The first of these, the Stanley, was built by Messrs. Caird of Greenock, and had as sister boat the Alexandra, constructed by Laird of Birkenhead. These vessels did excellent work and were afterwards supplemented by the Countess of Erne, Admiral Moorsom, Duke of Sutherland, Duchess of Sutherland, and Edith, all boats of a similar type. Two of these, the Duchess of Sutherland and the Edith, were in 1888 and 1892 respectively converted into twin-screw steamers. The Duchess was sold in 1908, but the Edith is still employed in the North Wall cargo service. This service was, in 1876, supplemented by a day express boat in each direction between Holyhead and Dublin North Wall, two paddle-steamers, Rose and Shamrock, being built by Messrs. Laird Bros. of Birkenhead. A night service in each direction was started in 1880 with the Lily and Violet, built by Messrs. Laird. They were each 310 feet long and had a gross tonnage of 1035 tons, with a speed of 19 knots per hour. The Lily was sold in 1900 and ran for some time between Liverpool and the Isle of Man. The Violet was also disposed of two years later. In 1884, the Banshee, another paddle-boat of the Lily type, was built for the company by Messrs. Laird, and ran until February 1906, when she was sold out of the service. On December 15, 1897, the Cambria, the first of a new class of steel twin-screw steamers which almost equal the great ocean liners in speed, magnificence, and comfort, was placed on the North Wall service. She was followed by the Hibernia on February 2, the Anglia on May 2, 1900, and by the Scotia on April 23, 1902. The Scotia is 337 feet 6 inches in length, has a moulded breadth of 39 feet, with a depth to the awning deck of 29 feet 6 inches. The twin screws are driven by two sets of triple-expansion engines of 7000 horse-power, the eight single-ended boilers giving steam at a pressure of 160 lb. per square inch. There are four cylinders to each set of engines, which are balanced on the new Schlick principle, so as to avoid vibration. Even in the worst weather she can accomplish a speed of 21 knots. Her accommodation provides for 600 saloon and 700 third-class passengers.

A direct service between Holyhead and Greenore was opened in 1873 with the three paddle-driven boats Eleanor, Isabella, and Earl Spencer. These served until 1895, when, at the suggestion of Captain Binney, the company’s Marine Superintendent, three new steamers of greater speed and capacity—the Rosstrevor, Connemara, and Galtee-More—were ordered for the service. These vessels are 280 feet in length, with a gross tonnage of 1000 tons, and a maximum speed of 18 knots. The engines are triple-expansion of 2500 horse-power, and the boats are propelled by twin screws. In 1908 the Rosstrevor was replaced by the Rathmore, the former vessel being converted into a cargo and cattle steamer. The Rathmore is 300 feet long, and has a gross tonnage of 1600 tons; her engines are of 6180 horse-power and give a speed of 20¹⁄₂ knots per hour.

The goods, cattle, and general cargo traffic between Holyhead and North Wall, Dublin, is served by eight cargo boats, all of which are twin-screw ships. They convey third-class passengers but are not provided with any first-class accommodation.

For very many years the Midland Railway Company were partners in the Barrow Steam Navigation Company, whose fleet maintained a daily service between Barrow and Belfast and, during the season, between Barrow and the Isle of Man. When Heysham Harbour was opened in September 1904, the Midland Company put on a fleet of seven powerful and magnificently fitted steamers of the most modern type for their Heysham-Belfast service. They also bought out the other partners in the Barrow Steam Navigation Company, which has now been dissolved. Two of the vessels formerly belonging to the Barrow Steam Navigation Company were disposed of at a comparatively recent date and have been broken up. As regards the existing fleet, the Londonderry is installed with the Lodge-Muirhead system of wireless telegraphy. The Antrim and the Donegal will shortly be similarly equipped. There is a wireless telegraphic station at Heysham and wireless communication was first established on the company’s service nearly six years ago. The Londonderry and Manxman are propelled by turbines, whilst the Antrim, Donegal, Duchess of Devonshire, and City of Belfast are twin screws. During the season, the Isle of Man service between Heysham and Douglas is maintained by the Manxman and the Duchess of Devonshire. Except on Sundays, a nightly service between Heysham and Belfast is carried on regularly by the Antrim, Donegal, and Londonderry, whilst the City of Belfast runs on alternate days from Barrow and Belfast.