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Before the Cruise ships of today came into being, those who would travel by ship embarked on 'Liners', meaning ships belonging to such-and-such a line. The Cunard Line, White Star Line or Black Ball Line for example.
Ships have been crossing the Atlantic regularly for five hundred years but, in the early days, they crossed when the country, or owners, had a full cargo to place aboard or they crossed for strategic (military) reasons. It was not
until the early nineteenth century that 'Scheduled' crossings came to pass.
On the 5th of January 1818 the Black Ball Line ship 'James Monroe' sailed from New York to Liverpool, to become the first common carrier on a dependable schedule. She did this by sailing on the stated time of departure whether her holds were full or not, thus
revolutionizing shipping.
Although the departure date of a vessel was guaranteed, the arrival date could only be guessed at, because of the vagaries of the winds that would drive the ship. The steam engine would change all that.
In 1819, the 'Savannah' crossed the Atlantic, part of the way, under steam power. In 1838 the British ship 'Sirius' crossed entirely under steam.
In 1840 Samuel Cunard sailed the 'Britannia' from Liverpool to Boston in the time of fourteen days and eight hours. This marked the beginning of regular trans-Atlantic steamship service.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, nearly all ships built with an eye to regular trans-Atlantic routes had an auxiliary steam engine, driving first paddle wheels and later
propellers. The advent of the steam engine conveniently coincided with the enormous flow of immigrants from Europe to America.
This rush to get to America, 'the land of the free', made trans-Atlantic passenger service a booming business. Companies were competing with each other to attract first and second class passengers, with ever more lavish
accommodations. The high fares paid for these comforts covered most, if not all, the ship's running costs.
The White Star Line quickly realized the potential of huge fast reliable sail/steam ships and built the 128 metre (420 feet) 'Oceanic' in 1871. She was built of steel, was
propeller-driven, via steam engines, and carried a full sailing rig.
It seemed, to ship owners, that the flow of humans from Europe to America was increasing by the year. Speed and comfort were the criteria for a Line to be fully booked. The steam engine had advanced technically and was much more efficient, therefore needing less fuel. Thus more space for cargo became available.
The ships being built at the end of the nineteenth century were utterly sumptuous and passengers were overawed upon being presented with their cabins. It was not unusual to have entertainers on board for the amusement of the passengers. The standard of food on offer was of an unheard-of quality aboard a ship and made the greatest of the 'East Indiamen's' hospitality of a century earlier look positively pedestrian and frugal.
Upon arrival in America it was a certainty that the pampered passengers would wire, or write, about their 'wonderful crossing' and the ship owners knew that the best advertising was by word of mouth.
The White Star Line had an immense following and was trailblazing by 1906, when the company announced that it was turning to the (relatively new) steam-turbine engines as they placed their order for two new liners, the 'Lusitania' and the 'Mauritania'.
These huge ships were both 240 metres (790 feet) long and weighed 28,000 tons each, with four boilers and four
propellers giving an incredible speed, for the era, of 27 knots.
Two even larger ships followed in their wake - and were built for the same White Star Line - the 'Olympic' and the 'Titanic'. These two ships, at that time, were the greatest ships afloat. They were both 260 metres (852 feet) long
and each weighed 46,000 tons. Their interiors were masterpieces, with ornate ceilings, wonderful quality paneling, carved
gilt wood, marble fireplaces; fabulous candelabrum and chandeliers and inlaid marble floors.
Some of the finest examples of Queen Anne walnut and important Georgian furniture in existence, great paintings and other priceless antique items were copiously spread throughout the ships.
Tragically on her maiden voyage, on April 14th 1912, the great ship 'Titanic' struck an iceberg and sank, with a loss of life in excess of 1500 souls. However sad, the demise of the 'Titanic' did nothing to slow the seemingly endless flow of people determined to get to America. The golden age of the liner still had decades to go before it's decline.
It was said that many happy passengers shed tears when land was sighted as it meant that they were due to vacate the splendour of the liner upon which they had been travelling, whose stunning interiors could surpass even the wealthiest passenger's exuberant abodes.
Millions of Europeans crossed the Atlantic using the liners of the day, some travelling in the luxury of the first class
accommodations and many in the, still more than acceptable, steerage class.
Life at the beginning of the twentieth century could not have looked better. There were, of course, odd pockets of discontent but when hadn't there been? Nobody expected the rumble of 'The Great War'.
The White Star Line ship 'Lusitania' left New York bound for Liverpool on Saturday May 1st 1915. She was carrying 1253 passengers, including 128 Americans, plus a crew of three hundred.
Fatally, she was also carrying munitions to England for the fight against Germany as, at this time, the 'Great War' was gathering momentum.
On May 7th 1915, at approximately 2.00 p.m., the 'Lusitania' was steaming in the
St. George's Channel, about 10 miles South of Kinsale, Southern Ireland, on the final leg of her voyage to Liverpool, when she was torpedoed, without warning, by a German submarine.
The great liner sank in less than twenty minutes with a loss of life amounting to 1198 souls.
This incident shocked the world and shook The White Star Line to it's roots. In a period of just three years, 74,000 tons of White Star's ships had gone to the bottom of the Atlantic.
The Great War, soon to become known as The First World War (1914-1918), was followed by the Second World War (1939-1945). In both conflicts, great liners were requisitioned, stripped of their magnificent interiors and painted the drab
gray of Naval Ships to be used as troop transport and supply ships.
Great liners like Cunard's prize the 'Mauritania' were gutted in the Great War. The 'Queen Mary' and the 'Queen Elizabeth' were claimed in the Second World War, along with France's majestic 'Normandie'.
The luxury liner industry never recovered after the war. New liners were built, but the new climate of industrial disputes and escalating fuel costs made the new ships unprofitable.
The final body-blow to the once thriving trans-Atlantic passenger industry was the advent of the jet airplane. By 1958, there were more people crossing the Atlantic by airplane than by
sea. The writing was on the wall, the Great Age of the Ocean Liner was over.
The last passenger Liner still active is the Cunard 'Queen Elizabeth II' - she still makes Atlantic crossings in the summer months and turns to cruising in the winter.
On the Gosh How Posh page in this issue,
Linnet Woods remembers a trip aboard a steam liner, over forty years
ago.
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