New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-20
THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
LIVERPOOL OR SOUTHAMPTON OR HOLY
HEAD ?-ENGLISH RAILWAY AND
CTrSTON UOIrSE EACIJ TTJEC
CUSTOM-HOUSE FACILITIES.


London, March l.
Liverpool as port of departure and arrival has
many advantages and some disadvantages, and
not the least Of the latter is that its ship
owners long looked upon it the terminus of the
voyage to and from New-York. Ii is nothing Of
the kind. London is the terminus and starting
point for the greater. at any rate for the more
important portion Of the great army Of transat-
lantic travellers. OF late some perception of this
fact has dawned upon the ship-owning mind, and
the different lines have done something toward
Joining the two ends of tie journey something,
but not enough. Special trains from Lon
don on sailing days-at least, they are run during
the crowded season-and sometimes from Liver
pool to London arrival of the New-fork boats.
Nay. the London and North Western Railway,
yielding to the modern spirit of innovation which
holds no abuse or foolish custom quite sacred, has
taken a step toward abolshing the scramble for
luggage al the Lime Street Station. You may
now have your trunks checked from London to
the ship and | suppose they are often actually
delivered on board. Whether they are or not, the
coniidng owner will find out after sailing. or. in
the case of baggage consigned to the hold, on ar
rival in New-York
Till recently-and even now the habit Is not ex-
tinct-the American Oh his way home lett London
the night before slept tried to Sleep IN Liver
pool and embarked at his leisure on the day OK
sailing. This system is profitable to the Liver
pool hotelkeepers but adds day TO the length OF
the journey from London to New-iork. Inc
North German Lloyd, which now has been SO iar
dc-Anglicized as to call itself the Norddeutscher
Lloyd, took advantage Of this state OF things.
The clever English managers of that line advcr-
tscd an express service from London to New
York, via Southampton, in seven to seven and a
| hale do flp
Route from London Passengers do in fact leave
Waterloo Station i'll the afternoon of Thursday.
reach Southampton in two hours, embark at once,
and sail cheerfully away before dark. Nothing can
alter the fact that southampton is two hours
and half nearer London than Liverpool is.
While the Liverpool liners went on
sailing at 10 in the morning. these
two hours stretched easily to twenty-four. as
have lust shown. Even sailing they now do
in winter time at in the afternoon. means
an early start from London the same morning, II
there be no special train: for the morning express
is conveniently timed just too late TO catch your
steamer, unless things work very smoothly
1t is however, possible in this country to OIL
the wheels of express, and think 1t may DO
said that the English system of railway travel
has fexbity not characteristic of the American.
of which the following may serve as an lllustra-
! ton | left London one morning in January last
! for New York by the 10 10 a III. express from
Euston. the London and Northwestern Station,
due in Liverpool at gao j. u
The Line Street Station in Liver
pool is u minutes drive from the landing
stage. where you take the tender, and the tender
! leaves at g. Obviously. there was not much
margin. / was not alone, and there was a good
deal of baggage | interviewed the guard az
Euston, explained the situation to him. and prom
ised him a soycrcign-thc equivalent OF a hve
dollar bill-if he got in 70 the minute. You may
have much done for you by an English railway
guard for the ordinary Tip Of half crown-be-
tween half and three-quartcrs Of dollar 10
struck me that for my conditional promise Of q
sovereign the whole resources of the London and
Northwestern Railway were at our disposal.
asked to have all our trunks pat in the guards
van 50 that on arriving in Liverpool they misht
not have to be sorted out from the other baggage.
| This was done, and the guard teegraphed the
Liverpool station master to have a railway omnlbus
ready at n specified place opposite which his own
van would stop.
1t was a true London winter morning; the
whole place black with fog. and the train service
| in and about Euston working. anybody could
see, with difficulty. This would not last, tie
station master told us; there was sunlight ten
miles away. and no reason why. once past Willcs-
|
less at Rugby-nnety miles to the north-yc we're
| fifteen minutes late and | remarked 10 the guard
that | thought | should save my sovereign
No. sir, responded he, Il think you will iind it
| all right and lie added quite a matter OF
! course that he had cleared the line u Liverpool
and sent a pilot engine ahead. Is there line
| in America on which You could lave that done Tor
five dollars to the conductor? We reached and
left Crcwe Oh time, the missing quarter OF an hour
having been made up between Rugby and Crewe.
Outside the Lime Street Station there WAS block
! which kept us five minutes So that 1t was > 40
! p. N. when the train reached the platform. but
/ thought the guard had than earned his
Tee. The omnibus WAS there. half dozen porters
loaded it, and out of the station with
all cur belongings in less than minutes, and
at one minute TO 3 stepped on board the
tender, which duly sailed at ). After all, We
ran no real risk. III We had missed the Gcrmanic az
! Liverpool, We should have caught her at Queens
town, going on from Liverpool, Via liolyhead, with
the London mails, for which she was Obliged "
wait And such Is the kindly good nature OF the
! White star agents that | think 1t possible that
! MIR. lsinay might have even kept the tender five
minutes had it been necessary. Or We might have
gone oil 10y special tender. If We had been q
large party, the experiment would not have been
worth trying; large parties can only conform "
the general rules of travel Nor should ] have
thought 1t fair to try it at all except for good
reason.
llolyhcad has often been talked Of as a sub
stitutc for Liverpool, and the proposal to embark
and land passengers and mails there and to abolish
the existing Queenstown arrangement, is an old
one 1t is question too full OF technical details
To be discussed here. Political influence in favor
of Queenstown as Il port OF call is very strong and
local influences in favor of Liverpool are perhaps
stronger still. Certain it is, however, that Holy
head offers some distinct advantages over Liver
pool and that Southampton competition tends u
force the great Liverpool lines into some new
paths The hours of sailing and arriving at Liver
pool are dependent on tides us many shtpful