The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-11-14
RECORDS OF THE LINERS,
Time Made By Steamships Over the
Ocean Race Track.
BATTLE WHICH lBEGAN NEARLY
YEARS AGO.

80 YEARS AGO.
Fight for suprem acy Has Had Much to Do
with Improvements in Design and Con-
struction of Vessels-Successiv Q
Achievements of Record Breakers from
the Great Western Down.
The American line steamship Paris
reached Southampton on Dot. Is with
only one of the twin screws in working
order and the other lying useless at the
end of broken shaft, and the passen-
gers stated that they had had SO pleas
ant trip" 1t WAS an instance of the new
order of things.
Not many years ago broken shaft
would have meant considerable to the
passengers. They would not have had q
pleasant trip, nor even a moderately
agreeable one. 1t would have been
decidedly undesirable experience, and
ship and passengers might yet be drift
ing here and there on the ocean, waiting
for some frinedly craft to take them in
tow and bring them safe to port. New
methods in the shape of the twin screw
saved them the experience. and back OF
the twin screw, furni shing its reason for
being, lay the desire for speed, and back
of the desire for speed, OF perhaps side by
side with it, lay the somewhat interest
ing matter of records. So that the
passengers of the Psris, In part at least,
owe the pleasures of their trip to the
good ship Savannah, which crossed the
Atlantic in 1919. 1t seems rather long
drawn conclusion, but it is true from
the ground up.''
For the Savannah was the first of the
long line of ocean steamships which have
had to do with cutting down the time
of passage and have kept designers and
shipbuilders busy perfecting devices for
the increase of speed. Now, when the
record of time in crossing the Atlantic is
broken it is matter OF interest not only
to the commanders of rival steamships,
but to people all over the country, and
the ocean pathway between New York
and London has become as much race
track as any track ashore.
The Savannah established the first OF
the many transatlantic records. In tbs
light of the present day the time was
remarkable, but for its length, not its
shortness. 1t took the ship twenty-five
days to go from Savannah to Liverpool,
but it was q record, and it opened the
way for "record breakers"
OF these the Great Western was the
earliest. and in handicap race with
the Sirius in 1886, in which the latter
vessel left port three days before it. the
Great Western brought the time down te
fifteen days. The average speed was 81
knots. A year later the British Queen
came to the front and lowered the record
a trifie, but the Great Western still made
the best average of trips and remained al
the head of the list.
In 1S40, however, there came change.
The Cunard company. organized in Eng.
land to run a line of mail-carryinR
steamers, entered the Britannia in the
ocean race and beat the Great Western by
nearly day, establishing record Of
fourteen and one half days for the pass
age. The owners of the Great Western
naturally regarded this as an unhappy
event and brought forward the Great
Britain to retrieve their reputation. Tie
Great Britain was new departure. Ii
was built of iron and propelled by a
screw, and in 1843 it managed to lower
the record of the side-wheefer Britannia
by several hours. The owners of the
Britannia then N ade another trial with
the Hibernia. sidewheeler larger than
the Britannia, which made new record
and held place at the head of the list
until 1886, when the Great Britain was
wrecked and for time rivalry ceased
Not long after this the first of tine
American companies for transporting
mails. the Collins line, was formed and
an international element was intro
duced into the record breaking. Then
there came lively times. The ships OF
the Collins line were on new models and
developed what was then surprising
speed. In 1851 the Arctic of the Collins
line made record of ten days and yeal
later decreased this to nine days and
thirteen hoIrs. Tho Arctic came to
grief, but the Adriatic, also of the Col.
Inns line, took its place and held the
record.
But the Cuuard people were not sleep
ing and brought forward the Persia,
which ended the contest for the time.
For on four different occasions the
Persia broke the record by making the
passage under nine and one-half days.
In the meantime several new lines had
been established. Immigration had mad
passenger traffic fruitful source Of
profit, and half dozen different com.
panies were competing for it. At the
head In the matter of time stood the
Cunard, and in 1857 thu Inman line de-
cidea to try for the place. In the shipt
entered by the Inman all the latest i'm
provements we're to be found-iron con
struction and powerful single screws
But til ough for several years the fgh