The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-03
THE NEW OCEAN RECORD
WHAT 1T MEANS TO. TRAVEL BE-
TWEEN LONDON AND NEW YORK.
History OF the RecOrd-Breaking
Voyage i'm Seventeen Days.
New York Telegram.

New York Telegram.
The enormous cut in the western record
from Southampton to New York made by
the new North German Lloyd steamship
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse has started peo-
pie specializing as to when the record break
ing will cease, and whether within the near
futuretravelers may not actually reach Lon
don from New York, or vice versa, within
five days. The history of transatlantic
travelling is one of regular and systematical
record breaking, and the knocking off Of
one hour and fOrty-Six minutes from the
best time ever made from Southampton to
this port is a wonderful accomplishment for
the new big ship. The new time is five
days, twenty-five hours and forty-fve min
utes.
1t is always difficult to institute COMPARE
sons between ships which hail from differ
ent ports in England. but it may be gener-
orally stated that the appropriated dis
tances between here and Queenstown,
whence the journeys of the big CUnarders
are measured is $500 miles, while to the
Needles at Southampton, from which the
North German Lloyd and the American
lines take their measurement, is 300.
Arrived at the Needles, however, passen-
gers for London are easily within three
hours of their destination, while the jour
ney from Queenstown to the metropolis of
England cannot be accomplished in much
less than full day. It will be seen, there
fore. that it is fair to reckon that passen-
gers on the Cunarder Lucania, when she
made the absolute westward record, Oct
&C. 1894-Queenstown to New York-in five
days, seven hours and twenty-three minutes
might have made the distance between
London and New York in six days and
seven hours. The same journey might have
been made by the Kaiser Wilhelm via
Southampton in six days and two hours.
Thus it will be seen that the big new
steamship has actually, upon this calcula-
ton. brought London five hours nearer to
New York
The Sirius, the pioneer of the transat-
lantic steamships sailed from Cork, Ire
land April and arrived in New York April
%. 1885, having made the voyage in seven
teen days From that day the scamper for
records commenced. A much larger craft,
the Great Western. was Immediately built
and that same year she made the voyage
from Bristol to New York in fifteen days
and ten hours The British Queen, the fol-
lowing year. brought the time from London
to New York to fourteen days and SIX
hours She subsequently accomplished the
Journey in twelve days. and 141e hours
Samuel CunaTd founded the Cunard COM
pany which began operating in 1910 with
four steamships = the Arcadia, Britannia,
Caledonia and Columbia. They were wood
en- vessels with side-wheel engines, and OF
$50 gross tonnage They were 207 feet in
length. and could easily have carried
aboard a modern Atlantic liner.
The Great Western Company then built
the Great Britain, a 3,270-ton craft, and she
again secured the 1aurels. The Cunarder
Hihernia was built as a rival, and the ships
ran on about equal terms until the Great
Western was stranded.
UNDER THIRTEEN DAYS.
The next ships to wrest the record from
the Cunarders were the Washington and the
Hermann. of tile Bremen line, which We're
constructed in 1S47. The Franklin and the
Humboldt, originally built for the Bremen
line, but placed in the Havre service the
next year, averaged speed OF twelve days
and sixteen hours between the port of
Cowes, Isle of Wight, which was then the
first English port Of call London was