The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-09
UMBR|A'S DAYS &
n ARE NOW ENDED
Steady Old Ship Fought Waves
of North Atlantic
QUARTER OF CENTURY
Faithful Old Representative of Ocean
Palaces Is on Way to Scrap Heap.
Was Mistress of the Seas In
Her Youthful Days


ings extend back over a period of more
than twenty-five years will miss the
Cunard line steamship Umbria, which
left New York for the last time six
months ago, and is now destined for
the scrap-heap. 1t is difficult for such
as these to believe that that beautiful
fabric of steel and iron and wood,
which once suggested the epitome of
marine construction and speed and
grace and safety, has been sold to the
ironmongers for paltry 100000, and
that within a very short time the COM
ponents of her hull will be scattered
in one form or another all over the
British empire.
And yet, it,. as the superstitious FOLK
of the i believe, elements of metal
and wood merged into one hull, per-
forming year after year set task un-
der the ani1nating impulse of great
smooth-running engines. developed
soul-".he soul of the ship"-it will
take more than the hammer and chisel
of the wreekers to eliminate the Um-
brfa from the seas. In any event. SEN
timentalism aside, memories of her will
abide as long as humankind have minds
attuned to the romance of the sea. The
winds of old ocean are said to whisper
of good ships long after those ships
have gone. They will whisper of the
Umbria surely and as long as older
generations live stories of the day
when the Umbria and the Etruria were
tearing across the Atlantic with
records under their bows will still be
told.
In the DAYS to come readers of old fic
tion-fction already old, In fact-will be
reminded of her constantly; for no liner
ever was so popular with writers who In
their day won popular appeal. How many
stories in the re eighties and the early
nincties began. 1.-The Cunarder umbria
was blowing her way or. "She was seat
ed in a steamship chair upon the hurrl-
cane deck of the Umbria,' etc. For many
reasons that vessel filled the mind and in
srired the imagination, and so she will
live. in that way, at least.
The Umbria was among the first of the
modern liners Both she and the Etruria
were built and launched in 1884, and be-
gan their successful war for supremacy
with the proud vessels of the Guion and
Imam lines. From the first the Etruria
was Just a shade faster, and eventually
succeeded in bringing the time of passage
down to almost, If not exactly, six days.
Blue Ribbon Boat
But the Umbria flew the blue ribbon
from her mast in 1887. at least with rec
ord westward of six days four hours and
forty-two minutes. Compared to the per-
| fornances of the Mauretania, the sLus1-
| tania or even boats of the early nineties,
| the Majestic, Teutonic, the City of New
York. and City of Paris, and eventually
| the Campania and Lucania, the pace
which the Umbra set was that OF the
slusRard Still, it must be remembered,
| times as we'll as boats were slower IN
those days, and the performances OF the
Cul:arder created as much. If not greater,
| f,rcre as the crack greyhounds or today
| She was large, too for those days-a
| leviathan as we'll as speed-boat She was
| 6o1 s. feet long, 57.2 feet beam, 30 feet
draft, and measured Sl2S tons gross.
| The vessel will chiefly be remembered
because of the breaking of her shaft
willie bound from Liverpool to New York
in 1892. leaving her log on the sea for
several days, while steamship men on
botf sides of the Atlantic and friends and
relatives of the passengers about gave
her I'D for lost. There was no wireless
telegraph system in those days, ano news
of marine disaster or accident worked its
way dilatorily ashore through the medium
OF vessels happening to be in the vicinity.
II seems entirely improbable, in view of
tho system of ethereal communication
row in general use on the sea, that such
an incident as that OF the Umbria could
ever occur again to prominent trans
Atlantic liner and hence 1t deserves
fresh attention, If only as suggesting
the improved conditions under which
travellers journey across the ocean to-
day
Her EventfuI Voyage
The Umbria sailed from Liverpool, at
3 o'clock on Saturday, December H. 1892.
Sic was the Cunard Lines Christmas
shin; that is to say she was due in New
York the day before Christmas, and nef
| pe ssengers were eager to join their loved
| ones in good time for the festal day.
| In addition a great mass OF mail had
| been held for this vessel with her lau-
| rels as a record breaker still fresh. She
had 1s1 first-cabin passengers, 12S In the
second saloon. and more than 200 immi-
grants. Counting the crew there were
| 600 persons on board.
| She had taken 250 sacks OF mail at
Liverpool and arriving at Queenstown
at 9 o'clock the vessel was held for the
| Irish mall 1040 bags, until 2 O'Clock in
| the afternoon. No sooner had the big
| liner passed Daunt's Rock than she thrust
her shapely bow into screaming moth
wester which instead Of dying out pro-
ceeded day and night with force slowly
cumulative But the Umbria pounded
along despite the adverse elemental con-
ditions. logging 400 miles the first day, 42C
| the second and 800 the third. On De-
| cember %, heading into a wet. nasty gale,
| she steamed 402 knots, which so pleased
the officers that they were not loath to
| prophesy quick voyage, blow high
blow low, or run the seas as they might
And the passengers thus made happy
passed the tumultuous hours pleasantly
| in the saloon. the drawing rooms. the
library. or the smoking compartment.
THE holiday spirit was on them ALL and
each hundred miles which the black bows
cut through the great waves served pu'
to add to their JOY.
| While Capt Horatio Mckay. with the
| so,;me of splintered waves clustering III
his heard. stood on the bridge, Laurence
Tomlinson. the chief engineer remained
ever among his engines. For headwinds
and seas are liable to take their toll OF
engines driving a great hull at top speed
and there was need of the closest scrutiny
llest some undiscovered flaw suddenly de-
velop and bring all hopes and plans OF
every one aboard to naught. ~
Engine Room Trouble
II was about 1 O. clock on the after
noon of December 20 when the practicec
car of Tomlinson caught dissonance IT
the sweet harmony of his engines NJ
listened long with straining ears, anc
then went over his engines piece by piece
| to-