Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-07-28
PROGRESS IN SHlPBUILDING
Giant Liners Of Early Days Would
Look Small Beside Modern Vessels.


Look Small Beside Modern Vessels.
One would suppose that after having
built the gigantic steamers Vaterland
and Aquitania steamship builders
would take short breathing spell and
let tourists put up as best they can
with accommodations on these and
other mammoth liners; but no sooner
were these ships launched than the
constructors took a hitch in their ov-
erals and began laying the keel for
another even larger ship.
There probably are persons living
today who can remember wallowing
across the ocean on schooner rugged
steamships which relied as much on
their sails as on their engines for pro-
pulsion. None Of these boats exceed
ed 5000 tons displacement There were
no wide promenade decks to pace
Those were the days of long voyages,
when the matches were battened down
in wintry weather and when the un.
comfortable passengers were cooped up
in stuffy cabins. And the present day
traveller would rave and Shrek in an
ger and pain If the food the traveller
had in those days should be placed
before him in the dining saloon Of a
modern greyhound.
| Twenty years before the Civil war
the steamship was still a novelty.
There was one famous boat in those
days. the original Cunard liner Britain
mia. 1t had a gross tonnage Of 1854
and was Of TAG horse power. Under
favorable conditions, with sails spread,
it could make eight and half knots
an hour
How pitiful and inadequate the lit
tie Britannia would seem today when
placed by the giant Aquitania or Vat
erland. plugging along through heavy
weather at "a or 25 knots an hour and
| riding waves that would we'll nigh
have swamped the smaller boat. And
in few years the Vaterland and Aqui-
tania may be looked upon as medium
sized liners When the Mauretania and
Lusitania were launched they were re-
| garded as the last word in shipbulding
but their $4,000 tons are surpassed by
the newest ships, which have a dis
placement Of more than $4,000 tons.
The designers and builders Of the
earlier steamships were far ahead Of
| their day; they were also far ahead of
| their engines. Before the Civil war
there were occasional jumps in the
| tnnnnpa nf Of ha 70
but these jumps were not soon sur
passed; for the engines were not up to
| the size Of the hull and the boats prov
ed to be white elephants, too expen-
sive to be profitable or too bulky to be
handled efficiently.
The most famous of these marine
white elephants was the Great Eastern.
This ship was $50 feet long, and it was
| not until decade or so ago that it's
bulk was surpassed. At the time it was
built there were no engines powerful
enough to propel it at a speed that
would make 1t worth running. And,
too, the steering arrangements were
then so primitive that 1t was almost
impossible to handle the great hulk. In
many ways, however, it was one Of the
best constructed ships that was ever
launched. 1t had double skin which
once saved it from sinking when it's
side was pierced-a feature that would
have saved the Titanic and the EN-
press Of Ireland and the Monroe.
In 1855 the Cunard line launched the
Persia. Between this boat and the
Britannia the ships in theCunard fleet
had shown little Improvement in horse
power or tonnage. In 1S43 the Hiber-
MIA and Cambria had been sent to sea,
each with a tonnage Of 1922 and a
horse power Of 1,040. Then came the
America class in 1S4S. These vessels
were Of 1926 tons and 1000 horse
power The development in horse pow
er had far outdistanced the increase in
tonnage in the intervening eight years.
And practically the same ratio Of in
crease was maintained in the Asia and
Africa, placed in service in 1850. They
were Of 2,226 tons and 2,400 horse pow
er The Arabia, which followed them
in 1852, was simply an improvement on
them with a tonnage of 2,4O2 and
horse power Of $3.50.
There was a radical increase in the
size and horse power Of the Persia,
which was quite huge affair in those
days. 1t was all of $500 tons, and
boasted 1000 horse power. And it was
nearly 100 feet longer than any vessel
which had preceded it. The Scotia
which followed the Persia in 1862, was
practically sister ship. But for the
next twelve years the Cunard Line
found it more profitable to build ships
much smaller than either the Persia or
the Scotia. The BOthnia and Scythia,
were only 1000 tons larger than the
Scotia and were knot slower.
The modern ocean liner, the grey
hound Of the Atlantic" as it was called
really began to come into it's own in
the seventies. Modern engineering was
beginning to solve the problem Of COM
bining weight and speed and the de-
velopment of luXuries of various kinds
ashore was creating a demand for in
creased comforts on the water.
1t was in 1881 that the Cunard Line
put the Servia in the Atlantic service.
This ship was a record MAKER, 392
tons, $500 horse power and was SIS
feet long For ten years after the Ser
via was launched smaller vessels were
built, but in 1890 the beginnings of the
present Cunard fleet were made in the
construction of the Ivernia and SAX
onia. These two liners are still in SER
vice. They are $4,000 tons, but were
not built for speed.
The Campania and Lucania, which
went into service in 1898, were con-
spicuous as the first express steam
ships that combined size with speed.
They were of $4,000 tons, developed
&c, 900 horse power and made 90 knots
an hour They were the smartest fur
nished boats afoat in their time, and
many persons still declare that the
public saloons Of the Campania have