"One of the Staunchest Vessels"
The entry of the S.S. Dixie in the late 1920s offered travellers a new ship for a popular railroad / passenger ship combination used by some for their trans-continental journeys. Flying the flag of the Morgan Line, owned by the Southern Pacific Company, the passenger and cargo vessel Dixie made the trip between New Orleans and New York in five days northbound and six days southbound while passengers enjoyed "a veritable sightseeing trip at sea with much of the Atlantic coast visible from the ships." The Dixie joined two other Morgan Line ships, the Momus and the Creole, already serving the route that connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad's popular passenger trains from the west coast at the railroad's eastern terminus in New Orleans. Fares between New York and New Orleans were $63.00 for first class, $48.00 for second class and $33.00 for third class.
Aboard the Dixie, first, second and third class passengers could enjoy
:handsomely decorated and luxurious" cabins in an American colonial design.
Other amenities included hot and cold running water plus hot and cold fresh and
salt water in all baths, cabins heated by electro-vapor radiators, a telephone
system, barber shop, sun parlor, dance room, dining saloon and a lounge.
The ship was equipped with the latest navigation devices. "The radio direction finder, installed in the pilot house, enables accurate radio-bearings to be taken on special beacon stations established by the U.S. Government Bureau of Lighthouses or on any radio shore station of ship. Bearings may be taken with this instrument at a distance of several hundred miles." Equipment also included a Sperry Gyro Compass and Sperry Gyro Pilot. "The Sperry Gyro Pilot, known to seamen as 'Metal Mike,' provides a perfect and reliable mechanical method of steering, a simple contact mechanism guided by the Gyro Compass being utilized to control the movements of the ship's steering wheel."
The ship's keel was laid January 31, 1927 at the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Kearny, N.J.and the vessel was launched July 29, 1927. The 12,440 ton, 445 ft. long passenger and cargo vessel was "acclaimed as one of the staunchest vessels ever turned out of a shipyard." Built as an oil-burning vessel, the steam turbine propulsion connected to the single propeller could drive the ship at a speed of 16.5 knots. The S.S. Dixie was sold to the U.S. Navy in 1940 and converted to a tender to provide a mobile base and repair facility supplying fuel, ammunition and stores to destroyers and destroyer escorts. She was scrapped in Baltimore in 1950.
"Final Stages of Construction"
| It was February, 1933 and the United States Lines' new liner Washington was in the final stages of construction in a fitting out berth at the New York Shipbuilding Company's shipyard in Camden, New Jersey. Along with her sister ship, the Manhattan that was already in service, the two ships had the distinction of being the first passenger liners built in the U.S. for the North Atlantic passenger business in 35 years.
The Washington was 705 feet long and had a registered gross tonnage of 23, 626 tons. She carried 500 cabin class, 500 tourist class and 106 third class passengers at a speed of 20 knots. The Washington was powered by six steam turbines with single reduction gearing driving the two propellers. The Washington entered service May 10, 1933 on the New York to Hamburg, Germany run with stops at ports in the English Channel. In the late 1930s, the ship's route was changed to sailing between New York and Genoa, Italy. By July 1940, as war activity in Europe increased, the European service was suspended and the Washington was cut back to sailing in U.S. waters. After the U.S. entry into World War II, she was converted to a troop ship and renamed the Mount Vernon. Re-converted to a single class passenger vessel after the war, the Washington again served the North Atlantic trade until October 1951. She was scrapped in 1965. |
| The first half of the Twentieth Century saw U.S. ports of all sizes served by a thriving trade of U.S. built and U.S. flagged coastal vessels from fast passenger ships to small, plodding freighters. |
S.S. Yale and S.S. Harvard
Passenger vessel travel between Boston and New York took a major step forward with the beginning of regular service by the steamers S.S. Yale and S.S. Harvard on September 18, 1907. The Yale was the first of the two ships to be completed and she made her first trip from New York to Boston in June in just under 14 hours.
The two ships were outstanding products of American shipbuilding skills of the
period. Each of the 3,818 ton ships built by the W.A. Fletcher Company in
Chester, PA was 407 feet long with a 63 foot beam. Powered by twelve Scotch type
boilers generating 12,000 horsepower and turbine engines, the triple-screw
vessels could maintain an average speed of 20 knots. The Yale was the
third turbine ship ever built in America and was the fastest ship in America's
merchant marine when completed.
Interior appointments were plush. The overnight passengers were accommodated in staterooms on the two lower passenger decks. Outside cabins opened onto promenade decks along each side of the ship while inside cabins were accessed from passageways. There were also 22 luxury cabins on a forward upper deck. According to one published account at the time, "In the matter of interior decoration and fittings the ships strike a new note, and it is safe to say that in no American steamer yet built has there been so elaborate and beautiful a scheme of embellishment incorporated in the design."
Their modern appearance with high bow and twin smokestacks racked back, the fine interiors and the judicious selection of their names all combined to make the two high speed ships extremely popular and profitable on the Boston - New York route. In good weather or fog, the steamers consistently maintained the fast schedule. They normally ran full during the long summer season and never lacked for passengers the remainder of the year.
The Grace Line
The
Grace Line's air conditioned cargo-passenger ships operated weekly from New York
to the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal to the west coast of South
America. During the 1960's, the 52 passengers aboard the eight Santas
enjoyed outside cabins and amenities including an outdoor tiled swimming pool.
Classic Ships Under Foreign Flags
S.S. Amerika
The ship set a new standard of excellence for ocean travel when it sailed from Hamburg, Germany on the maiden voyage to New York on Oct. 1, 1905. Owned by the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, the new ship was designed to attract passengers with unmatched luxury and superior service without attempting to make any speed records.
The
668 foot long, 22,225 gross ton liner boasted many technological innovations
including a Marconi Wireless system, an automatic fire extinguishing system and
electrically controlled watertight doors that could be operated from the bridge.
The ship could accommodate 420 first class, 254 second class, 223 third class
and 1,765 steerage passengers. Passenger comforts were second to none and
included the first passenger elevator aboard an ocean liner. The elevator was a
great attraction and made 1,825 trips during the maiden voyage.
This separate dining room seated 120 guests under a stained glass skylight and
portholes were replaced with large square windows offering panoramic views. The
concept proved so popular, the Ritz-Carlton restaurants were installed on other
Hamburg-Amerika liners and later copied by other European steamship lines.
The year was 1912 and the Amerika's Chief Steward, G. Scholz, making a morning inspection of one of the ship's food storerooms. The Chief Steward supervised all activities in the nine kitchens that provided food for the passengers' superb dining experiences. The kitchens included one exclusively for the Ritz-Carlton a la carte restaurant on board, two kitchens for steerage passengers and a
kosher kitchen for orthodox Hebrew travellers.
Afternoon tea served promptly at 4 was a tradition at sea aboard the trans-Atlantic liners. Here on the Amerika'sPromenade Deck, attentive stewards served tea, cakes and small sandwiches to the passengers.
The S.S. Amerika sent a wireless message on April 14, 1912 reporting the location of two large icebergs in the North Atlantic. Several hours later the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the same area. When World War I broke out, the ship was interned in the U.S. and later seized when the U.S. entered the war and renamed S.S. America. Over the next forty years under the American flag, the liner was used in service as a passenger liner, troop ship and spent several lengthy periods laid up in storage. She was scrapped in 1957 having sailed longer and further than many of the more famous liners built in the early 1900s.
S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam
Completed
by the Holland-America Line in May, 1938 for the North Atlantic trade, the S.S.
Nieuw Amsterdam was one of the last vessels built with "old world"
tastes in interior decor and comforts. The ship's trans-Atlantic career was cut
short by the outbreak of World War II during which she was operated by the
British government as a troop transport. Following the war and after extensive
refitting, the Nieuw Amsterdam embarked on a long and successful career
as a passenger liner in both trans-Atlantic and cruise service.
The Grand Hall
The philosophies behind the design and construction of this liner were outlined by the Holland-America Line's Board of Directors in 1938:
"Twenty or more years of service lie ahead of a new ship. It's construction, therefore, is a continuous confrontation of the present and the future. Every ship offers a temporary solution of this permanent problem. And although shipping is as international as the ocean by which it lives, every ship reflects national qualities in addition to a period in construction. The Nieuw Amsterdam is such a solution of 1938 and bears the mark of the Netherlands."
"Considerable advance will also be noted in the interior decorations. Modern architectural ideas supplemented by individual works of art of the younger generation of artists have created interiors of distinct originality and beauty. Although individually the artists' visions and execution may vary, we believe that a symphonic whole has been achived and a ship that belong to the future."
A large
oxidized copper panel called The Four Season located in the well of the
main deck vestibule included Autumn. One of the panel's four bronzes by
Jan Eloy and Leo Brom, Autumn included a platter filled with profusion
of seasonal offerings.
The Main Deck Reception Vestibule
Last Updated 01/30/2008
Author : Richard O. Aichele
© 2008. All rights reserved by Information Works inc., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
