|
''City of Paris'', was a British-built passenger liner of the Inman Line that held the Blue Riband as the fastest ship on the north Atlantic route from 1889 to 1891 and again from 1892 to 1893. A sister ship of the and a rival of the White Star Line ''Teutonic'' and ''Majestic'', she proved to be the quickest of the pre- twin-screw express liners. In 1893, she was renamed ''Paris'' and transferred to US registry when the Inman Line was merged into the American Line. She and her sister were paired with the new American built ''St Louis'' and ''St Paul'' to form one of the premier Atlantic services: known as the "big four". ''Paris'' served the US Navy as the auxiliary cruiser ''Yale'' during the Spanish American War and is remembered for slipping into the harbor at San Juan, Puerto Rico under the Spanish guns of Morro Castle. After ''Paris'' returned to commercial service, she was seriously damaged in 1899 when she grounded on The Manacles off the British coast. Rebuilt and renamed ''Philadelphia'', she sailed for the American Line until requisitioned again during World War I as the transport ''Harrisburg''. After the war, she continued with the American Line until 1920 and was scrapped in 1923. ==Development and Design== In 1886, the UK flagged Inman Line became bankrupt and was taken over by its largest creditor, the Philadelphia based International Navigation Company. The firm's Vice President, Clement Griscom immediately sailed to Liverpool with a commitment from the Pennsylvania Railroad to provide $2 million in capital towards the building of a new ship to compete against Cunard and White Star. Scottish shipbuilders were suffering a recession and proposed construction of two identical ships at the discounted price of $1,850,000 apiece. The Pennsylvania Railroad agreed to finance the second ship that became the ''City of Paris''.〔 Six years earlier, Inman returned the ''City of Rome'' to her builders when she failed to meet the contract's performance guarantees. At . the original design for the ''City of New York'' and the ''City of Paris'' was only slightly bigger than ''City of Rome'', but with steel hulls instead of iron. The final designed called for ships almost 25% larger at . To address the vibration problems of most liners of the period, the new Inman liners were given a ratio of length to beam of 8.3 to 1 as compared to the then common ratio of 10 to 1. The hull was more extensively subdivided than previously attempted. The ships were equipped with a full double bottom and 15 transverse bulkheads that reached the saloon deck. They also received a fore-aft bulkhead over their entire length.〔 Power was supplied by two triple expansion engines of 9,000 indicated horsepower each that were placed in separate compartments. While the engines for the two sisters were identical, ''City of Paris'' produced 1,500 more horsepower.〔 The ships were the first express liners with two propellers. Single screw liners were prone to shaft failure that forced them to return to port using auxiliary sails. With the introduction of twin screws, liners were more reliable and no longer needed sails.〔 The new Inman "Cities" are still regarded as among the most beautiful liners to ever cross the Atlantic. The plan included ''City of Rome's'' classic clipper bow and three raked funnels.〔 Designed for 540 first, 200 second and 1,000 steerage passengers, luxuries included hot and cold water, electric ventilation, and electric lighting. First class public rooms, such as the library and smoking room, were fitted with walnut panels and the dining salon had a massive dome that provided a natural light to the passengers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS City of Paris (1888)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|