Introduction and Services of the Hamburg-American Line - 1890
THE Hamburg-American Packet Company is the oldest German transatlantic line. It originated in 1847 as a passenger and freight line, running sailing vessels only, but was transformed in 1854 into a steamship enterprise, and from that date the business of the Company has steadily increased, until to-day it is one of the most popular lines plying between the United States of America and Europe, being one of the most desirable routes for tourists and the traveling public generally. 1,650,000 passengers have been forwarded by this Company.
Its fleet consists of forty large steamships, which belong to the best and fastest ships that cross the ocean.
With these steamers the HAMBURG-AMERICAN PACKET COMPANY operates the
- Express Service between New York, Southampton and Hamburg.
- Regular Service between New York and Hamburg direct.
- BALTIC LINE. from New York to Copenhagen and Stettin.
- HAMBURG-BALTIMORE LINE. HAMBURG-PHILADELPHIA LINE.
- HAMBURG-ST. THOMAS-VENEZUELA LINE. HAMBURG-PORTO RICO-COLOMBIA LINE.
- HAMBURG-ASPINWALL LINE.
- HAMBURG-HAYTI LINE.
- HAMBURG-HAVANA LINE.
- HAMBURG-MEXICO-NEW ORLEANS LINE.
- And tee INTERCOLONIAL LINES from St| Thomas.
Express Service.
The magnificent new twin-screw steamers of the Hamburg Line, with which it inaugurated its new Express Service between New York, Southampton and Hamburg, have from the start attracted general attention in Europe and America on account of their construction as well as their marvelous achievements in speed.
The first ship of the new service was the AUGUSTA-VICTORIA, the construction of which had been entrusted to the Vulcan Shipbuilding Company in Stettin.
Her success was immediate. On her first voyage from Hamburg to New York she made the fastest maiden trip on record, and when she reached New York she was visited by nearly thirty thousand people, who expressed their admiration of her beautiful appearance in unmeasured terms.
The COLUMBIA, the second twin-screw steamer, was built in the yards of Messrs. Laird Bros. in Birkenhead, on the Mersey.
She is an exact counterpart of the AUGUSTA-VICTORIA, and has proven to be the fastest ship afloat sailing between the Continents of Europe and America.
These two steamers have immediately become favorites among the traveling public, so that during the past season it was impossible to accommodate all who applied for passage.
The third twin-screw steamer, the NORMANNIA, which will correspond in most particulars with its predecessors, is now approaching completion in the yards of Messrs. John Elder & Co. in Govan, Scotland, and will be put in ser-. vice next May.
The fourth twin-screw steamer, the FURST BISMARCK, is on the stocks of the Vulcan Shipbuilding Company in Stettin.
With these steamers, the HAMBURG-AMERICAN PACKET COMPANY will, during the coming season, operate an Express Service, offering the American public the convenience of reaching England and the European Continent with absolute safety, in the shortest possible time, and with a degree of comfort hitherto unattainable.
These leviathans have a length of 460 to 520 feet, a width of 56 to 6o feet, and a depth of 38 to 40 feet ; are of 10,000 tons displacement, and their engines develop the force of 12,500 to 16,000 horses.
