The Kaiser Wilhelm II : Ship's Information and History
The new North German Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm II., which arrived at this port on the 7th inst. on her maiden trip, was built by the Vulcan Shipbuilding Company, of Stettin; she is intended for the Australian service of the North German Lloyd Company.
She is constructed of steel; her length is 460 feet; beam 51 feet, and depth 37 feet; her tonnage is 9,000 gross, and 6,300 net tons; horse-power 7,000, and speed about 17 knots. She is provided with triple-expansion engines of the latest type, acting on a manganese propeller. Her hull is painted white; the model is very handsome.
The passenger accomodations are particularly roomy, arranged for the comfort of travelers in the tropics, great attention being paid to ventilation and devices for preserving a cool temperature. The saloons, smoking rooms, ladies' cabin and music room are situated on the upper-deck, with free access to the air on three sides.
They are highly decorated and finished in the excellent degree of artistic taste for which the New York steamships of this line are noted, and are very luxurious apartments, attractive to passengers on the long and tedious voyage to Australia. One hundred and twenty first cabin and eighty second cabin passengers find ample accommodations on this steamship. The large and roomy staterooms of first cabin are provided with tables and wardrobes, and are arranged for two passengers.
The promenade-deck for first cabin passengers is 25o feet in length, covered by a light permanent deck on which the twelve lifeboats are placed. This light deck takes the place of the awning-deck ordinarily placed over the promenade-deck on transatlantic steamships.
On her return to Bremen she is to enter into active competition with the well-known ships of the Peninsular & Oriental and Orient steamship lines between Great Britain and Australia, and will undoubtedly prove a dangerous rival for these crack British steamships.
From Ocean: Magazine of Travel, September 1889, Vol. III, No. 2, Page 39.
