SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 19th century; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is incorrectly assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
SS Great Western was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship with four masts, the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. Completed in 1838, she was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839, the year the SS British Queen went into service.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland.
SS Asiatic was a steamship operated by the White Star Line from 1871 to 1873, a sister ship to Tropic. Sold off after only two years, she was renamed SS Ambriz, and eventually was wrecked in 1903.
The Marseille tramway is a tramway system in Marseille, France. The city's modern tram network now consists of three lines, serving 32 stations and operating over 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) of route. The current, modern Marseille tram network opened on 7 July 2007.
SS Sussex was a cross-Channel passenger ferry, built in 1896 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). After the LBSCR came to a co-operation agreement with the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'État Français, she transferred to their fleet under a French flag. Sussex became the focus of an international incident when she was severely damaged by a torpedo from a German U-boat in 1916 and at least 50 passengers died. After the war she was repaired and sold to Greece in 1919, being renamed Aghia Sophia. Following a fire in 1921, the ship was scrapped.
MS A Nepita is a fast ropax ferry for Corsica Linea. The ferry was refurbished in Gdańsk, Poland for her new service and was returned to her original design before her SeaFrance career and looks identical to her sisters Stena Superfast VII & VIII. Before November 2014 she operated between Dover and Calais for DFDS Seaways France and between 2008 and 2012 for SeaFrance.
RMS Atrato was a UK iron-hulled steamship. She was built in 1853 for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company as a side-wheel paddle steamer, and at the time of her launch was the world's largest passenger ship. In 1870 RMSP traded Atrato in, causing her to lose the status of "Royal Mail Ship". She was converted to a single screw ship with a compound steam engine in 1872, and placed on the Aberdeen Line that chartered her to run to Victoria and New Zealand. In 1880 she was renamed Rochester before sinking four years later in 1884 by running aground.
SS Vesta was a propeller-driven fishing vessel 250 gross tons, built in 1853 at Nantes, France, by Hernoux et Cie of Dieppe for the Société Terreneuvienne of Granville in Normandy. The company had extensive fishing interests in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland, which it operated from a base in Saint Pierre Island. On 27 September 1854 Vesta was eastbound with a crew of 50, returning 147 fisherman and salters home. In a heavy fog, Vesta collided with the Collins Line passenger paddle steamer SS Arctic. A three-metre (ten-foot) section of Vesta's bow was sheared off, but the watertight bulkhead behind the bow remained intact and kept out the sea, keeping the vessel afloat.
Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher was a 7,067 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1944 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Call. In 1945 she was sold to the French government and renamed Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher. In November 1945, she ran aground on Stromboli and broke in two. Declared a total loss, she was scrapped in 1947.
SS Navemar was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1921, was Norwegian-owned until 1927 and then Spanish-owned for the rest of her career. An Italian submarine sank her in the Strait of Gibraltar in 1942.
William Patterson Shipbuilders was a major shipbuilder in Bristol, England, during the 19th century and an innovator in ship construction, producing both the SS Great Western and SS Great Britain, fine lined yachts and a small number of warships.
Tower Belle is a passenger boat based in Bristol Harbour in England. The vessel is operated by the Bristol Packet Boat Trips company on pleasure and educational trips in the City Docks, on the River Avon to the Chequers Inn at Hanham Lock and Beese's Tea Gardens at Conham. Tower Belle was built in 1920 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Armstrong Whitworth, originally known as Wincomblee. In the 1950s and 1960s she worked in London, finally coming to Bristol in 1976.
Cambridge Ferry was a 3,294 GRT train ferry that was built in 1963 for the British Railways Board. She was sold to Malta in 1992 and renamed Ita Uno. She was renamed Sirio in 1993 and reflagged to Panama in 1998. The ship was scrapped in Turkey in 2003.
Rahmi Kaptan was a ship that was built in 1873 as Honfleur by Aitken & Mansel, Glasgow for the London and South Western Railway. She was sold to Greece in 1911 and renamed Chrysallis then Chrysalis. She was sold to the French Navy in 1917 and served as the patrol vessel Fauvette, later Fauvette I. In 1924, she was sold to Turkey and renamed Ihsanie. She operated for a number of Turkish owners under the names Aidin, Aydin, Cihat, Demirhisar and Rahmi Kaptan, serving until c.2005.
Blue Star 1 is a Greek ferry, which is owned by Blue Star Ferries. She is a motor Ro-Ro/Passenger ferryboat, built in 2000 by Van der Giessen de Noord shipward in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands. She is a sistership to Blue Star 2. She holds a total of 1600 passengers and 640 vehicles and has 430 beds in 161 cabins for passengers. She has four MAN B&W 8L58 / 64 diesel engines, with combined power of 44,480 kW and reaches speeds of up to 27 knots.
SS Frankenwald was a passenger and cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1908 for Hamburg America Line. In 1919 France seized her as part of Germany's World War I reparations. In 1920 the Compagnie de Navigation Paquet bought her and renamed her Tadla. A Turkish shipowner bought her in 1934 and renamed her Tari. She passed through a succession of Turkish owners, and was scrapped in 1967.
