SS Alaska was a record breaking British passenger liner that won the Blue Riband for the Guion Line as the fastest liner on the Atlantic in 1882.[1] She was a slightly larger and faster edition of Guion's Arizona and in 1883 became the first liner to make the crossing to New York in under a week. However, Alaska burned 250 tons of coal per day, as compared to Arizona's already high 135 tons. Built by John Elder & Company of Glasgow, she carried 350 first class passengers and 1,000 steerage.[2] Her passengers included Hugh Simpson Rodham: future grandfather of Hillary Clinton, who travelled in steerage to America with his mother Bella and seven siblings as a toddler in October 1882.[3] As in the case of Arizona, Stephen Guion also personally owned Alaska.[4]
 SS Alaska under steam
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | SS Alaska |
| Operator |  Guion Line |
| Builder | John Elder & Company, in Govan, Scotland |
| Launched | 15 July 1881 |
| Renamed | Magallanes (1897) |
| Fate | Broken up 1902 |
| Notes | 4 mast and 2 funnel |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Steam passenger ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 6,932 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 526 ft (160 m) |
| Beam | 50.5 ft (15.4 m) |
| Propulsion | Single screw |
| Speed | 16 knots |
| Capacity | Approximately 350 saloon and 1000 steerage passengers |
On her maiden voyage she arrived to New York in December 1881.[5]
Alaska completed 100 voyages when Guion suspended sailings in 1894.[2] She proved difficult to sell and was finally chartered in 1897 by Cia.[1] Transatlanticia Espanola as a troop transport. In 1899, Alaska was sold for scrap, but was resold to the Barrow shipyard where she was used as an accommodation hulk until broken up in 1902.[6][1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Immigration Vessels". Mystic Seaport. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
Won Atlantic Blue Ribbon in April 1882 for a record Atlantic crossing of 7 days, 6 hours, 43 minutes. Laid up 1894. In 1897 renamed MAGALLANES, sailed as charter for Cia Trasatlatica. Sold for scrap 1899, but resold as a hulk. Broken up 1902.
- ^ a b Gibbs, Charles Robert Vernon (1957). Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day. John De Graff. pp. 205–206.
- ^ Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897. Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
- ^ New York Times (December 20, 1885). Obituary: Stephen Baker Guion.
- ^ Scientific American Volume 61 Number 25 (December 1889)
- ^ Kludas, Arnold (1999). Record breakers of the North Atlantic, Blue Riband Liners 1838-1953. London: Chatham.