SS Alaska (1881)
| File:Guion Alaska.jpg Guion's Alaska of 1881 | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Alaska |
| Operator: | Guion Line |
| Builder: | John Elder & Company, in Govan, Scotland |
| Launched: | 15 July 1881 |
| Fate: | Broken up 1902 |
| Notes: | Renamed Magallanes in 1897 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Steam passenger ship |
| Tonnage: | 6,932 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 520 ft (160 m) |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Single screw - 16 knots |
The 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. 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.[1] As in the case of Arizona, Stephen Guion also personally owned Alaska.[2]
Alaska completed 100 voyages when Guion suspended sailings in 1894.[1] She proved difficult to sell and was finally chartered in 1897 by Cia. 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 accommodiation hulk until broken up in 1902.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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.
- ↑ New York Times (December 20, 1885). Obituary: Stephen Baker Guion.
- ↑ Kludas, Arnold (1999). Record breakers of the North Atlantic, Blue Riband Liners 1838-1953. London: Chatham.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Germanic |
Holder of the Blue Riband (Westbound) 1882 – 1884 |
Succeeded by Oregon |
| Preceded by Arizona |
Atlantic Eastbound Record 1882 – 1884 |
Succeeded by Oregon |
