SS Virginian Archival Collection
Virginian (1905) Allan Line (British)
Built by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 10,754. Dimensions: 520' x 60' (540' o.l.). Propulsion: Triple-screw, 19 knots. Three steam turbines. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and one funnel. Comments: Attained a speed of 19.8 knots during her trials. Additional Features: Nine boilers. Steam pressure of 180 lbs. per sq. in. Consumed about 2,500 tons of coal per voyage. Maiden voyage: Liverpool-Canada, April 6, 1905. Speed Records: She broke the Liverpool-Rimouski speed record, as she made it in 5 days, 20 hours, 40 minutes. She and her sister ship Victorian remained the fastest liners in the Canadian trade, until the new Canadian Pacific liners Empress of Britain and Empress of Ireland entered the service. Ownership Transfer: Ownership of the Virginian was transferred to Canadian Pacific Line in 1917. Renamed: (a) Drottningholm (1920), (b) Brasil (1948), (c) Homeland (1951). Fate: Scrapped in Italy, 1955. Sister ship: Victorian. Note: These popular ships were the first trans-Atlantic liners to be equipped with steam turbines.
The Speed Record Broken by the Virginian
"The Allan turbine liner Virginian, which sailed from Moville last Friday at 1:50 p.m., and passed Cape Race on Wednesday morning at 6 o'clock, landed mails and passengers at Rimouski at midnight on Thursday, and passed on to Québec and Montréal after a record passage, via the Cape Race route, which is 200 miles longer than that via Belle Isle. The average speed worked out at 16 1/2 knots."
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1906-09-14 RMS Virginian Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
- Class of Passengers: Second Cabin
- Date of Departure: 14 September 1906
- Route: Liverpool to Québec and Montréal
- Commander: Captain A. H. Vipond
1907-04-26 RMS Virginian Passenger List
Steamship Line: Allan Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 26 April 1907
Route: Liverpool to Québec and Montréal
Commander: Captain A. H. Vipond
1911-04-28 RMS Virginian Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
- Class of Passengers: Second Cabin
- Date of Departure: 28 April 1911
- Route: Liverpool to Québec and Montréal
- Commander: Captain J. T. Gambell
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1908 - Allan Line - Second Cabin Accommodations
It is probably an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the Transatlantic Liner that three Steamers of 10,000 tons register or more, should be in course of construction at one time and placed in commission within six months of each other. Ships Covered: Corsican, Grampian, Ionian, Tunisian, Victorian, and Virginian.
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Vintage Second Cabin Daily Bill of Fare Card from 9 June 1906 on board the RMS Virginian of the Allan Line featured Beefsteak and Onions for Breakfast, Roast Goose, Apple Sauce for Dinner, and Preserved Salmon for Tea.
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Advertisement, Allan Royal Mail Line. Ships Include the Victorian, Virginian, Tunisian, Corsican, Grampian, and Hesperian. Cunard Daily Bulletin, Ivernia Edition for 22 July 1908. GGA Image ID # 131f1a86b9
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Sailing Schedule, Glasgow-Québec-Montréal and Liverpool-Québec-Montréal, from 20 August 1908 to 19 November 1908. Ships Included the Corsican, Grampian, Hesperian, Ionian, Pretorian, Tunisian, Victorian, and Virginian. TSS Ionian Second Class Passenger List, 22 August 1908. GGA Image ID # 2105877dab
Proposed Sailings, Liverpool-Quebec-Montreal Service from 7 September 1911 to 17 November 1911. Ships Included the Corsican, Tunisian, Victorian, and Virginian. The Allan Line Steamers Sail from Montreal at Daylight or 9.00 A.M. Thus Giving Passengers an Opportunity to View the Noble St. Lawrence All the Way to the Sea. TSS Tunisian Passenger List, 22 September 1911. GGA Image ID # 1e0d11aed2
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The Allan Line Turbine Steamship RMS Virginian Alongside the Liverpool Landing Stage, Waiting to Receive the Numerous Bags of Letters Which, In the Course of a Few Days, Will Reach All Parts of Canada. The Syren and Shipping, 25 September 1907. GGA Image ID # 17b8335777
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Wireless Telegram Rates, RMS Virginian Saloon Passenger List, 26 April 1907. GGA Image ID # 20f8f7833b
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The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs - 1983
Sumptuous volume recalls the glorious early years of elegant transatlantic travel. Over 190 historic photographs depict exterior and interior views of 101 great ocean liners, including the Virginian, Imperator, Vaterland, Bismarck, Lusitania, Mauretania, Balmoral Castle, Titanic, Olympic, Aquitania and dozens more. Full captions.
The Great Liners: The Seafarers, Volume 4
A history of the world's famous luxury liners provides portraits of the ships. It examines such great disasters as the sinking of the Titanic. This edition explores the grand hotels that traversed the Atlantic between 1840 and 1930.
Great Passenger Ships of the World 1858-1912
This initial volume deals with Ships from 1858-1912, from the first passenger ship of over 10,000 GRT to be placed in service (the Great Eastern) to those unforgettable sister ships, the Olympic and Titanic — the first of more than 40,000 GRT.
Legacy of the White Star Line: History of the Titanic, Her Sisters, and Other White Star Liners
The Titanic disaster has fascinated the world since she sank, losing over 1,500 lives in April 1912. This copiously illustrated book considers much more than its title suggests, beginning with an overview of the White Star Line's fleet.
Majesty at Sea: The Four Stackers
The opulent and luxurious four-funnel passenger liners, of which only fourteen have ever been built, are unsurpassed in maritime history. Built between 1897 and 1921, these great vessels vied with each other in their standards of comfort, spaciousness, and speed, and great was the rivalry between their owners.
This book recreates the ambiance of the ocean linereraby showing the actual objects used on board. Each piece of ocean-liner memorabilia is like an aladdin's lamp, releasing wondrous memories of that grand style of travel.
Ocean Liners - Precursors, Apotheosis, Post War
Ocean Liners is a detailed look at nearly fifty fabulous ships that have provided pleasure, practicality, and fascination since the beginning of the century.
Ocean Steamers: A History of Ocean-Going Passenger Steamships 1820-1970
A history of the steam-powered passenger ship that details its story from the SS Savannah of 1819 to the SS Hamburg of 1969. It contains historical details of all civilian vessels built in the intervening years, with numerous illustrations and previously unpublished material.
Passenger Ships of the World - 1963
Passenger Ships of the World, 1963, represents an incredible resource covering passenger ships that are Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific, Trans-Pacific via Panama Canal, Latin American, Africa and the Eastern Oceans, and California-Hawaii.
Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line
Ravenscrag is the story of the Allans and of the great line of sail and steamships which bore their name, dominating the Canadian Atlantic routes for more than a century and making a major contribution to Canadian history.
Sailing Seven Seas: History of the Canadian Pacific Line
With a witty and informative style, author Peter Pigott evokes-not only the nostalgic heyday of ocean travel but reveals a slice of almost-forgotten Canadiana.
The Blue Riband of the Atlantic
The blue riband of the Atlantic was the symbolic prize awarded to the luxury liner that made the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. This book begins with a description of the origins of ocean steamship travel and then discusses the development and careers of the most famous ships involved.
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