SS Werra Archival Collection
The SS Werra (1882) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Closing In to Their Pier at Hoboken, NJ, Near the Port of New York. Photo by John S. Johnston. Published by the Detroit Publishing Company ca 1890. Library of Congress LCN 2016805799. GGA Image ID # 1dcce37339
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- Werra (1882) North German Lloyd Ship's History (Brief)
- Werra (1922) North German Lloyd Ship's History (Brief)
- Passenger Lists
- Brochures
- Passage Contracts, Tickets, and Receipts
- Menus
- Back Cover Images
- Books Referencing the SS Werra
- The Fittings of a Passenger Steamer - 1882
- Salvage of the SS Werra in 1886
Werra (1882) North German Lloyd
Built by John Elder & Co., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 5,109. Dimensions: 438' x 46' (455' o.l.). Single-screw, 17 knots. Compound engines. 6,400 I.H.P. Four masts and two funnels. Iron hull. Passengers: 125 first, 130 second, 1,000 third. Maiden voyage: Bremen-Southampton-New York in October 1882. Transferred to Mediterranean-New York route in 1891. Fate: Sold to Italian shipbreakers in September 1901. Broken up at Genoa in 1903. Sister ship: Fulda. Similar to the Elbe. Note: These passenger ships were of a group of nine express liners built in Scotland for the North German Lloyd. They did much towards giving the line a mark of prestige, which the North German Lloyd has maintained through the years that followed.
Werra (1922) North German Lloyd
Built by Akt. Ges. "Weser", Bremen, Germany. Tonnage: 9,476. Dimensions: 458' x 57'. Triple expansion engines. Two masts and one funnel. Vessel was sold to Italy in August 1935. Renamed: Calabria (1935). Fate: Torpedoed and sunk by submarine, December 8, 1940. Sister ships: Coblenz, Fulda, Saarbrücken and Trier.
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1890-05-03 SS Werra Passenger List
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 3 May 1890
Route: Bremen for New York
Commander: Captain Richard Bussius
1894-12-14 SS Werra Passenger List
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 14 December 1894
Route: Naples to New York via Gibraltar
Commander: Captain G. Pohle
1896-11-19 SS Werra Passenger List
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 19 November 1896
Route: Genoa for New York via Gibraltar
Commander: Captain C. Pohle
Includes: Diary of a Voyage on the SS Werra, 1894
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1889 - North German Lloyd - Short Route to London
Brochure prepared by the New York Agents of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen Steamship Line in 1889 - The year of the Paris Exhibition. As a convenient pocket-size guide, the brochure provided a lot of useful information about the Norddeutcher Lloyd, their fleet and accommodations for First and Second Cabin passengers. Featured Ships: Lahn, Eider, Trave, Aller, Ems, Fulda, Saale, Werra, and the Elbe.
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SS Werra Passage Contract - 30 May 1933
Passage Contract for Passage for Mr. Frauk L. Pfeuffer on the SS Werra of Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, Departing from Havana for Galveston Dated 30 May 1933.
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1900-09-08 SS Werra Luncheon Menu Card
Vintage Luncheon Menu Card from 8 September 1900, on board the SS Werra of the Norddeutscher Lloyd featured Cream Soup of Lentils with Frankfort Sausage, Grilled Pigeons on Toast, and Vegetable & Tomato Salad.
List of Officers, SS Werra Passenger List, 3 May 1890. GGA Image ID # 213db98a33
Constructed Title Page with Senior Officers, SS Werra Cabin Passenger List, 14 December 1894. GGA Image ID # 213dd533b0
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Back Cover, SS Werra Passenger List, 3 May 1890. GGA Image ID # 1dcbf92ef9
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Guide Through North & Central America (Norddeutscher Lloyd) - 1898
The Guide Through North and Central America by North German Lloyd provides a concise work of reference for travelers in the United States, containing hints and directions. This book includes the history of the North German Lloyd, Lavishly illustrated with numerous photographs.
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.
Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
"The first volume of Edwwin Drechsel's definitive and valuable work on the Norddeutscher Lloyd is informative in the true sense of the word, It goes into valuable details, such as naming ships and captains of new services, and their exploits. It has some remarkable pictures never seen elsewhere. Even a few of them are worth the price fo the book"
Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume Two, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
The second volume begins with the years after World War One, The Great War, and the recovery after the war, starting from scratch to rebuild their steamship line. Although Norddeutscher Lloyd would again win the Blue Riband of the North Atlantic in 1929, the depression of the 1930s affected NDL as yet another crisis in ship ownership and management to which commercial shipping interests had always been prone. The ranks of transatlantic passenger carriers thinned out as large and small concerns went out of business.
The American Line: 1871-1902 (2000)
The American Tine tells the story of the first successful American steamship line after the Civil War to rival the great European transatlantic companies—an essential and glorious chapter in the history of the American Merchant Marine.
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The Fittings of a Passenger Steamer - 1882
The SS Werra, the latest addition to the Atlantic fleet of the North German Lloyd Company of Bremen, has just been completed by Messrs. John Elder & Co. of Fairfield, Govan.
The Chief dining saloon is a very handsome and comfortable apartment, about 40 square feet, lighted by a cupola from the promenade deck.
The style of furniture, cabinet, and upholstery work is of a luxurious description. The main saloon is described as a work of art. The panelings, chiefly walnut, are exceedingly chaste, while the roof is richly carved. All the fittings are gold-plated, while several oil paintings enhance the saloon's beauty.
The "well" in the saloon is 24 feet high from the promenade deck, and much beautiful artistry is shown in it. The sides are of maple, the pannellings being relieved with gold. Several figures painted in oil are introduced, and the design of this portion of the vessel is characterized by taste. In the second-class saloon, the panellings are of maple with gold moldings, while the fittings are of Florentine bronze.
Ventilation and other essential matters in a passenger ship are unusually good. The sleeping cabins for first-class passengers are situated before and above the saloon. They are fitted with every convenience that experience could suggest. The smoking room is on the upper deck, and the ladies' saloon is on the promenade deck.
The latter is an elegant apartment, while the former has several novelties that will no doubt commend themselves to those who frequent it. The second-class accommodation is placed beside the first-class accommodation, and, though plain, it is thoroughly comfortable.
"The Fittings of a Passenger Steamer," in The Furniture Gazette: An Illustrated Weekly Journal Treating of All Branches of Cabinet-Work, Upholstery, and Interior Decoration, London: Wyman & Sons, Printers, Vol. XVIII, 7 October 1882, p. 242.
Salvage of the SS Werra in 1886
While the SS Werra (5109 tons gross) was on a voyage from Bremen to New York with 544 passengers and 175 crew members, her machinery- broke down. However, she was still reasonably manageable under sail.
The SS Venetian towed her safely into port, a distance of 1,000 miles, in seven days, the weather being moderately heavy at times. The total value of the Werra, her cargo, and other property on board was about £240,000.
The Court awarded £7,000 and apportioned the amount as follows:—£5,250 to the owners, £583 to the master, and £1,167 to the rest of the crew.
H. Holman, "Chapter XII Salvage: Towage: Pilotage. (1.) Salvage," in A Handy Book for Shipowners & Masters, 10th Ed., London: William H. Maisey, 1921, p. 276.
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