St. Louis & St. Paul

St. Louis (1895-1925) and St. Paul (1895-1923) were the first two express steamers built under the aegis of the American Line.  In the 1890s the record-breaking New York and Paris, the first twin-screw express liners were under American ownership but built for the British flagged Inman Line.   The new American Line was a product of mergers and speculative capitalism in 1891-1892 with the hope of a generous operating subsidy for carrying the US Mail to offset operating costs and grab a share of the international competition. The line also wanted to have the City of New York and City of Paris registered as American vessels flying the US flag. In a bid for support Clement Griscom (he also founded International Mercantile Marine), owner of Inman & International Line rebranded his company as the “American Line.”  Griscom promised his entire fleet to the Navy if needed for war as well.  However, Congress was willing to allow the change of registry and the mail subsidy only if the line ordered new tonnage built in the US line (only American-built ships were allowed to sail under the US flag).  

1:1250 scale model of St. Louis.

William Cramp & Sons Shipyard in Philadelphia built the new flagships of the line.  At 554 feet long and 11,629 GRT they were considerably smaller than many British and German competitors (and not much larger than their older fleet mates) but they were adequate to maintain the transatlantic service.  St. Louis was a classic steamship with two tall masts, stovepipe-like funnels and a weather deck running the full length of the hull.  The superstructure consisted of a three deckhouse arrangement behind a long forecastle, a design similar to other Atlantic liners such as Campania and Lucania.  

This overhead view shows the "classic" steamship design of the era-- two pencil funnels, tall masts, and divided superstructure.

The ships were completely American in terms of materials and labor, and as the contemporary journal Seabord. proclaimed, “They have the graceful, sweeping sheer and lively rise of bows which characterize American ships everywhere.”  While the ship’s external was pleasing to the eye, the propelling machinery was a disappointment.  Both ships required engine overhauls within the first year to improve the ship’s speed. The funnels needed reconfiguration as well because they did not provide adequate draught for the furnaces in 1896 and again in 1903.  

Quadruple expansion reciprocating engines under construction.  Unknown - Howell, G. Foster (1896). Howell's Steam Vessels and Marine Engines. p. 11. Image in the public domain, Wikimedia commons.

St. Louis was launched in November 1894 and sailed on her maiden voyage in June 1895.  Two months later a steam pipe exploded leaving five dead.  After that she sailed without mishap.  The St. Paul was launched in April 1894 and sailed in October 1895.  She had two major mishaps.  The first was a collision in 1900 with a submerged wreck.  She a propeller and the starboard engine was severely damaged.  The second collision was with the British cruiser Gladiator.  The warship sank with a loss of 27.

Despite these dramatic incidents, both ships settled into their routines.  The ships were comfortable and the American registry had an appeal for American travellers as well as emigrants leaving Europe. The main saloon was reminiscent of the old Inman liners with dark woodwork and domes.  The largest first class public rooms were situated between the funnels in the most stable part of the ship.  The oak-paneled library was among the largest rooms afloat in 1894 and there were numerous bath and toilet facilities in first and second class (although not in the individual cabins).  The steerage quarters were comfortable for the time and featured smaller cabins rather than large dormitories.   The ship carried enough lifeboat seats for all on board—something not required by law at the time.

Passing the Statue of Liberty, a Tri-Ang Minic model.

St. Louis saw action in the Spanish-American War (1898) as an armed merchant cruiser, disrupting merchant shipping in the Caribbean and enforcing the US Navy’s blockade of Cuba.  Although lightly armed, she participated in offshore bombardments as well.  Outfitted with heavy drag cables she severed undersea cables and transported Spanish POWs. After the war, she returned to the Atlantic run between New York and Liverpool.

Flying under the US flag was an added measure of security in the opening years of WWI when the US was ostensibly neutral in the conflict.  In April 1918, she was transformed into a troopship, renamed Louisville, and joined dozens of liners bringing American soldiers to France.  The following year she was brining veterans home.  She would never carry another paying passenger.

 

St. Louis or St. Paul underway.

In what seems to be a common theme for American passenger liners, she succumbed to a fire during her restoration to passenger service.  With a decline in passenger numbers and excess of tonnage, she was too expensive to refurbish.  In 1922, she was sold to investor with plans to transform her into a cruise liner. The plans fell through and she was again sold, this time to ship breakers in Italy and was scrapped in 1924.   St. Paul resumed commercial service after the war in 1920 but was laid up and then sold for scrap in 1923.

St. Louis (1895-1925) Built by Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia.  11,629 GRT, 554 feet long, 63 feet wide.  Steam quadruple expansion reciprocating engines, twin crew.  Service speed 19 knots.  As built she had capacity for 1,340 total passengers (320 first class, 220 second class, 800 steerage).

References

Stephen Fox, Transatlantic:  Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel, and the Great Atlantic Steamships

Arnold Kludas, Great Passenger Ships of the World: Volume 1:  1858-1912

William H. Miller, The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs