Bristol City Line

Early steamship services

Bristol City Line started a regular transatlantic steamship service between Bristol and New York in 1879. On 23 February 1900 the second SS Bath City was wrecked on Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. On 31 January 1904 the first SS Boston City collided with SS Colardo and was beached off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. She was refloated but sold.

First World War

On 19 August 1915 the German submarine shelled and sank the second about 40 miles off Fastnet Rock. On 30 August 1917 sailed from New York and was lost. On 18 December 1917 torpedoed the second off the south coast of Ireland with the loss of 30 lives. On 2 January 1918 torpedoed and sank the second in St. George's Channel.

Between the wars

In January 1933 the second was abandoned in a gale and sank about 600 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The company added a service to Canada in the same year.

Second World War

On 1 July 1941 the first was serving as a weather ship in the Atlantic when torpedoed and sank her with the loss of all hands. On 21 December 1942 torpedoed and sank the first in the Atlantic. On 5 May 1943 torpedoed and sank the third SS .

Post war operations and takeover

The company extended its Canadian service to the Great Lakes in 1958.

In 1970 the company's first container ship was launched.

References

References

1. Greenway, Ambrose. (2011). "Cargo Liners: An Illustrated History". Seaforth Publishing.
2. (2 April 2006). "Bristol City Line". S. Swiggum.
3. The early years of the service were troubled by shipwrecks. The first SS ''Bristol City'' sailed from New York on 28 December 1880 and was lost. Just under a year later, on 3 December 1881, her [[sister ship]] the first SS ''Bath City'' sprang a leak off [[Grand Banks]], Newfoundland and sank. 14 months after that, on 23 February 1883 the first SS ''Gloucester City'' struck an ice floe and sank. On 10 February 1887 the first SS ''Wells City'' collided with the SS ''Lone Star'' in the [[Hudson River]] and sank. She was salvaged but sold. In July 1893 ''Llandaff City'' successfully towed the crippled transatlantic Liner ''Olympia'' with 250 passengers aboard after the latter had been drifting for four days with a broken shaft.Dundee Courier – Thursday 20 July 1893