Wikipedia

SS City of Cork

SS City of Cork was an iron-hulled British single-screw steamer passenger liner completed for the Inman Line in 1863. She was sold to Italy in 1871 and renamed Mediterraneo, remaining in service until c. 1900, when she was scrapped.

City of Cork
History
Name
  • City of Cork (1863–1871)
  • Mediterraneo (1871–1900)
Owner
Port of registry
RouteTrans-Atlantic route
Ordered1862
BuilderWilliam Denny & Co.
Yard number86
Launched22 November 1862
Maiden voyage21 March 1863
Identification
FateScrapped in 1900
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage1,546 GRT, 1,084 NRT
Length227 feet (69 m)
Beam33 feet (10 m)
Depth26 feet (7.9 m)
Installed power2-cylinder direct-acting engine, 166nhp
Propulsionsingle screw propeller
Speed10 knots
Capacity60 1st, 150 3rd class

Description

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City of Cork was built by William Denny & Co., Dumbarton, United Kingdom, as yard number 86.[1][2][3] She was laid down on 12 July 1862 as a speculation for Denny's and the Glasgow shipowner P. Henderson & Company, and launched without name on 22 November.[1]

The ship was 227 feet (69 m) long, with a beam of 33 feet (10 m) and a depth of 26 feet (7.9 m).[4] She was assessed at 1,546 GRT,[5][6] 1,084 NRT.[2] Her capacity was 60 first class and 150 third class passengers.[2]

City of Cork was "fitted by John F. Spencer" with two "direct acting engines" which were "of the inverted type working with surface-condensers," with the condenser "between the two engines, and assisted to support the cylinders." It was reported that the ship "only consumed 2 lb (0.91 kg) of coal per indicated horsepower per hour."[7] Both cylinders were of 50 inches (130 cm) diameter by 36 inches (91 cm) stroke. The engine was rated at 166nhp and 830ihp, making over 10 knots on trials.[1][2]

Inman Line service

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The liner's addition to the Liverpool, Philadelphia and New York Steamship Company (Inman Line) passenger and mail service was announced in March 1863.[8][9] She was readied at Liverpool for her maiden voyage, departing on 21 March 1863 for Queenstown and New York.[10] The addition of City of Cork, along with the similarly named City of London, City of Limerick and City of Dublin, to the Inman Line in 1863 allowed the fleet to run transatlantic trips three times a fortnight and eventually twice a week and to include a call at Halifax, Nova Scotia.[11]

On 17 May 1865, sailing from New York, she arrived in Queenstown with damaged machinery. In leaving under tow to Liverpool for repairs she collided with the liner Helvetia of the National Steam Navigation Company, Liverpool.[12][13]

Inman Line's City of Washington become disabled on 5 April 1866, in mid-Atlantic, 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) west of Ireland, after losing her rudder and propeller. Her passengers were taken off and brought to Queenstown, but the casualty drifted in heavy gales for 23 days until City of Cork encountered her and, with some difficulty, took her in tow towards the Irish port, and subsequently onwards to Liverpool.[14][15]

On 26 May 1868, City of Cork, from Liverpool for Halifax, was again disabled, this time by a broken propeller shaft, 210 nautical miles (390 km; 240 mi) west of Queenstown, but was able to reach there under sail alone after two days.[16]

Italian service

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In 1871, City of Cork was sold to I. & V. Florio, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.[4] She was renamed Mediterraneo and sailed from Liverpool on 7 September for Palermo in ballast.[17]

On 12 March 1876, she was badly damaged, including losing her bowsprit, when she collided with the anchored Cunard liner Saragossa off Livorno.[18]

The Florio company merged with the Genoa-based Compagnia Rubattino in 1881 and formed Navigazione Generale Italiana. Mediterraneo served until the late 1890s. The ship was sold in second quarter of 1899 to be scrapped.[2][19]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Lyon, David John (1975). The Denny List, Part I. Greenwich, London: National Maritime Museum. p. 77.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "City of Cork". Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Archived from the original on 4 April 2026. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Record of American and Foreign Shipping. New York: American Shipmasters' Association. 1872. p. 138.
  4. 1 2 Preble, George Henry (1895). A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation. L. R. Hamersly & Company. p. 358.
  5. ↑ Harbord, Edward (1868). The Origin, Progress, and Present State of the Birkenhead Docks: Together with a Brief Account of a Scheme for a Naval Dockyard at Tranmere. Harbord, Johnston, and Hiles, Birkenhead and Liverpool. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  6. ↑ But other sources such as Preble, A Chronological History (1895) give 1547.
  7. ↑ Halliday, G. (January 1901). "Marine Engineering and Shipbuilding". Feilden's Magazine. IV (1): 118.
  8. ↑ "Sale of Steamships". Glasgow Saturday Post. No. 1844. 14 March 1863. p. 8. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Arrival of the Asia". The New York Times. 29 March 1863. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "The New Steamer City of Cork". The Express. No. 3803. Dublin. 24 March 1863. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ Preble, George (1895). "Origin and Developments of Steam Navigation". The United Service. XIII: 241. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Five Days later from Europe". The New York Times. 30 May 1865. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Collision in the Harbour". Cork Examiner. No. 4853. 20 May 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ↑ Parker, H; Bowen, Frank C. (1928). Mail and Passenger Steamships of the Nineteenth Century: The Macpherson Collection with Iconographical and Historical Notes. London: Marston & Co. p. 71.
  15. ↑ "Arrival of the City of Washington". The Times. No. 25493. London. 9 May 1866. p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via Gale.
  16. ↑ "The Accident to the City of Cork". Liverpool Weekly Courier. No. 75. 6 June 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "Shipping Itelligence". Shipping and Mercantile Gazette. No. 10621. London. 8 September 1871. p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ↑ "Foreign". Lloyd's List. No. 19312. London. 16 March 1876. p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ↑ "1st April to 30th June 1899" (PDF). Returns of Vessels Totally Lost, Condemned &c. London: Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping: 5. November 1899. Retrieved 5 April 2026.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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