S.S. (RMS†) Lucania - The Luxury Cruise Ship That Brought the Langen Family to America

On 11 Oct 1902, Herman LANGEN and his son, Andrew Albert LANGEN boarded the S.S. Lucania in Liverpool, England. On 12 Oct, 1902, after picking up additional passengers in Queenstown, Ireland, the ship departed, arriving in New York on 19 Oct 1902.

S. S. Lucania

The Lucania was built in 1893 by Fairfield Shipbuilding Companie in Glasgow for Liverpool to New York service. She measured 622 feet long and 65 feet 3 inches wide. Her average speed was 21 knots (max 23 knots), produced by two 5-cylinder, triple expansion engines that generated 30,000 HP. She had a crew of 415-424 and accommodation for 600 1st class, 400 2nd class and 1,000 3rd class passengers (2,000 total passengers).

S. S. Lucania, and her sister S. S. Campania (built in 1892) had rendered all other liners obsolete, setting a new standard for both spead and appearance. On her maiden voyage (2 Sep 1893) Lucania set a new record crossing from Liverpool to New York, breaking the record of Campania. The two ships continued to set new speed records until 1898, when the newly built German Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse passed them.

First Class Smoking Room

In their day, Lucania and her sister offered the most luxurious 1st class passenger accomodation available. It was Victorian oppulence at its peak – an expression of a highly confident and prosperous age that would never be quite repeated on any other ship. All the 1st class public rooms, and the en suite staterooms of the upper deck, were generally heavily panelled, in oak, satinwood, or mahogany; and thickly carpeted. Velvet curtains hung asside the windows and portholes, while the furniture was richly upholstered in matching design. The predominant style was Art Nouveau, although other styles were also in use, such as French Renaissance, which was applied to the forward 1st class entrance hall, while the 1st class smoking room was in Elizabethan style, comprising heavy oak panels surrounding the first open fireplace ever to be used aboard a passenger liner.

First Class Dining Room

In 1901 Lucania became the first Cunard liner to be fitted with a Marconi wireless system, followed a few months later by Campania. Shortly after these installations, the two ships made history by exchanging the first wireless transmitted ice bulletin; and two years after that, Lucania made history again, this time by publishing on board newspaper based on information received by wireless telegraphy while at sea. The newspaper was called Cunard Daily Bulletin and quickly became a success.

In 1906/1907, two new Cunard ships were built, the S.S. Lucitania and the S.S. Mauretania. The Lucania voyages gradually decreased and her last voyage was 7 Jul 1909. On 14 Aug 1909 fire raged through the entire vessel. As firefighters poured water into her, she took on a list, and by the early hours of the next morning she took on a severe list. Tugs worked to right the vessel and she was taken out into the middle of the dock where she settled into the mud. She was beyond economic repair, the end had finally come. It was found that her massive engines had escaped undamaged and so, with the diginity she deserved, it was under her own steam that Lucania progressed to Ward's breakers yard in Swansea, Wales, there to be slowly cut up.

---

^†RMS (the abbreviation for Royal Mail Ship) is the prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. Technically, a ship would use the prefix only while contracted to carry mail, and would revert at others times to a standard type designation, such as S.S. (steam ship). Having the title RMS was seen as a mark of quality and a competitive advantage, because the mail had to be on time.

IMAGES of S. S. LUCANIA

(click photo to enlarge)