History |
|
|
|
RETURN TO
THE HOMEPAGE
S/S SANTA ROSA 1932
|
|
Grace Line
was founded in 1865 by William Russell Grace. The Santa
Rosa was part of a quartet of liners
built for Grace Line's "Route of Romance" intercoastal service from New
York to California via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. This service
had its origins in the Panama Mail Company's New York to San Francisco
service started in 1923. Design and Construction (1932 - 1933): Santa Rosa
and her sisters were designed by the Gibbs & Cox (who later went on
to design the S.S. America and the S.S. United States). William Francis
Gibbs had also designed the Malolo (1926) for Matson Line. The
quartet
were built at the Federal
Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in New Jersey. These ships had some
general resemblance to
Malolo (1926), with her great beam and low stern. They were 9,100 tons
gross, roughtly 580 ft long and 72 ft wide and were powered by steam
turbines and could carry 300 passengers. They boasted two innovations;
the sampan, or winged funnel designed by William Francis Gibbs, and a
dining
room situated on the Promenade Deck between the two funnels with a roll
back ceiling. This meant that passengers could dine beneath the
tropical stars. Grace Line also employed waitresses instead of
stewards. Their
power plants were at
the time second to none in efficiency. Each of the water tube steam
generators
with a pressure of 430 lbs. produced 6000 hp. and each ship could make
18-1/2
knots with only three boilers active. The main engines were double
reduction
turbines. The screws turned inward, and for this reason were very
awkward to manoeuvre.
The passenger capacity of the The Prewar Grace Line era (1932 - 1939): In 1936
the
intercoastal service was closed and the sisters transferred to the
Caribbean service. The War Years (1939 - 1947): During the
Second World War the quartet were requisitioned by the US Government.
Sadly only two of the sisters survived the Second
World War - Santa Rosa and Santa Paula. The Postwar Grace Line era (1947 - 1958): The Santa Rosa resumed the Caribbean service after the Second World War on the 7th February 1947, soon followed by the return of the Santa Paula on the 2nd May. The Santa Rosa and her surviving sister, Santa Paula, continued in service until replaced by the new Santa Rosa and Santa Paula in 1958. The Final Years (1958 - 1989): However in 1978 Lord Lew Grade was making the "Raise the Titanic" film, based on the book by Clive Cussler, and was looking for a suitable ship to film the interiors of the Titanic on. It was decided that the former Santa Rosa was a perfect candidate. So the ship was awoken from her long slumber and in 1978-9 the name Titanic was painted on her bows and she was used for the filming. Sadly the film was a flop and the former Santa Rosa returned to her slumber for a further few years until 1989 when she was towed off for scrapping at Aliaga. |
|
(c) The AJN Transport Britain Collection 2007 A TRANSPORT BRITAIN WEBSITE |