Inman Line

The Inman Line was one of the three largest 19th-century British passenger shipping companies on the North Atlantic, along with the White Star Line and Cunard Line. Founded in 1850, it was absorbed in 1893 into American Line. The firm's formal name for much of its history was the Liverpool, Philadelphia and New York Steamship Company, but it was also variously known as the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company, as Inman Steamship Company, Limited, and, in the last few years before absorption, as the Inman and International Steamship Company.

By embracing new technology, Inman Line became the first to show that unsubsidized ocean liners could profitably cross the North Atlantic. With its first steamer, City of Glasgow of 1850, Inman led the drive to replace wood-hulled paddle steamers with iron-hulled screw-propelled ships. In 1852, Inman established that steerage passengers could be transported in steamships. Inman's City of Paris of 1866 was the first screw liner that could match the speed of the paddlers. By 1870, Inman landed more passengers in New York than any other line.

In 1886, the US-owned International Navigation Company bought the company. The new owners began updating the express fleet with two Blue Riband winners, City of New York and the second City of Paris, ushering in the double-screw era that ended the need for auxiliary sails.

The Inman Line had its roots in a line of sailing packets owned by John Grubb Richardson and his brothers along with their young business partner, William Inman (1825–81). In 1850, Inman persuaded his partners to form the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company and buy an advanced new ship, City of Glasgow. She proved profitable because her iron hull required less repair, and her screw propulsion system left more room for passengers and freight. City of Glasgow's moderate speed considerably reduced coal consumption. The ship's first voyage for her new owners departed for Philadelphia on 17 December 1850. The next year, she was joined by a larger edition, City of Manchester.

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