SS Circassia Archival Collection
SS Circassia (1878) of the Anchor Line. Photo by John S. Johnston ca 1890. Published by Detroit Publishing Company. Library of Congress LCCN 2016805762. GGA Image ID # 20d525f2d4
Circassia (1878) Anchor Line
Built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Ltd., Barro w-in-Furnace, England. Tonnage: 4,272. Dimensions: 399' x 42'. Propulsion: Single-screw, 13 knots. Compound engines. Masts and Funnels: Three masts and one funnel. Maiden voyage: Glasgow-New York, July 11, 1878. Fate: Broken up in Germany in 1900. Running mates: Anchoria, Bolivia, Devonia and Ethiopia.
Refrigeration on the Circassia (1878) - 1911
The air machine invented by Dr. A. Kirk in 1862, and described by him in a paper on the " Mechanical Production of Cold " (Proc. Inst. C.E., xxxvii., 18 74, 2 44), is simply a reversed Stirling air engine, the air working in a closed cycle instead of being actually discharged into the room to be cooled, as is the usual practice with ordinary compressed air machines.
Kirk's machine was used commercially with success on a fairly large scale, chiefly for ice-making, and it is recorded that it produced about 4 pounds of ice for 1 pound of coal. In 1868 J. Davy Postle read a paper before the Royal Society of Victoria, suggesting the conveyance of meat on board ship in a frozen state by means of refrigerated air, and in 1869 he showed by experiment how it could be done; but his apparatus was not commercially developed.
In 1877 a compressed-air machine was designed by J. J. Coleman of Glasgow, and in the early part of 1879 one of his machines was fitted on board the Anchor liner "Circassia," which successfully brought a cargo of chilled beef from America-the first imported by the aid of refrigerating machinery, ice having been previously used.
Thomas Bell Lightfoot, "Refrigerating and Ice-making," in Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 23, 1911.
Circassia (1903) Anchor Line
Built by D. & W. Henderson & Co., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 6,861. Dimensions: 450' x 55'. Propulsion: Single-screw, 15 knots. Triple expansion engines. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and one funnel. Passengers: 60 cabin. Fate: Scrapped in 1931.
Circassia (1937) Anchor Line (British)
Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding Go., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 11,170. Dimensions: 483' x 66' (505' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin- screw, 16 1/2 knots. Motorship. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and one funnel. Passengers: 300 first class. Maiden Voyage: 23 October 1937. Service: Great Britain-India and Pakistan. War Service: Converted into Armed Merchant Cruiser, 1940. Troopship, 1942. Landing Ship, 1943. Post-War Service: Glasgow-Bombay. Final Voyage: 13 January 1966. Fate: Scraped in 1966. Sister ships: Cilicia and Caledonia.
Return to Content Links
1887-09-01 SS Circassia Passenger List
Steamship Line: Anchor Steamship Line
Class of Passengers: Second Class
Date of Departure: 1 September 1887
Route: Glasgow to New York via Moville
Commander: Captain A. Campbell
1890-07-12 SS Circassia Passenger List
Steamship Line: Anchor Steamship Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 12 July 1890
Route: New York to Glasgow via Moville
Commander: Captain John Hedderwick
Notable Passengers: Charles S. Venable
1897-08-12 SS Circassia Passenger List
Steamship Line: Anchor Steamship Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 12 August 1897
Route: Glasgow to New York via Moville
Commander: Captain G. C. Boothby
Return to Content Links
Anchor Line Transatlantic Steamship Tours Brochure - 1904
1904 brochure produced by the Anchor Line focuses on the most popular places of interest and principal cities of Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales. The booklet features beautiful color images. Many are reproduced on this page.
Return to Content Links
Anchor Steamship Line Sailing Schedule, 23 August 1884 to 18 October 1884
The SS Circassia, operated by Anchor Steamship Line, was scheduled for transatlantic voyages between 23 August 1884 to 18 October 1884.
Anchor Steamship Line Sailing Schedule, 31 July 1889 to 7 November 1889
The SS Circassia, operated by Anchor Steamship Line, was scheduled for transatlantic voyages between 31 July 1889 to 7 November 1889.
Anchor Steamship Line Sailing Schedule, 19 July 1890 to 29 November 1890
The SS Circassia, operated by Anchor Steamship Line, was scheduled for transatlantic voyages between 19 July 1890 to 29 November 1890.
Return to Content Links
A Century of Sea Travel: Personal Accounts from the Steamship Era
This book is a voyage through the life of the passenger steamship, a voyage described by travellers who sailed on these vessels, and it carries within it their thoughts and experiences, mirrored here in words and pictures.
Great Passenger Ships of the World 1936-1950
The 15 years from 1936 to 1950 are covered here in the fourth volume of the series. This was the period that saw the lifting of the worldwide recession of the early '30s and the introduction of the largest passenger vessel of all time, the famous Cunarder Queen Elizabeth, and the Wilhelm Gustloff, which was considered to be the first ship built for cruising in the modern sense.
Anchor Line - Merchant Fleets #9
It contains a chronology of the main events in the company's history and a complete fleet list, which includes detailed technical data and a brief history of each vessel—copiously illustrated with Haws' specially produced scale profile drawings.
Passenger Ships of the World - 1963
🎓 “A Global Voyage Through Steamship History for Historians, Genealogists, and Maritime Enthusiasts”
Eugene W. Smith’s Passenger Ships of the World – Past and Present (1963) is a masterfully curated encyclopedic reference that charts the rise, peak, and transformation of ocean-going passenger ships through nearly two centuries. Expanding upon his earlier Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific works, Smith offers a global maritime panorama that includes ships serving the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, as well as Canal routes and California-Hawaii shuttle lines.
🧭 This book is an essential resource for:
- Maritime historians seeking design evolution and fleet data
- Genealogists tracing voyages and shipping lines
- Educators and students studying transoceanic migration and tourism
- Ship modelers, naval architects, and enthusiasts interested in dimensions, tonnage, and speed
Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line
Ravenscrag is the story of the Allans and of the great line of sail and steamships which bore their name, dominating the Canadian Atlantic routes for more than a century and making a major contribution to Canadian history.
Return to Content Links
