Smithsonian Institution The William Steinway Diary: 1861-1896
Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Travel by Ship and Railroad
print this page
Transatlantic travel from New York to Bremen.
The Steinway family departed by steamship for Bremen (Germany) via Southampton (England) on May 9, 1888.(Diary, 1888-05-09) (1) The family sailed on the Steamship Lahn, the newest and fastest addition to the North German Lloyd Line's fleet, and made the crossing from New York to Southampton in eight days. Newspaper coverage of the SS Lahn's maiden voyage a few months earlier were full of praise, as was William when he wrote "The Lahn proves a magnificently appointed steamer, steady and very fast and elegantly furnished."(Diary, 1888-05-10)(2)
The eight-day crossing from New York to Southampton was rather uneventful, other than occasional rough seas. William's diary entries were brief and most often involved noting the number of miles sailed each day, the weather, who was affected by seasickness, and how well he was playing skat. He only mentioned working one afternoon.(Diary, 1888-05-14) William left the ship when it reached Southampton in order to tend to business in London.(Diary, 1888-05-17) The rest of the family continued on to Bremen (Germany), the ship's destination, and William's wife and children went to stay with his wife's family in Dresden.
From Bremen to New York. The return trip from Europe to New York in October was on the Steamship Trave, a ship that was also part of the North German Lloyd Line. William's wife Ellie and children, as well as Louisa A Steinway and her family, boarded the SS Trave in Bremen. William joined them when the ship reached Southampton, as did Eddie Kreischer, wife and son. (Diary, 1888-10-11) It was an uneventful 8-day trip across the Atlantic for William, and he noted with pleasure that one evening he sang several songs "amid great applause."(Diary, 1888-10-17) However, Ellie was quite sick for the entire trip, and William noted that she "has to consult” a doctor when they returned home. In fact, Ellie was pregnant and the doctor advised "caution and freedom from excitement."(Diary, 1888-10-20)
The dramatic impact of steam-powered engines on the speed of ships crossing the Atlantic can be seen from the fact that on the same day that William's steamship arrived in New York, a sailing cargo ship arrived in New York also from London, having taken 34 days to make the crossing.(5)
Travel by railroad in Europe.
By 1888 railroad systems were well developed in both England and Germany allowing travelers to move between distant places with ease.(3)(4) This suited William Steinway very well. With the exception of his stays in London and at two health spas, William rarely spent more that a few days in any one place during his long stay in Germany. Trains were his primary mode of transportation, and in his diary William carefully noted every trip he took -- both long-distance trains between major cities and local trains for trips to smaller towns.
Because William often recorded both departure and arrival times it is possible to see just how long various trips took. For example,
* Between the port of Southampton (where transatlantic ships docked) and London was a trip of about 2 to 2-1/2 hours.(Diary, 1888-05-17, 10-11)
* Between Braunschweig (William's home base in Germany) and Berlin was a trip of about 4-1/2 to 5 hours.(Diary, 1888-06-14, 09-17)
* From Berlin to Dresden (home of his wife Ellie's family) the trip took about 3-1/2 hours.(Diary, 1888-06-16, 09-20)
* From Braunschweig to Hamburg (location of the Steinway factory) the trip took about 4 hours.(Diary, 1888-09-09)
The land/sea journey between London and Europe.
It was an overnight experience to travel between London and key cities in Europe. William could leave one city by train in the evening, cross the channel by ship, and arrive by train in the other city sometime the next morning. This meant that businessmen could potentially miss only about a half day of work.
* Trip from London to Europe. William left London at 8 pm and arrived at his first stop in Europe -- Antwerp, Belgium -- at 7:24 am the next morning, a trip of 11-1/2 hours.(Diary, 1888-06-05)
* Trip from Europe to London. On his return to London, William left Cologne, Germany, at 10:47 pm by train and arrived at Charing Cross Station in London at 12:30 pm -- a 14 hour trip (this included a 3 hour 14 minute crossing of the channel by steamship).(Diary, 1888-10-03,10-04)
[kam]
Sources:
1. "City and Suburban News," The New York Times, May 9, 1888, p.3.
2. "Her First Trip a Fast One, The New North German Lloyd Steamship Lahn," The New York Times, February 11, 1888, p.8.
3. Mitchell, Allen, Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry 1815-1914. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000.
4. O'Brien, Patrick, ed. Railways and the Economic Development of Western Europe, 1830-1914. New York: St Martins Press, 1983.
5. Ship Theodore Fischer, in "Marine Intelligence," The New York Times, October 20, 1888, p.6.
