FAMOUS PASSENGER STEAMER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, Issue LIV, 19 August 1920, Page 3

FAMOUS PASSENGER STEAMER

The life of the White Star liner Olympic, of 40,.*’,00 tons ‘gross (says The Times of dune Lkl), falls to date into throe main chapters. The first opened nine years ago, when she left Messrs H aria ml and Wolff's yard at .Belfast, the largest ship that had ever been built, to help make communication between Fit rope and the United Stales pleasant, easy, and quick. The second began • when war broke out, and she carried troops, first under tin' Bod Design, to Oalli-p-tli. and then, under the W bite Fn* sign, from -North America - to Funum. With everything that was not absolutely essential hacked out of her, and the hull strangely- camouflaged, she ran in /dg-/atg fashion. again ano again, the gauntlet of the submarines never being enite caught, hut ran*ining at least one before her war service was gloriously concluded. In those days the troops she carried wore numbered hv hundreds of thousands. No British ship did better work, and she lias nobly earned the respect and affection of lall the peoples of the nations who fought together. The third'chapter began ou.ihursday when, once more, in most auspicious circumstances, she slinpod away again from the famous Belfast yank For iii 3io months’ work has been pnv deeding in her. substituting an odhnrni"g equimueut for coal, and ra dap Hug her to peaceful service across the North Atlantic. Ne\V and beautiful fittings have boon built into nor, and the liner Ims been freshly ternished and upholstered. When she 1 ,>aves Routhnmuton next Saturday for New York site will he the first of th* greatest, liners _ to burn od m place of coal. This is as mie of t’e engiueeriug experts on hoard tae ship expressed it, an “oil age.” The Olympic has always been, m the forefront. Rho renresonted in her size a imv, tvpe of shin when she was hunt. Wday she has the. largest marine mlhurning installation m the work!.