Liverpool Picturebook

Originally Posted by Bob Edwards

Canadian Pacific Ships

In the early 1880s, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) negotiated with the Government of the United Kingdom to establish trans-Pacific steamship routes between Vancouver and the Far East. The trans-Pacific services of Canadian Pacific were begun by Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the Canadian-American builder of the railroad network in 1887. In that year, Sir William chartered three vessels from Cunard Line; the SS Abyssinia, the SS Parthia, and the SS Batavia—as a beginning of the CP fleet. The agency for chartering and managing the ships was secured by Adamson, Bell and Company for the first three years. When the new shipping line had shown to be profitable, Canadian Pacific decided not to renew the contract with Adamson, Bell and Company and to run the line itself.

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