The Beautiful "New York"

​Editor's Note: The following essay is by author and steamboat scholar Richard V. Elliott (1934-2014). His two volume history of Hudson River Steamboats "The Boats of Summer" is coming soon from Schiffer Publishing. 

Steamboat "New York" at Yonkers Recreation Pier. Richard V. Elliott Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum

The Albany Day Line's success with the famous Albany of 1880 led to the creation of a grand sister-ship named New York. With her addition to the Line the company had two fine, big and speedy paddle wheel day passenger steamers each named for a terminal of their Hudson River service. The Álbany's´sister was completed in 1887, some seven years later. Though she has been traditionally regarded as a true sister-ship, they were markedly different in appearance.

The New York was designed with her three stacks running athwartships as on the Albany and the C. Vibbard, but unlike the other two, her stacks were located forward of the paddlewheels, while the others had the opposite arrangement. Ironically, many people of the day regarded the New York's design as "backwards" and the Albany's style to be "correct." Historically, however, this general local opinion does not seem to have a firm foundation, since a good many of the contemporary steamboats throughout the northeast section of the U.S. had been designed with stacks forward, followed in order by the walking beam and paddlewheels last. This was true to an extent on the Hudson River as well, but some folks from other areas regarded the Hudson River development of wheels, walking beam and stacks aft to be out of the ordinary. Looking at photographs of the New York, however, the location of the boat's wheels do seem to be somewhat extraordinarily near the stern. The New York's lines, especially her hull lines, were streamlined and graceful and she was as fast as the lines suggested that she would be.

Much expected and delivered on Maiden Trip
Costing some $250,000 and equipped with 4,000 horsepower in a fine hull, much was expected of the New York's performance, by the Albany Day Line and the contemporary steamboat conscious traveling public as well. One New York newspaper heralded the news of her 1887 maiden voyage up the Hudson River in the following detailed description: "The new steamboat New York, with a thousand passengers on board, made her first regular trip up the Hudson to-day, and was enthusiastically received at all points by shouts and cheers, bells ringing and whistles blowing. She left New York at 9:40 a.m. and was two minutes behind at Yonkers, twelve minutes ahead of time at Stony Point, and made West Point, fifty miles from New York at 11:40 a.m. She ran from Hampton Point to Milton, five miles against tide and wind, in thirteen minutes or at the rate of 23 miles per hour, and a fraction and from Milton to Poughkeepsie, four miles in 10 minutes, or at a rate of 24 miles per hour." She had made the 50 mile distance to West Point in two hours flat, making her average for this stretch of the trip some 25 miles per hour, an accomplishment many of the modern steamboats and diesels operating on the Hudson River in modern days would envy. Many of today's motorists still don't make the trip in as good time. New York proved she was a top-ranking "flyer" on the Hudson on her first trip and kept that reputation for the rest of her days.

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