SS Columbia (1880–1907) was a cargo and passenger steamship that was owned by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and later the San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company. Columbia was constructed in 1880 by the John Roach & Sons shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.
Columbia was the first ship to carry a dynamo powering electric lights instead of oil lamps and the first commercial use of electric light bulbs outside of Thomas Edison's Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory. Due to this, a detailed article and composite illustration of Columbia was featured in the May 1880 issue of Scientific American magazine.
Columbia was lost on 21 July 1907 after a collision with the lumber schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, with the loss of 88 lives.Dalton, Anthony A long, dangerous coastline : shipwreck tales from Alaska to California, Heritage House Publishing Company, 2011, 128 pages
History
Construction and outfitting After attending Thomas Edison's New Year's Eve lighting demonstration in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Henry Villard, president of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company became enthusiastic of Edison's work. Villard subsequently ordered an Edison Lighting System to be installed on his company's new passenger steamer, Columbia. Although met with hesitation by Edison himself, the project moved forward, making the installation onboard Columbia Edison's first commercial order for the light bulb. Columbia would also be the first ship to utilize a dynamo. The success of Columbia experimental dynamo system led to the system being retrofitted on to other vessels.
Columbia herself was ordered in July 1879 as Hull No. 193 at the John Roach & Sons Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works in Chester, Pennsylvania originally by the Oregon Steamship Company. That same year, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company had bought and merged the Oregon Steamship Company into its own operations. Construction of Columbia began in September 1879. Columbia was launched at 11:40 am on February 24, 1880. Both the Bureau Veritas and American Shipmasters' Association oversaw her construction. Roach himself refused to install the incandescent light bulbs on board Columbia in fear of a possible fire breaking out. In May 1880, Columbia sailed to New York City, where Edison's personnel installed the new lighting systems. The light bulbs were carried aboard in a shopping basket by Francis R. Upton, a chief assistant of Edison. The first lighting of the ship took place on May 2, 1880.
Maiden voyage Columbia finished her sea trials and sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco, California loaded with 13 locomotives, 200 railroad cars and other railroad supplies. Columbia made a stop in Rio de Janeiro to replenish her coal supply and was exhibited to Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, who had a fascination with electricity. While passing through the Straits of Magellan, the propeller shaft and rudder were checked using light bulbs attached to a tallow covered cable.
After arriving in San Francisco without incident, the original carbon paper filament bulbs were replaced by a shipment of newer bamboo filament bulbs, sent by Edison himself. The chief engineers of Columbia sent a letter of satisfaction to Edison complimenting the superior performance of the light system, stating that none of the lights gave out after 415 hours and 45 minutes of constant use. Columbia safely arrived in Portland on August 24, 1880. Despite this, insurance companies were reluctant at first to underwrite the brand new vessel.
Subsequent operations Columbia ran a regular service between Portland and San Francisco. When the paddle steamer was sunk by a storm in 1889, Columbia carried its captain and crew to Astoria.
The success of the Edison lighting systems onboard Columbia eventually convinced other shipping companies to install similar systems in their vessels, including the British Cunard Line. The next year, Cunard's SS Servia became the first major ocean liner to be lit up by the incandescent light bulb. In service, the Columbia was greatly appreciated for its reliability.
During a major overhaul in July 1895, the original Edison generators were removed in favor of modern counterparts. The dynamos were donated to the Smithsonian Institution and The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. Three years later, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company was taken over by the Union Pacific Railroad.
On January 30, 1898, the Columbia broke the speed record between San Francisco and Portland. Under the leadership of Captain Conway, she left her San Francisco dock at 10:09 am on January 28 and began travelling on a relatively calm ocean at a fast pace. On January 30 at 1:25 am, the Columbia passed the Columbia River lightship, but was delayed for 12 minutes due to fog. After the fog lifted, the Columbia reached Astoria at 3:20 am and arrived in Portland at 10:27 am. It had taken barely two days for Columbia to travel between Portland and San Francisco. Although the Columbia was delayed by one hour due to stopping a few times, she was able to shave one hour off the previous speed record.
Following the sale of its steamship, the Oregon in 1899, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company considered placing the Columbia and its fellow steamer, the State of California, into Alaskan service to Nome. On October 3, 1900, the Columbia was steaming slowly towards its dock in San Francisco, while the ferryboat Berkeley was preparing to leave her slip. Captain Peter A. Doran of the Columbia and Captain "Jim" Blaker of the Berkeley mis-interpreted each other's signals, which led to the Columbia colliding with the Berkeley, destroying one of the ferry's lifeboats and badly damaging the Columbia's bow. Both ships were taken out of service to be repaired following this incident. Another screw steamer owned by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, the George W. Elder, temporarily took over the Columbia's route. On September 14, 1902, the Columbia ran aground near Astoria due to low tide. She was subsequently refloated at high tide and returned to Portland the following night. In 1904, the Columbia and the George W. Elder transferred to a new Union Pacific subsidiary called the San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company. By this time, the Columbia was considered to be an outdated vessel.
In 1905, the new company was plagued by two unfortunate events. The George W. Elder struck a rock in the Columbia River and sank. She was later refloated and purchased by the North Pacific Steamship Company after being abandoned by her owners. The same year, the Columbia collided with a wood barge in the Columbia River, resulting in the ship being badly damaged. Although spared from a similar fate to the George W. Elder, she needed to be repaired in San Francisco. On February 1, 1906, the Columbia collided with a log raft on the Columbia River in dense fog. Luckily, the Columbia was not damaged in the incident. The fog however worsened enough to cause Captain Peter A. Doran to anchor the ship until the fog lifted.
Columbia was undergoing a refit at the Union Iron Works dock, when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake occurred. The quake caused Columbia to knock off its supports, roll on her starboard side and hit the dock. The ship's large iron hull was damaged filling it partially full of water. It took two months to make the temporary repairs to the vessel. Unfortunately, the hydraulic drydock being used by the Columbia had taken irreparable damage from the liner's iron hull. The drydock had been of great use to the shipyard. Columbia was sent to Hunter's Point for permanent repairs. Along the way, the crew abandoned ship after a steam pipe exploded. Columbia eventually made it to dry dock and repairs were finally done. During her absence, the Columbia was temporarily replaced by the steamer Costa Rica (also owned by the San Francisco and Portland Navigation Company) and the steamer Barracouta, which was being leased from the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Columbia was returned to service in January 1907. Soon after returning to service on January 17, 1907, the Columbia became trapped in an ice pack on the Columbia River for four days near St. Helens, Oregon. The steamship Aragonia attempted to break through the pack ice and free the Columbia on January 18. The efforts by the Aragonia were successful and allowed Columbia to steam free of the ice via the path Aragonia had cut for her. When Columbia returned to San Francisco, the ship appeared visibly unscathed.
Design and accommodations
Columbia, designed by shipwright Edward Faron, was about long with about visible above the waterline. She had a beam of and a depth of . She had two compound condensing steam engines with a and by stroke driving a single Hirsch four-bladed propeller with a diameter of . The propeller had a mean pitch of and could do 65 revolutions per minute. The blades of the propeller were able to be removed individually or all at once. Powering the engine were six boilers with a diameter of and a length of each. Each boiler had a working pressure of . Columbia was a coal-powered steamship, able to carry a maximum of 300 tons of coal within her bunkers. She had an estimated top speed of . She also carried a single donkey boiler and an auxiliary steam engine which powered the bilge and could supply water to the boilers should the fires break out of control. A second auxiliary steam engine powered the ship's electricity. Columbia had an auxiliary Brigantine rig sail plan with over of canvas. The sails would be rigged upon two iron masts.
Columbia had four decks, three of which were the Spar deck, Main deck and Hurricane deck. The Spar deck was completely of iron construction and the Main had a mix of wood and iron. All the decks had iron framing. Columbia had four watertight compartments. She also utilized electric fire alarms and annunciators with several hydrants in case of fire. Electric head and side lights were used for navigation. These navigational lights were powered by an auxiliary dynamo between decks. The navigational electric system was of Hiram Maxim's design, where the main electrical systems were Edison's. The bridge and engine room were able to communicate by telegraph. The cargo holds of Columbia were equipped with double steam-powered elevators.
The passenger comforts and amenities of Columbia were highly innovative and advertised as luxurious. She had a large refrigeration room in her stern for holding food items such as fresh meat. The large refrigerator was capable of keeping a constant cold temperature regardless of the outside temperature. Columbia also included ventilation and heating systems. The main saloon included a Bohemian glass shade illuminated by an electric light bulb. The remainder of the saloon's light bulbs were encased in frosted glass lamp fixtures. The main dining room boasted French walnut, Hungarian ash, mahogany and maple wooden paneling. Wooden furniture and carpeting further complimented the room's elegance. Telephones were provided in key rooms to allow easier communication between the ship's crew. The bridge was fitted with electrical indicators and monitoring equipment which would have alerted the captain the status of the engine as well as simplifying commands between the captain and engine room. Columbia had first-class staterooms for 250 individuals and could accommodate 600 steerage passengers. The first-class staterooms had paneling and furniture commonly seen on first-class Pullman rail cars on passenger trains, including folding berths in place of conventional beds. Columbia also boasted fresh-water plumbing still system.