136 Book of Steamships 



although efforts were being made to float 

 her at the time this was written, there 

 was some doubt as to whether the fine 

 old ship would be actually got off the 

 rocks. 



Returning again to the " family tree ", 

 there is an entry 1879 which gives the 

 names of two steamships, the Arizona and 

 Buenos Ayrean. There is not a great deal 

 to record of the latter, except that she was 

 the first liner of any size to be built of 

 steel, and thus mark another step towards 

 the monsters of to-day, for it is the use of 

 steel which has made possible the large 

 hull. The Arizona , however, was one of 

 the most famous fliers of the 'eighties, and 

 for a time held the Blue Riband of the 

 Atlantic. She was built for the Guion 

 Line, a name now forgotten, but very 

 well known in those days of intensive 

 rivalry upon what is often called the 

 ' herring pond ". 



The Guion Line was not happy about 

 the White Star's annexation of the speed 



