142 Book of Steamships 



and these ships could keep up well over 

 20 knots. Perhaps this does not look at 

 first sight a very great increase on that of 

 the two Cunarders just dealt with, but in 

 point of fact every half knot attained 

 means a much greater coal bill. In those 

 days coal was cheap, and therefore it was 

 not so important a factor as now, even so, 

 however cheap it may have been, there is 

 no question but that the cost of running 

 a twenty-knotter showed a very substan- 

 tial increase on that of a slightly slower 

 vessel. 



The Cities, as they came to be called, 

 were both built in the yards of J. & G 

 Thomson upon the Clyde. They were 

 without doubt the handsomest pair of 

 liners which have ever been seen, for they 

 had beautiful lines, clipper bows, and 

 three raking funnels, together with some 

 towering masts. As soon as the Cities got 

 into service they brought down the cros- 

 sing to less than six days, breaking every 

 record. They had a length of 560 ft., a 



