52 
COMMERCIAL YEAR BOOK OF THE 
The other Canadian lines—the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. and the Dominion 
Line—have been established at the port for many years, and their attentions are confined 
to cargo carrying. The Canadian Pacific Company’s service may claim to have had no 
small influence in hastening the construction of the Royal Edward Dock. In days when 
it was in the hands of Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Company, and when the late Sir Alfred 
Jones was Chairman of the undertaking, the building of the Montcalm and other large 
vessels for the direct line between Avonmouth and Canada proved the necessity for more 
adequate dock accommodation, and the enterprise since lauded by visitors from all parts 
of the world was the result. Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Company’s fleet was afterwards 
purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway Co., and while the passenger business has 
been concentrated at Liverpool, the Avonmouth line has continued to play an important 
part in the cargo-carrying business of the port,, The Montcalm and Monmouth have of 
late practically confined their attention to this service, and in addition recent visits have 
been paid by the Montrose, the Montreal, and the Milwaukee. The last-named vessel 
is one of the most capacious steamships which Avonmouth has accommodated, and she 
has discharged one of the largest cargoes of grain on record at the port. The Dominion 
Line, with four vessels, is able to maintain something like a ten-day service with the 
St. Lawrence, and, with three boats, a fortnightly service in the winter, when Portland (Me.) 
is used as the American terminal. The Turcoman, Welshman, Englishman, and Manxman 
are the steamers generally engaged in this service. They have a very large carrying 
capacity, and each has a net tonnage of over 3,000, the Turcoman being the largest with 3,683. 
A line of particular interest is that known as the Bristol City Line, which operates 
between the Bristol Channel ports and New York. The headquarters of this fleet of 
six steamers are at Bristol, and, except on very rare occasions, they are berthed at the 
City Docks. In a still greater sense is Bristol the “home” of this line, for several of 
them were built on the banks of the floating harbour. The Bristol City, which is the 
largest but one in the matter of net tonnage, was one of these, and not since she took 
the water more than a decade ago has there been any extensive shipbuilding at the port. 
The largest and newest of the vessels is the New York City, of just under 2,000 tons net. 
The line maintains a service every seven or ten days, and not long ago an arrangement 
was entered into with the Hamburg-American Line whereby goods sent from Bristol 
may be trans-shipped at New York to the steamers of the Atlas Service for delivery at 
practically any of the islands of the Caribbean Sea. 
The fifth link with the American continent is of an altogether different character. 
The steamers are those of Messrs. Elders & Fyffes, Ltd., and they are engaged almost 
entirely in the banana trade with the West Indies and Central America. The firm have 
recently extended the fleet and the largest steamers are employed on the Avonmouth 
service. The most recent addition is a handsome liner—the Chagres—completed in the 
autumn of 1912. She differs from her predecessors in having accommodation for a large 
number of passengers, and a slightly larger carrying capacity for cargo. Next come 
the Manzanares and Aracataca, which were finished in 1911. The other American line 
links Bristol with the Pacific ports, and this is a direction from which Bristol is expecting 
greater things when the Panama Canal is opened. At present the steamers of the Maple 
Leaf Line have to make the long voyage round the southern extremity of the continent. 
The first steamer on the service was the Queen Alexandra, which docked at Avonmouth 
early in 1912. The vessels themselves call for no particular notice, all of them being of 
moderate size and a serviceable type. 
With regard to Australasia, the vessels on this service include the largest using 
the port, and this trade provides a very substantial tonnage total every month. A 
number of shipowners are represented by the vessels which visit the port, but there 
is an arrangement amongst them, and the term “ Federal-Shire Line ” embraces 
them all. In quite recent times three new steamers—the Argyllshire, Shropshire, and 
the Wiltshire—have been built, and each started her maiden voyage from Avonmouth. 
Their gross tonnage is about 11,000, and the Argyllshire, with a net tonnage of 6,610, is the 
largest in that respect. There are regular monthly sailings by this line between the principal 
Australian ports and the Western ports of England, which include Bristol. A monthly 
service with New Zealand is also maintained, and for these boats Bristol is the first port 
of call in England on the homeward journey.