The Inman Line was one of the three largest 19th-century British passenger shipping companies on the North Atlantic, along with the White Star Line and Cunard Line. Founded in 1850, it was absorbed in 1893 into American Line. The firm's formal name for much of its history was the Liverpool, Philadelphia and New York Steamship Company, but it was also variously known as the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company, as Inman Steamship Company, Limited, and, in the last few years before absorption, as the Inman and International Steamship Company.
By embracing new technology, Inman Line became the first to show that unsubsidized ocean liners could profitably cross the North Atlantic. With its first steamer, of 1850, Inman led the drive to replace wood-hulled paddle steamers with iron-hulled screw-propelled ships. In 1852, Inman established that steerage passengers could be transported in steamships. Inman's of 1866 was the first screw liner that could match the speed of the paddlers. By 1870, Inman landed more passengers in New York than any other line.
In 1886, the US-owned International Navigation Company bought the company. The new owners began updating the express fleet with two Blue Riband winners, and the second , ushering in the double-screw era that ended the need for auxiliary sails.
History
1850–66
The Inman Line had its roots in a line of sailing packets owned by John Grubb Richardson and his brothers along with their young business partner, William Inman (1825–81). In 1850, Inman persuaded his partners to form the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company and buy an advanced new ship, . She proved profitable because her iron hull required less repair, and her screw propulsion system left more room for passengers and freight. City of Glasgows moderate speed considerably reduced coal consumption. The ship's first voyage for her new owners departed for Philadelphia on 17 December 1850. The next year, she was joined by a larger edition, .
In 1852, the Inman broke new ground by transporting steerage passengers under steam. As Irish Quakers, the Richardsons were concerned about the poor conditions experienced by U.S.-bound emigrants, who traveled by sailing ship with unpredictable passage times. Steerage passengers were required to bring their own food, and often ran short. In 1836, Diamond lost 17 of her 180 steerage passengers to starvation when the ship required 100 days to make the crossing. From the beginning, Inman provided better steerage quarters and adopted the recommendation of a Parliamentary Committee to provide cooked meals to emigrants. As a result, Inman was able to charge steerage rates of 8 guineas, while the fastest sailing packets charged 4 to 6 guineas. During the period, Inman liners typically carried 500 passengers, 80 per cent in steerage.
Disaster struck the new firm in 1854 when the company lost both with all hands and the brand new , albeit with no loss of life. The remaining liner, the City of Manchester, was chartered to the French government for the Crimean War, along with three more liners that were completed or bought in 1855. The Richardsons withdrew from the firm because of its involvement with the war, and William Inman assumed full control.
At the end of the war, Inman resumed service to Philadelphia. However, New York was now the primary gateway to the west, and Inman decided to alternate between the two ports. The firm's name was changed to the Liverpool, Philadelphia and New York Steam Ship Company, but all ships were routed to New York after its SS Kangaroo was trapped by ice in the Delaware River. Until 1857, the firm ran a fortnightly service from Liverpool. That same year Collins Line collapsed, and Inman succeeded it as the mail contractor for the United States Post Office. In 1859, a call at Queenstown was added to pick up Irish emigrants. The next year Inman ran a weekly service, increasing in 1863 to three sailings every fortnight, and twice a week during summer in 1866.