liner LA BOURGOGNE

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, 1886 - 1898

Design features

La Bourgogne (steel steamer with 4 masts) 1886 - 1898
hull material : ...................steel
previous name(s) of ship : ........
detailed type : ...................steel steamer with 4 masts
type of propulsion : ..............1 propeller
building year of ship : ...........1885
name of shipyard : ................Forges & Chantiers de la Méditerranée
place of construction : ...........La Seyne
year of entering the fleet : ......1886
length (in meters) : ..............150,00
width (in meters) : ...............15,96
gross tonnage (in tons) : .........7089
deadweight (in tons) : ............2905
type of engine : ..................compound 6 cylinders with variable expansion
engine power (in HP) : ............9000
nominal speed (in Knots) : ........17,5

History

Second of a series of four steamers all brought into service in 1886. Sistership: LA CHAMPAGNE, LA GASCOGNE and LA BRETAGNE. Brought into service in June 1886 on the line Le Havre-New York. In February 1896, enters in collision and sinks the AILSA, of Atlas Line. In 1897, she is equipped with new boilers and a quadruple expansion machine. Her funnels are raised. Two masts are removed. July 2, 1898, LA BOURGOGNE leaves New York for a new voyage with, on its board, more than 500 passengers and 200 members of crew. July 4, around 5 hours of the morning, the steamer enters in collision, during a very dense fog, with the sailing ship CROMARTYSHIRE who travelled towards Philadelphia. Under the shock, the lifeboats installed on starboard were destroyed. The ship tries to run aground but she plunges quickly and sinks one hour after the collision. 165 (or 184 following sources) survivors are collected by the CROMARTYSHIRE then transferred on steamer GRECIAN from Allan Line who takes the sailing ship in tow and joined Halifax. The accident caused the death of more than 500 people, which makes of it the worst catastrophe of the whole history of the company in time of peace.