Eλευσίς [Tasso, Eleusis, Photios]
Eleusis was one of the prettiest Greek ships of the pre-1930 era, yet also one of the little known ones.... Like other Greek passenger ships of later times she was built for the Norwegian trade (like Ionion, Aegeus, Rena, etc). When she was bought by Morphy & Crowe for Greek service, this was a major event! But she had a rather short 5-year service in Greece due to the wars, and some technical problems arising from a 1911 accident (see below)... She was scuttled in only her 30th year...
Here she is in 1910 (as Tasso), just three years before she came in Greece. {Ok, ok, the painter exaggerated a bit!}
Tasso0.jpg
Eleusis was built in May 1890 as the cargo and passenger ship Tasso by Earle's shipyard in Hull, central east England... She had 1,388 tons, a lengthof 76.2 m and a width of almost 10 m. Her service speed was 12.5 knots. She belonged to Th.Wilson, Sons & Co Ltd, Hull, England. Her name was not related to any Greek Tasso but to the poet Torquato Tasso.
Here is her Miramar entry.
From 1891 to 1899 she was used mostly as a cargo ship with about 150 passengers. During that period she was going mostly from Trondheim to Christiansund, Aalesund and then Hull, England, thus providing a much needed connection between Western Norway and Central/Northern England, always for the Wilson Line. In 1896 she started adding stops in Bergen and Stavanger. This is how she looked in those daysIDNo: 1095829 Year: 1890
Name: TASSO Launch Date: 24.2.90
Type: Passenger/cargo Date of completion: 5.90
Flag: GBR Keel:
Tons: 1388 Link: 1628
DWT: Yard No: 331
Length overall: Ship Design:
LPP: 76.2 Country of build: GBR
Beam: 9.8 Builder: Earle's
Material of build: Location of yard: Hull
Number of screws/Mchy/ Speed(kn): 1T-12.5
Owner as Completed: Thos.Wilson, Sons & Co Ltd, Hull
Naval or paramilitary marking :
A: *
End: 1920
Subsequent History: 14 ELEFSIS - 19 PHOTIOS
Disposal Data: foundered 42.54N/9.45E 25.12.20 (possibly scuttled)
Tasso1.jpg
In 1899, Tasso went back to Hull and was equipped with new boilers. two years later, in 1901, she was lengthened and her superstructure was improved. The longer vessel was now 270ft, had 1,467 gross tons and an accommodation for 44-1st class passengers. The new ship looked like this.
Tasso2.jpg
As such she continued doing the trade between Trondheim and Christiansund, Aalesund, Bergen, Stavanger and Hull often with emigrants to the USA and Canada.
For reasons I do not know, her terminal port changed to the smaller city of Grimsby in 1909. But it is safe to say that for 18 years she was a very dependable ship of Wilson Line in a very, very rough route.
Source: Information complied from various Norwegian sources including http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=tassp
Here is Tasso after she was lengthened as seen in Christiansund, Norway.
Tasso3.jpg
http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=tassp says:
And then the site gives the appropriate plans...The Wilson line did not only offer conveyance of emigrants from Scandinavian countries to England. During the passenger season they also offered accommodation for the comfort of tourists, and arranged holiday tours to different parts of Norway and Sweden. The accommodation was strictly first class in saloons and stateroom amidships, much different from that was offered to the comfort of emigrants traveling steerage (3rd class).
Some information about Wilson Line is provided in http://oceania.pbworks.com/UK_Ellermans+Wilson+Line
On January 22, 1911 Tasso was badly damaged in a collision with the Hamburg America Line ocean liner President Lincoln in fog near the Straits of Dover. Despite all this, she was able to reach Dover but she was never the same again.Wilson Line / Beckinton, Wilson & Company / Wilson, Hudson & Company / Thomas Wilson, Sons & Company
Founded in 1822 in Hull as Beckinton, Wilson & Co to import iron ore from Sweden with a fleet of sailing ships. In 1835 irregular sailing ship passenger services were introduced between Hull, Hamburg and Rotterdam, and a steamship service between Hull and Dunkirk was started the same year.
After the death of Beckinton, the company became Wilson, Hudson & Co in 1831 and in May 1840 a regular steamship service was instituted between Hull, Christiania (Oslo) and Gothenburg. John and Thomas Hudson withdrew from the partnership in 1841 and the company then became Thos.Wilson, Sons & Co. They rapidly expanded services to Scandinavian, Baltic and European ports and to other UK ports and in 1870 commenced trading to the Adriatic, Black Sea and Mediterranean. (see transmigration on-site) A short lived service to India was attempted in 1871 but was soon abandoned and didn't resume until the 1880s. Sailings to New York started in 1875.
In 1878 the firm of Brownlow, Marsdin & Co, Hull was purchased together with their fleet of seven ships and in 1903 the fleet of 23 vessels and the business of Bailey & Leetham of Hull was taken over. In the same year, agreement was reached with DFDS, Copenhagen to run a joint London - Baltic service. By the early 1900s, the Wilson Line was the largest private shipowning company in the world.
The Wilsons and North Eastern Railway Shipping Co was formed in 1906 to operate services from Humber ports to Hamburg, Antwerp, Ghent and Dunkirk. In 1916 Wilson Line was bought by Ellerman and became Ellerman's Wilson Line Ltd in 1917. In 1973 all Wilson Line services except North Sea services were submerged into Ellerman City Liners and by 1978 competition and decreased trade caused Wilson Line to sell their remaining ships.
She was repaired in Hull and then on August 23, 1911 she was sold to William Morphy & Sons, Hull. This company was the parent of the Greek Achaia Steamship Co, London or Morphy & Crowe & Stevens Line that was based in Patras, Greece. So, in 1914, Tasso was sold to them, renamed Eleusis (in many foreign references also as Elefsis)
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Αρχική Δημοσίευση από Nicholas Peppas
