The luxury liners
Ocean Liners represented the culmination of thousands of years of human maritime achievement; for nearly a century they conquered the world’s oceans before finally being displaced by the jet. Today, names like Queen Mary, Normandie, America, Titanic and Mauretania conjure romantic images of a bygone era, one dominated by these elegant ships. I started my business out of a love for ocean liners, and this collection is my heartfelt dedication to them and the people that built, operated and enjoyed them.
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A
SS AMERICA
Designed by acclaimed naval architect William Francis Gibbs, the SS America was, at the time of her introduction in 1939, one of the most modern and forward-thinking liners afloat.
M/N Australia
Australia was the first of three sisters ships commissioned and built to capitalise on the growing post-war migrant trade to Australia for Italy’s Lloyd Triestino line. These virtually identical sisters were the first ships built post-war for the Italian line and were a remarkable step forward in modernising the fleet.
b
HMHS BRITANNIC
Britannic was intended to round off the Olympic class trio, implementing wide-ranging improvements on Olympic’s original design and unrivalled luxury at sea. Unfortunately she was lost in 1916 to a mine and with her died the glorious dream conceived by White Star Line and Harland and Wolff back in 1907.
C
tSS CANTON
Canton operated a lucrative service between Britain and Hong Kong for many years earning the little liner a fond place in the hearts of many former passengers and crew.
TSS CHUSAN
Circa 1968
Chusan was one of a new generation of liners built for P&O after the Second World War. Introduced in 1950 for the Line’s Far East route, she would go on to have a stellar career and came to be known as “the Happy Ship”.
G
t/n GALILEO GALILEI
Circa 1968
Galileo Galilei, along with her sister Guglielmo Marconi, was like a space-age leap for Lloyd-Triestino when the pair were introduced in the mid-1960s. Initially operating the Italy-Australia run, the two sister ships had long careers and, like so many others, became popular cruise ships in the later part of the century.
t/n guglielmo marconi
Circa 1968
The second of two famous and stylish sister ships, Marconi served only a relatively short 15-year career with Lloyd Triestino before begin sold and converted to full-time cruise ship with Costa Cruises. Renamed ‘Costa Riviera’, she was finally laid-up and scrapped in 2001.
T/N GUGLIELMO MARCONI IS COMING SOON
K
ss kronprinzessin cecilie
Circa 1910
The last of the ‘Four Flyers’ and the final German ship to carry four funnels, Kronprinzessin Cecilie had a relatively brief career as a transatlantic liner before world events were to outrun her. Captured by the forces of the United States, Cecilie was re-named ‘USS Mount Vernon’ and put to work as a troop transport before being indefinitely mothballed.
L
RMS LUSITANIA
1907-1915
Lusitania was both the largest and fastest ship in the world when she was introduced in 1907. Her interiors were the very last word in luxury, and alongside her sister Mauretania she became a beloved fixture of the transatlantic fleet. Tragically she was lost in 1915 when torpedoed by an Imperial German submarine with great loss of life.
M
rms mooltan
Mooltan and her sister Maloja were constructed just after the First World War and went on to capitalise on the growing ‘Tourist’ market of the 20s and 30s. The vessels made frequent voyages between Australia and Britain after serving as troopships in the Second World War, taking part in the ‘Ten-Pound Pom’ scheme in the 1950s.
N
m/n neptunia
‘Neptunia’ was one of three sisters ships commissioned and built to capitalise on the growing post-war migrant trade to Australia for Italy’s Lloyd Triestino line. These virtually identical sisters were the first ships built post-war for the Italian line and were a remarkable step forward in modernising the fleet.
O
MS Oceania
Circa 1951
‘Oceania’ was one of three sisters ships commissioned and built to capitalise on the growing post-war migrant trade to Australia for Italy’s Lloyd Triestino line. These virtually identical sisters were the first ships built post-war for the Italian line and were a remarkable step forward in modernising the fleet.
Q
RMS QUEEN MARY
Cunard Line’s first legendary ‘Queen’ and one of the most famous passenger ships in history.
RMS OLYMPIC
1911-1934
The first of what was planned to be a major trio of luxurious liners, Olympic went on to have one of the most legendary careers of any passenger ship.
P
RMS PRETORIA CASTLE
Circa 1955
Pretoria Castle was one of Union Castle Lines’ sleek vessels operating regular services between Britain and South Africa. She was built by the famed shipyard Harland and Wolff in 1947 and had a 19-year long career with her original owners.
RMS PRETORIA CASTLE IS COMING SOON
S
SS Strathaird
Circa 1955
Strathaird was one of the first two original ‘White Sisters’ along with Strathnaver. The vessel had a successful career spanning decades, being a popular liner and cruise ship in the 1930s before serving in the War as a troopship. Post-war she was modernised and resumed services between Australia and Britain.
TSS STRATHAIRD IS COMING SOON
SS Stratheden
Circa 1959
One of P&O’s most successful immigrant liners of the 50s and 60s, Stratheden was the largest of her running mates at the time.
SS Strathmore
Circa 1955
Strathmore’s design improved on that of ‘Strathnaver’ and ‘Strathaird’ and like her running-mates, she operated the sea-lanes between England and Australia for decades.
tss strathmore is coming soon
tSS STRATHNAVER
Strathnaver was one of the first two original ‘White Sisters’ along with Strathaird. The vessel had a successful career spanning decades, being a popular liner and cruise ship in the 1930s before serving in the War as a troopship. Post-war she was modernised and resumed services between Australia and Britain.
rms titanic
Circa 1912
Likely the most famous passenger ship ever built. Titanic wrested the title of world’s largest ship from her older sister Olympic but only for a brief moment; in April 1912, on her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg and sank with enormous loss of life among her passengers and crew.
SS UNITED STATES
Circa 1955
Designed by acclaimed naval architect William F Gibbs, the SS United States was a monumental engineering achievement. Making use of lessons learned from her chief designer throughout her career as well as the absolute latest in marine propulsion, United States went on to become the fastest ocean liner in history cracking speeds over 35 knots.
can’t find what you want?
The Liner Designs fleet is always growing in size. There are hundreds of ships from history we’d eventually like to include in our ‘fleet’. If you’ve got an idea on what we should draw, or if you’d like to commission a drawing of a certain ship, please get in touch here: