122 Years on the Old Bay Line

by Jack Shaum

Overview

Old Bay Line is the name by which the Baltimore Steam Packet Company was best known over most of its 122-year history of nightly carrying passengers and freight on Chesapeake Bay between Baltimore and Norfolk. These steamers are often mistakenly referred to as ferry boats, but they most certainly were not. They were large, sturdy vessels that operated year-round in all kinds of weather. They provided reliable on-time service for the traveling public and shippers alike in the Chesapeake Bay region. The Old Bay Line steamers were famous for their cuisine, impeccable service, and fine accommodations. They were called up for war service during the Civil War and World War I and World War II, and several of the company's vessels even crossed the Atlantic and saw action overseas in World War II. By the 1950s and 1960s the company was the last of its kind, still providing gracious service, and by the time it wrapped up operations in 1962 it was the oldest steamship company in the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634993999
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	05/23/2022
Series:	America Through Time
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,138,061
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JACK SHAUM is a retired award-winning print and broadcast journalist who spent nearly fifty years in the business. He is the author of Lost Chester River Steamboats: From Chestertown to Baltimore. He was the editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal of the Steamship Historical Society of America. He rode the Old Bay Line steamers as a youngster and calls on those experiences to tell the story of the company's long history. For twenty years, he and his wife Martha traveled as onboard lecturers on small coastal cruise ships. They have two daughters and four grandchildren and live near Chestertown, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Foreword 3

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction 15

1 Early Steamboat Operations Between Baltimore and Norfolk 17

2 Fleet Expansion and Civil War 25

3 The "Old Established" Bay Line 31

4 Intense Competition 39

5 The Ultimate Bay Liners 55

6 Depression Years, Prohibition, and Tragedy 65

7 Cuisine on the Bay 76

8 On the Freight Deck 83

9 "When We Left, It Was Just a Fresh Breeze" 91

10 An Anniversary and a Merger 94

11 Called Up for War Service 100

12 Picking Up the Pieces After the War 112

13 What Might Have Been 121

14 Shadows Lengthen 128

15 The Last Night Boat 138

Epilogue 145

Endnotes 150

Bibliography 154

Index 157

About the Author 160