Hudson River Day Line Introduction
Formation of the Hudson River Day Line - 1860's
Hudson River Day Line - 1860 to 1880
New Steamboats New York and Albany - 1880's
Hudson River Day Line
The New Steamboats New York and Albany - 1880's
 Steamboat New York  Steamboat Albany The Day Boats are the New York and Albany new and splendid specimens of shipcraft, with iron hulls 300 feet in length, accommodating 1,500 passengers, and claimed to be the fastest steamboats in the world. They were built exclusively for carrying passengers, and are the finest boats ever constructed for the business. The spacious cabins are finished in highly polished woods, handsomely paneled, and are furnished luxuriously and adorned with statuary and paintings by celebrated artists. The dining rooms are on the main deck, where the traveler can enjoy an excellent dinner, which is served on the European plan, and lose nothing of the view of this most charming of American rivers. They leave New York and Albany about 8:30 A.M., touching at the principal landings on their way, meet near Poughkeepsie, and arrive at their destinations at about 6 P.M. A pleasant feature is an orchestra on each steamer. From Lake George and Lake Champlain, |
In 1879, Alfred Van Santvoord and his partner John McB. Davidson incorporated their holdings and brought in additional investors. As steamboats go, the existing Daniel Drew and Chauncey Vibbard were not that old, but in order to promote their business, they felt they must offer new steamboats.
In 1880, the new steamboat Albany was put into service. The Daniel Drew was retired and docked on Rondout Creek to be used as a spare boat, which theoretically was an ideal location to reach anyplace on the river if needed.
On August 28, 1886, a fire in a building alongside Rondout Creek spread to the Daniel Drew. Within 10 minutes, the Daniel Drew was ablaze and burned completely leaving only the boilers, the engine, the walking beam, and other miscellaneous metal parts visible. The fire denied the Day Line their spare boat, but it provided a sizable insurance payment for purchasing a new boat.
The Day Line immediately ordered another steamboat to be built from the same model as the Albany. The new steamboat, named the New York, was put into service in 1887. The Day Line now had a new pair of matched steamboats on the Hudson River.
The Day Line was advertising that the number of passengers their boats carried was well below the legal limit, guaranteeing ample space for all passengers and large areas of vacant deck space to view Hudson River scenery. The Day Line emphasized that it was “strictly first-class – no freight.” With two brand new boats, a full-length trip of the river was a better value than it had ever been before.
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