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
Expansion and Decline - 1920's
Hudson River Day Line
Expansion and Decline - The 1920's
 Steamer Alexander Hamilton Matched in size with the Robert Fulton, these two steamboats were used as a pair on the New York – Albany service. Launched in 1293, the Alexander Hamilton entered regular service in 1924. |
 Steamer Washington Irving Launched in 1912 for the 1913 season, the Washington Irving was the largest and grandest of all the Day Line steamers. She was designed to run with the Hendrick Hudson providing a matched pair of steamers for the Albany – New York service. In 1926, a barge struck the Washington Irving as she was leaving her slip in New York. The Washington Irving sank with a loss of three lives. |
Between 1918 and 1920, traffic on the day liners soared phenomenally to almost one and a half million passengers. Much of this was new business from day-trippers going to Poughkeepsie and Bear Mountain and from the introduction of Sunday sailings. The Day Line felt that another boat was needed for this growing traffic.
In 1921, the Day Line introduced the De Witt Clinton, a steamer that was managed differently than the other Day Line steamers. All the other steamboats were built for the Albany service, but the De Witt Clinton was only intended for day-trippers from New York. Other Day Line steamers had elaborately decorated interiors, but the rowdy crowds going to Poughkeepsie or Bear Mountain on weekend outings appeared less appreciative of the lavish interiors, so the De Witt Clinton's interior was relatively plain.
To increase revenue from the day-trippers, the Day Line established a park at Indian Point in 1923. Not only did this ensure that Day Line steamers would be used, but additional revenue would be obtained from selling concessions and refreshments at the park. The Day Line entered the era of mass transportation, and on a busy Sunday, would carry as many as 18,000 passengers to the upriver attractions.
The Day Line introduced the Alexander Hamilton, matched in size and capacity to the Robert Fulton, in 1924. The Alexander Hamilton replaced the older Albany on the New York-Albany run. With the addition of the Alexander Hamilton to the fleet, the Day Line passenger capacity increased to 27,550 and carried almost two million passengers that year. After buying several small steamers for charter service, the Day Line reached its peak carrying capacity of 28,650 passengers in 1925. Of the almost two million passengers carried that year, only about 100,000 had traveled the entire Albany-New York distance.
In 1926, the Sesquicentennial Exposition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of US independence was held in Philadelphia. The Day Line thought this would be a good year for river traffic, and decided to celebrate 1926 as the company's centennial. They did this in spite of the inconvenient fact that the company's founders actually began steamboat operation in 1863. Few companies have had a less successful centennial year than the Day Line did in 1926.
At the beginning of the season, the Washington Irving, the pride of the Day Line fleet, was lost. When leaving its dock in New York, the Washington Irving was rammed by a tugboat with two loaded oil barges. An oil barge and the tugboat struck the Washington Irving opening a 20 foot gash in her hull. The Washington Irving, the largest steamer ever built for the Day Line, sank at a New Jersey pier with the loss of three lives.
Because of the loss of the Washington Irving and bad weather, the total number of passengers carried in 1926 was 500,000 fewer than the year before. Day Line passenger traffic never recovered to the level enjoyed in 1925. The Day Line finished its centennial year with a loss. The expanded use of automobiles and railroads reduced river traffic to Albany and the Catskills, but this was somewhat offset by heavy day trip excursions to Indian Point, Bear Mountain and Poughkeepsie. The number of passengers using the Day Line steamers remained almost constant from 1926 until the beginning of the Great Depression in 1930.
| HRMM HOME | Lighthouses | Rondout | Steamboats | Age of Sail | Robert Fulton | Henry Hudson | Heritage Area | Links | |