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Details of model
Possibly the only surviving builder's model of this ship.
The last wooden Cunard liner
'Arabia' was the last vessel to be built of wood for the Cunard Line. She was built at Greenock by Messrs Robert Steele and Son and designed to challenge the speed of the vessels of the American-owned Collins Line. Originally to be called 'Persia', her name was changed to 'Arabia' prior to completion in 1853. She made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York under Captain Charles H Judkins in January 1853.
'Arabia' was also Cunard's first two-funnelled steamer. The lines of her hull were exceptionally fine forward, so that she was fast in smooth water, but very 'wet' in rough weather. She lost headway easily and her average crossing was almost always below her designed speed. Her usual passenger capacity was 180, all in one class, but in peak periods she could accommodate an extra 20 on settees or cot beds. The main saloon was abaft the mainmast and had a glass dome. The ship had a library, smoking room and nursery. She was ahead of her rivals in being steam-heated throughout. She had hold space for about 750 tons of cargo.
'Arabia' remained on the Atlantic service for twelve years, but during the Crimean War (1855-6) she was used as a transport for French troops from Marseilles to the Black Sea. By 1864, having become uneconomical on the Atlantic route, she was sold and converted into a sailing vessel. In 1868 she was wrecked near Halifax, Nova Scotia.