Editing SS Californian (section)

==Construction and early career==
[[File:SS Californian arriving in port.jpg|thumb|SS Californian arriving in port ]]
''Californian'' was a steamship owned by the [[Leyland Line]], part of [[J.P. Morgan]]'s [[International Mercantile Marine Co.]] She was constructed by the [[Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company]] in [[Dundee, Scotland]],<ref>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=37}}</ref> and was the largest ship built in Dundee up to that time.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fdca.org.uk/Some_Dundee_Ships.html | title = Some Dundee Ships | publisher = Friends of Dundee City Archives | access-date = 29 April 2016 | year = 2011 | last = Wright | first = Jerry | archive-date = 5 August 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805082728/http://www.fdca.org.uk/Some_Dundee_Ships.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=DAB38>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=38}}</ref> The ship was built to the maximum dimensions that were allowed to moor and outfit her in the Dundee Docks. The ship's size and importance to the local shipbuilding industry meant that there was a lot of local interest in her construction as it progressed. There were also some problems – when both of the ship's boilers were being transported through the streets from a foundry to the shipyard the weight of them (carried on a wheeled [[bogie]]) caused considerable damage to the city's roads, as well as breaking a number of underground water pipes. Later when a crane was being used to rig a spar on one of ''Californian''{{'s}} four masts, the spar became tangled in nearby telephone wires and severed them.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/the-ss-californian-and-dundee-scotlands-forgotten-leviathan.html|title=The SS Californian and Dundee: Scotland's Forgotten Leviathan|last=Duzen|first=Harland|date=18 October 2018|journal=Encyclopedia Titanica}}</ref>

She was designed primarily to transport [[cotton]], but also had the capacity to carry 47 passengers and 55 crew members.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}} The primary clientele was those passengers with too limited the means to travel on board large liners. By offering them comfortable cabins at an affordable prices (£10 per crossing in the direction Liverpool — Boston, £50 in the opposite direction), Leyland Line was able to secure some profits this way.<ref name=GP20>{{harvnb|Piouffre|2009|p=20}}</ref><ref name=DAB43>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=43}}</ref> Nonetheless, the ship was still primarily a freighter, as evidenced by her massive bunkers. She was named ''Californian'' according to a tradition specific to the company which gave its ships the name of one of the 46 states of the [[United States]] at the time.<ref name=DAB46>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=46}}</ref> She measured 6,223 tons, was {{convert|447|ft|m}} long, {{convert|53|ft|m}} at her beam,<ref name=DAB38/> and had a [[steam engine|triple expansion steam engine]] powered by two double-ended boilers. Her average full speed was {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=Chirn1>{{harvnb|Chirnside|2004|p=309}}</ref>
The accommodation of most of the fifty or so crew members was located below the foredeck. They stayed there in cabins designed for four to eight people that were quite uncomfortable, poorly ventilated and lit.<ref>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=39}}</ref> In all, the crew included the captain, four officers, a radio operator, and 49 crew members (sailors, drivers, trimmers, etc.).<ref name=DAB44>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=44}}</ref> The cabins were located in the superstructure. The officers of the crew resided on the starboard side and the passengers on the port side. The facilities for passengers corresponded to the second class of most ships of the time. Although the cabins were not of high quality, they remained comfortable and had electric lighting, which was not the case on all contemporary ships. The passengers of ''Californian'' also had at their disposal a smoking room on the upper starboard deck, decorated with oak panels and linoleum, a novelty at the turn of the century. The dining room was also decorated and comfortable.<ref name=DAB43/>
[[File:The SS Californian en route to America.jpg|thumb|An artist's depiction of ''Californian'' under steam.]]
''Californian'' was launched on 26 November 1901 and completed her sea trials on 23 January 1902. From 31 January 1902 to 3 March 1902, she made her maiden voyage from Dundee to [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]], United States. Subsequently, she made transatlantic crossings, generally carrying around thirty passengers in addition to her cargo. In 1902, she was chartered by the [[Dominion Line]] for five crossings to [[Portland, Maine]].<ref name=TGOL>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/californian.html |title=The Great Ocean Liners |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=8 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208070625/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/californian.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> She then returned to the Leyland Line service to serve the southern United States.<ref name=DAB44/> From 1901 to 1911, she was commanded successively by four captains before being finally put under the command of [[Stanley Lord]].<ref name=DAB48>{{harvnb|Butler|2009|p=48}}</ref>

Between late 1911 and early 1912, ''Californian'' had a [[Marconi Company|Marconi]] wireless apparatus installed in a refitted cabin. Her first radio operator was Cyril Furmstone Evans.