SS City of Chester
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The SS City of Chester was a steamship built in 1875 that sank after a collision in a dense fog with SS Oceanic at the Golden Gate in San Francisco Bay on August 22, 1888. She was owned by the Oregon Railroad Co. and leased by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.[3][4]
History | |
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United States | |
Name | SS City of Chester |
Owner | Oregon Railroad Co. |
Operator | Pacific Coast Steamship Company |
Port of registry | Portland, Oregon |
Builder | John Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania |
Launched | 11 February 1873 |
Completed | April 1873 |
In service | 1875 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sunk in collision 22 August 1888 |
Notes | Sometimes confused with 1872 City of Chester also built Chester, Pa., O/N 125002, 153.78 GRT, 107 feet (33 m) length registered at New York, N.Y. |
General characteristics [1][2] | |
Tonnage | 1,106.21 GRT, 785.33 NRT |
Length | 202 feet (62 m) |
Beam | 33.2 ft (10.1 m) |
Depth | 15.9 feet (4.8 m) |
Installed power | 2 X 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) long boilers, 1 X 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m), 1 X 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) diameter |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 11 nmi (13 mi; 20 km) |
Capacity | Passengers: 114 first class, 200 steerage |
City of Chester had been purchased in October 1876 and brought from New York around South America to Portland, Oregon in March 1877 and used in coastal trade. At the time of the collision the ship was in service from San Francisco to Eureka and other locations in the vicinity. City of Chester was outbound with Oceanic inbound from Hong Kong. Though the ships sighted each other findings indicated the smaller vessel was caught in a tidal current, cut almost in two by the liner and sank in about six minutes with loss of sixteen passengers and three crew.
The wreck was relocated in May 2013 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey Navigational Response Team 6 with multi-beam sonar.