The Peru (1) was launched on
18th April 1840 followed by the Chile (1) three days later.
On 27th June the Chile sailed from Falmouth bound for Valparaiso
and on the following 15th July the Peru sailed from Plymouth.
It was intended that both ships would rendezvous in the Straits
of Magellan and then sail into Valparaiso Bay together but
the historic aspect of the event was overshadowed by Cunard's
Britannia which entered service at the same time.
The ships arrived on 16th October to a tumultuous welcome
after a voyage of 8,600 miles undertaken in 52 days. Nine
days later the Peru inaugurated the service between Valparaiso
and Callao in Peru.
A service was maintained but
during 1841-2 there were problems the main one being the inability
to maintain a continuous supply of coal. At one time the steamers
had to be laid up for three months through lack of it. On
5th October 1843 Wheelwright returned to London and was promptly
dismissed by the Board for 'bad management'. He responded
by circulating a report to the shareholders who promptly voted
for the removal of his accusers with the exception of George
Brown. Wheelwright returned to the Board as Joint Managing
Director.
By this time the majority of
the shareholders were Liverpool merchants and, consequently,
the Head Office was moved to that city. As Wheelwright had
to return to Valparaiso William Just of the Aberdeen &
London Steam Ship Co. was appointed as a second Joint Managing
Director to manage the London end of the operation. At the
same time Wheelwright's powers were extended to cover Peru,
Ecuador, Colombia and Panama as well as Chile. However, by
this time, out of a capital of £94,000, £72,000
had been lost.
In 1846 the Ecuador (1) was
based at Callao and extended the Valparaiso service via Guayaquil
to Panama where there was a connection to Royal Mail's Southampton
to Colon service creating the Panama - Overland route to Valparaiso
which could be achieved in 40 days instead of four months
via Cape Horn. The New Granada joined the Ecuador at Callao
later in the same year.
Prosperity improved and in September 1850 the Liverpool Board
were able to declare a 10% dividend. In the following year
the growth of trade around the coast and the granting a mail
contract enabled the company to order four ships at a cost
of £140,000 to replace the wooden hulled Chile and Peru
and to augment the Bolivia. By 1852 the four ships had been
delivered and PSNC was able to operate a fortnightly service
between Valparaiso and Panama. The company were also awarded
the British Government mail contract.
However, the company's development was not without its problems.
The new smaller vessels ordered for the coastal service had
first to make a hazardous ocean crossing from Britain to Valparaiso
and in 1853 both the Perlita and the Osprey were lost during
their delivery voyages. In the same year the Quito was wrecked
on the coast and the hulk Hope was lost. In 1854 the Panama
was lost after striking a rock during her maiden voyage.
During 1854 the Panama Railway
across the isthmus was completed which opened up a 'through'
route to the west coast of South America. In 1856 the compound
engine was invented and the management of PSNC wasted no time
installing the new economic machinery in its ships; the Valparaiso
and the Inca being among the first to have the direct acting
version. It was some 14 years before other shipowners followed
suit on a regular basis, Alfred Holt being the foremost.
The company continued to expand
and in 1859 acquired the island of Morro in Panama Bay for
use as a workshop and stores which became known as the 'North
Station'. At the end of the company's twentieth year in 1860
the company's fleet was comprised of twelve steamships. Boliviar
(1), Lima (1), Bogota (1), Inca (1), Valparaiso (1), Callao
(1), Cloda, Anne, San Carlos, Guayaquil, Morro (1) and the
Peruano.
In 1865 the Charter was extended to include the establishment
of steamer services between the West Coast of South America
and the River Plate including the Falkland Islands and 'such
other places in North and South America and other foreign
ports as the said company shall deem expedient'. At a special
meeting of the shareholders in December 1867 it was agreed
that a monthly service between Liverpool and Valparaiso via
the Straits of Magellan be established. This decision was
taken as a consequence of the Panaman Railroad Co's continued
refusal to grant the PSNC the same advantageous through rates
that applied for cargo bound for ports in the USA.
The company's share capital was increased to £2,000,000
and five screw steamships were ordered. But the company was
anxious to start the new venture as quickly as possible and
on 13th May 1868 the paddle steamer Pacific sailed on the
inaugural voyage from Valparaiso for Liverpool with 170 passengers.
Her three sisters, Santiago, Limena and Panama, quickly joined
the service which was then able to undertake sailings every
six weeks. These four ships had the distinction of being the
only compound paddle steamers on transatlantic routes and
their route was Liverpool - Bordeaux - Lisbon - Cape Verde
Island - Rio de Janeiro - Montevideo - Punta Arenas - Valparaiso.
The first of the new screw
steamships, the Magellan (1), came into service at the beginning
of 1869 quickly followed by the Patagonia, the Araucania and
the Cordillera. During the same year the famous John Elder,
named by PSNC after the inventor of the compound engine, an
engine which had revolutionised the economic viability of
the coastal service, was delivered. Unfortunately, John Elder
died before the commissioning of the ship named after him.
In 1870 the Liverpool to Valparaiso
service was extended northwards to Arica, Mollendo and Callao.
As the Directors had also agreed to increase the sailings
to three per month and four new steamers were ordered. During
1870 orders were placed for a total of eleven ships, the largest
order at that time.
