Oh defiantly not - White Star Line is the premier brand of the group; you'd never use that for plain cargo. Leyland is the most likely I'd have thought.
What happened to P&O, Blue Funnel and some of the other lines?
White Star and Titanic, What Could have Been
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Oh defiantly not - White Star Line is the premier brand of the group; you'd never use that for plain cargo. Leyland is the most likely I'd have thought.
What happened to P&O, Blue Funnel and some of the other lines?
SsgtC
Banned
P&O is still going strong. White Star attempted a buy out in the 1920s, but was unsuccessful. Behind White Star, they are the second largest passenger line in the UK, and one of the largest in the world. They focus primarily on shipping to India, Australia, China, Japan, etc. They have only limited services to North America and no true superliners like White Star does. Their ships are primarily in the 500-800' range. Unlike White Star, they operate a pure cargo operation as well, though it is fairly limited with their focus being on passenger shipping.
Blue Funnel is also still kicking, though strictly as a Cargo line. Containerization has occurred roughly as IOTL. Not quite as fast, but only 1-3 years behind due to a shorter war in the 40s.
A lot of the smaller, independent lines have either merged with larger companies or give out of business as they couldn't complete with the big boys any longer. With all of the major lines operating ships in the 80,000+ ton range, they just couldn't offer comparable levels of comfort or price. A few tried to develop cruising as a way to save the company, but their ships, like almost all liners, were distinctly unsuited for it.
Some of the lines, like the Greek Line are still around. Though operating smaller new build ships or larger secondhand ones. All in all, passenger lines are still a thriving business. Though as ships get ever larger, the smaller lines are slowly disappearing as they can't afford the big ships.
How is the success of the UK shipping industry impacting on the rest of UK industry? With the changed circumstances of TTL I take it the UK is not experiencing a tech stagnation and union problems of OTL?
What is the state of the Middle East and oil production TTL please? I'd imagine White Star and co are fairly dependent on it's stability.
What is the state of the Middle East and oil production TTL please? I'd imagine White Star and co are fairly dependent on it's stability.
SsgtC
Banned
Ok, UK first. Overall, UK industry is a much better position than IOTL. The UK never went to a full war economy and didn't drain their foreign exchange reserves as they did in OTL. Unions, well, unions are always going to be an issue regardless. Not quite to the extent that they were in our time though. Tech hasn't stagnated, but it definitely behind OTL. Particularly in areas like computers, radar, aircraft, even personal vehicles to some extent. The institutional knowledge of building high horsepower engines for things like hot rods and muscle cars just isn't there. It's slowly catching up, but it's generally 5-10 years behind. A lot of development got butterflied away by a very different and much shorter WWII.
SsgtC
Banned
Sorry, forgot to put the rest in. Lol. The Middle East is far more stable. The United States isn't as big a power player in this TL due to not being involved in Europe directly during the war. So the insistence on decolonization that the US forced on the rest of the world just isn't there. They still try, but the level of influence isn't as strong. Now, there are still flashpoints there, particularly between Shia and Sunni Muslims, but overall the region is much quieter. There also was no Holocaust ITTL. So European Jews mainly stayed in Europe. Palastine (sp) still exists, and believe me, that's a major sore spot. But the European powers have considerably more influence there. So the lid is mainly being kept on the pot.
SsgtC
Banned
This was answered earlier, but I'll cover it again as it was several pages ago. Nuclear power is at least 10 years behind ITTL. And is exclusively used by the military in a handful of subs. Ships like NS Savannah probably won't exist here. Keep in mind, Savannah cost $47 million to build. $28 million of that was just for the reactor. That is hideously expensive.
Has it been long enough since white star purchase the Cunard line? If they name their shipping company Canard most people who remember there was a Canard will look at it as a sturdy Dependable reliable shipping company to use and while it's close to white star it's still a step below.
SsgtC
Banned
No, not really. Cunard ceased to exist as an operating company about 10 years ago. However, their last ship, the Mauritania, is still in service with White Star. There is no way that White Star will bring back the Cunard name. Especially since they capitalize on on it within White Star. Several of the onboard restaurants and spaces are named after famous Cunard liners. At any rate, Cunard wasn't a cargo company. They were strictly passenger service
SsgtC
Banned
Not any time in recent history they haven't. White Star bought them out in the 1930s here. Cunard hadn't operated pure cargo ships for years before they were bought out
SsgtC
Banned
Correct. They actually haven't decided exactly how they're going to approach it yet. Keep in mind though, with the CAB regulating not only what routes airlines can fly, but how much they charge, it's much easier to sell comfort and service than it is today. Since everyone charged the same amount, the only way to differentiate yourself is by the service you offer.
And btw, I know it's been a couple months since the last update, but I am working on one. It's just taking me some time
SsgtC
Banned
Thank you. I am actively working on it and will hopefully have it up within the next week (possibly sooner).
Had one of the Olympic Sisters done what this ship had done and survived, that definitely would have made her worthy of preservation:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Beaverford#War_service_and_loss
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Beaverford#War_service_and_loss
SsgtC
Banned
Very impressive. Though Olympic did attack and sink a U-Boat OTL and was on hand to rescue the sailors of HMS Audacious. She also had taken her under tow before the damage to Audacious sunk her. Perhaps not to quite the same level, but she did fight.
ITTL, Titanic had an extraordinary career, but it still wasn't enough to save her. Unfortunately, an old liner, no matter how decorated, just wasn't worth the money off preserving her.
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