March 27 1909 - Day Line Season

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

DAY LINE SEASON

First Boat Will Reach Albany On Thursday, May 27

General Agent William B. Elmendorf of the Hudson River Day Line, announces that the first trip of the through line this season will be on Thursday, March 27. The boats will run daily except Sunday until Friday, October 25.

The steamer Mary Powell goes on the run between Kingston and New York, commencing Monday May 21, and running to September 23.

The steamer Albany, which will be put on the Poughkeepsie New York run, Saturday, June 26, will run until Saturday, Sept. 18, between Poughkeepsie and 42nd Street, New York city.

There is a good History of the Hudson River Day Line on the web site of the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

No one could claim to have seen America without seeing the Hudson River, and the only way to properly see the Hudson River was from the deck of a Day Liner steamboat.

The Mary Powell was famous for her speed. In this 1881 New York Times article "Rival River Steamers", there was great speculation about a possible race against the new, iron hulled Albany:

The Powell has for years been acknowledged to be the fastest boat on the river, and has become popularly known as "The Queen of the Hudson." When the Albany Day Line built their iron boat last season, however, they entered a protest against the claims of the Powell, and a sharp spirit of rivalry grew between the two lines and their respective friends.
...
"We cannot say which boat is the faster... If there is a race, the discrete man will not bet heavily either way."