On the 20th of Sept. 1854 the Collins Line sidewheel steamer Arctic left Liverpool bound for New York,
Arctic was one of the fastest ways to get home as she held the Blue Riband (eastbound) and had done so since Feb. 17, 1852, her sister Baltic held the westbound record. Her dimensions were an overall length of 298' with a beam of 45' 9", her two cylinder side lever steam engine, built by Novelty Iron Works, delivered about 2,000 horsepower to her two paddles. Registered at 2,856 gross tons she could make 12 knots and could carry 280 passengers with a crew of 145.
Cunard still owned the north Atlantic mail service and had proved steamships to be a reliable and fast way to deliver the mail but, the U. S. Government began to change it's way of thinking on this subject and decided in 1846 that maybe they should back an American company and not leave the mail solely in British hands.
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