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The grand old liner who refused to die quietly.
In 1930 Hughes Bolckow was more than used to dismantling ageing giants of the ocean from around the world. But that year it bought a grand old lady who would prove to be a real headache.

When she arrived she bore the name Empress of Scotland but she had served numerous nations under different names.
Launched 1n 1905 as Kaiserin Auguste Victoria in Stettin, Germany, now Szczecin, Poland on the Baltic coast, she weighed in at a colossal 24,581 tones. Her size made her the worlds largest passenger liner until 1907 when Lusitania was launched.

She could reach speeds of 33 kmh which is around 21 mph and sailed between Hamburg and New York and could carry 1897 passengers. 472 of them in first class.

She boaster cutting edge facilities including a lift and even a gymnasium.
 
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The first class gymnasium, the first class dinning room and a luxury stateroom.
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Her Atlantic crossing career began with her maiden voyage on 10th May 1906 and would continue until the outbreak of the first world war in 1914. 

The ship sat out the war in port, berthed at Hamburg.

When the war ended in defeat for Germany the vessel was seized by the allies and transferred to Britain but then immediately handed to the United States to assist with the repatriation of their troops in Europe.

Her task was completed by 1920, she was then briefly chartered by Cunard to cover Aquitania which was in refit.  

 
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Canadian Pacific bought the ship in 1921 and renamed her The Empress Of Scotland. She will once again sail the Atlantic route, between Southampton and Quebec . She is at the time Canadian paciffic's most luxurious liner.

Before entering service the ship underwent a refit to convert her to oil and she is marketed as "Clean and Comfortable"
 
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The first class sitting room and one of the smoking rooms.
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The Empress began her trans Atlantic CP service in 1922 and regularly called at Hamburg, her former home en route to and from Quebec.  

She was then still the ninth largest ocean liner in service anywhere in the world.

The ship occasionally spent time in the Mediterranean, running cruises from New York but was always a trans Atlantic lady at heart. 
Never a lucky lady!

During her long career the ship was involved in numerous incidents of misfortune. In 1922 a boiler room explosion injured ten men in New York. And in 1923 she hit a submerged wreck at Southampton and was holed. 
The ship underwent another major refit in 1926 but by 1930 the grand old lady had seen her day. A larger liner was ordered to replace the Empress and she began her final season that year. 

After a 73 day Mediterranean cruise which began in February, her final Atlantic crossing began on the 30th of September when she said her goodbyes to Canada. She arrived in Southampton on the 7th of October.

The grand old ship was sold for scrap and began her final voyage to Blyth to be broken up.
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Hughes Bolckow bought the ship for £60,000 and she arrived in Blyth on the 4th of December. Before her demolition was due to start it was decided to sell the fixtures, fittings and furniture to the general public and she was opened up to public viewing.

After only days in port however the vessel caught fire due to a suspected electrical fault. She burned for three days and was completely burned out. It was feared the ship would sink and block the harbour, so holes were cut in the hull and the ship was allowed to settle upright on the river bed.
The Empress of Scotland being towed into Blyth,
The ship lay where she sank until March 1st 1931 when she was raised once the top half of the ship had been removed and was towed to Hughes Bolckow. 

A second fire broke out on May 6th when sparks from cutting equipment set light to oil and once again the vessel burned. 

Still, she refused to go to her grave quietly and the hull broke in two on the 1st of June as she was being moved once again. She still had a final act of defiance left in her however, as her demolition neared completion, a third fire broke out.

Her remains were finally broken up by October 17th.
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Some news reels from the day showing the ship ablaze.
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