It was not until the 19th Century that shipping lines as we know them came into existence. Actually it was the steamship that brought about the introduction of shipping lines, although the famous old packet lines that ran between Europe and America went by the name of lines several years before the first steamship line was organized. The first of these packet lines was the Black Ball Line, which was established in 1816. So successful did this line become that it was followed within the next few years by several others. The Red Star Line, the Swallowtail Line, and the Dramatic Line were some of the most important. Winter and summer the packets operated by these lines raced across the Atlantic, sailing on scheduled dates, and making remarkably short passages, and giving remarkably good service for the times. The ships were not large, some of them being hardly more than three hundred tons burden, but for the first ten years of the Black Ball Line’s existence the ships of that line averaged twenty-three days for the eastward passage and forty days for the westward, which was much lower than the average of other ships of the time. These packet lines continued in operation until about 1850, when they had largely faded from the sea, unable to compete with the steamships then becoming reliable, comfortable, regular, and fast. The first steamship line to organize was the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, which began operations in 1823. During the following year the General Steam Navigation Company was incorporated, and several other British steamship lines followed rapidly. At first these were for the coasting trade, where the regular service they maintained was valuable in the extreme, for railroads had not yet appeared. Before long, however, these lines began visiting the continent, and the transatlantic voyages of the _Savannah_ in 1819 and the _Royal William_ in 1833 drew the attention of steamship-builders and operators to the advantages of transoceanic routes. In 1837 three companies were organized—the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the Atlantic Steamship Company, and the Great Western Steamship Company. In 1838 their first ships sailed to America. The _Great Western_ made her first crossing in 13 days and a few hours, almost equalling at her very first attempt the fastest voyage (and that from America to Europe) a sailing ship ever made. Brave as was the start made by these three lines, however, they soon went out of business.