The history of the Wilson Line has been called a romance of the shipping world. Trade with Sweden was followed by the opening out of trade with Russia. When the building of the Suez Canal gave added importance to the Mediterranean, the Wilson Line began to trade with the ports of the Adriatic Sea, and later with Odessa and Constantinople. Next came trade with India, the _Orlando_, built at Hull in 1870, being the first steamship to arrive at Hull from India direct. After this was laid the foundation of trade with New York. The success of the new venture seemed very doubtful at first, but the Wilson Line now carry more cargo to and from England and New York than the vessels of any other line of steamships. Together with all these new enterprises has gone the organisation of weekly services to the Belgian ports, and of fortnightly services to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea. [Illustration: THE WILSON LINER ‘ESKIMO’ GETTING UP STEAM.] * * * * * Early in this chapter it was stated that in the first place Hull owes its greatness to its geographical position. It is this position which has made it a great distributing centre for imported goods, and a great collecting centre for exported goods. The Port of Hull has thus become ‘the gateway for the world to the great manufacturing centres of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Midlands.’ [Illustration: GRAIN SHIPS DISCHARGING THEIR CARGOES INTO LIGHTERS.] Much of the transfer and despatch of goods is carried on over the side of the ocean-going steamships into or from the river-going lighters and keels, which are able to make use of two systems of inland waterways. One of these, the _Aire and Calder Navigation_, dates from the year 1698, and is the oldest as well as the most up-to-date waterway in Great Britain. The other system is known as the _Trent Navigation_. The relative cheapness of transit by water makes these inland waterways of very great importance for all heavy traffic in which speed is not required. For fast traffic Hull is served by three railway systems, the North Eastern Railway, the Hull and Barnsley Railway, and the Great Central Railway; and other Companies have running powers over the lines of the North Eastern. The coming of the first railway to Hull in 1840 was described in the preceding chapter. Five years after this event the merchants of Hull sought to establish a Hull and Barnsley Junction Railway; but the project fell through, and it was not till 1885 that the line now known as the Hull and Barnsley Railway was constructed. With this new line was also constructed a new dock. This, the ALEXANDRA DOCK, is the deepest dock on the east coast of Great Britain, and has a water area of 53½ acres.