Episode 2 of 2

Homeward Record

When: 1840 (exact dates not stated in sources)
Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Part of: RMS Britannia departs Liverpool on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service

Britannia's first homeward run from Halifax to Liverpool took just under 10 days, setting a new eastbound record.

The return journey from Halifax to Liverpool was completed in just under 10 days at an average speed of about 11 knots. This performance set a new eastbound record that remained unbroken until 1842, demonstrating the efficiency of the new steam service.

Sources

RMS Britannia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.