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The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Ellerman in 1892. In 1902, the company was bought by the International Mercantile Marine Company and a portion of its fleet was withdrawn from service and transferred to the Ellerman Lines. The company was liquidated in 1935 after a period of declining influence due to the Great Depression.

Early history
Frederick Leyland was a longtime partner in John Bibby, Sons & Co which was based in Liverpool. In 1873 the Bibby family withdrew from the shipping business and Leyland set up his own shipping company. As the company was established in 1873, 21 former Bibby ships formed the basic equipment of Leyland's new company of cargo ships. The new company was officially called F. Leyland & Co. Ltd, but the name Leyland Line soon became established. Also inherited from the Bibby Line was the tradition of all ships other ending in "ian" or "ean" and the funnel with a black cap. The shipping company initially operated with a liner service to the Mediterranean, in 1875 the transatlantic service was opened with routes ran from Liverpool to Boston, Philadelphia and Portland. New York City was only occasionally called upon. The ships used by the shipping company were mainly cargo ships, some of which had few passenger facilities that only had transport for emigrants. The liner services developed well and the shipping company became the largest transatlantic freighter line. in 1888, Leyland retired from his active business leaving his son, Frederick Dawson Leyland, in charge of the line.

Under John Ellermann
With the death of Frederick Leyland in 1892, John Ellermann, Christopher Furness and Henry Withy took over the Leyland Line. Ellermann became managing director of the company and, in 1893, also took over the chairmanship of Frederick Leyland & Co. In 1896, Leyland set up a passenger service in cooperation with Furness Withy, from Liverpool to New York and the Canadian ports. In 1896, the Wilson Line was added and the joint service was called Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line. The cooperation was limited exclusively to this service. In 1899 Leyland took over the shipping company West India & Pacific Steamship Co. Ltd. and thus opened a liner service to the West Indies (Caribbean)

Decline and Fate
In 1902, the company was bought by the US banker J.P. Morgan and in 1904 the company was under the control of the International Mercantile Marine Company. Leyland line was given responsibility for the European part of the International Navigation Company but had to discontinue the Mediterranean service. Twenty non-emigration Leyland ships were not included in the sale. Later, John Ellerman acquired the London Papayanni Company to form the shipping company Ellerman Lines emerged shortly afterward, in the same year, a rationalization of services followed and Leyland withdrew their ships from service and transferred to John Ellerman's new company. In 1915 with the bankruptcy of the IMMC, the company looked into an uncertain future for the first time. The First World War, which had meanwhile broken out, also meant numerous ship losses for the shipping company. By the First World War and the 1920s, many ships of the Leyland Line transferred to other companies. With The Great Depression, many more ships were sold to other companies or scrapped and, in 1935, Leyland Line's last ship was sold and the company ceased in the same year.

Ships of the Leyland Line
The list of Leyland Line ships when they enter service for the company.