Details: straight stem, 1 funnel, 3 masts (rigged for sail); iron construction, single screw propulsion, service speed 13 knots; accommodation for 120 passengers in 1st class, and 1068 passengers in the steerage. She could be transferred to a troopship taking 2 battalions of soldiers. There was a male and female hospital on the ship, distilling apparatus which could produce 2000 gallons of fresh water daily, and holds for 80000 cubic feet of cargo and 1200 tons of coal. The Abyssinia was the sister ship of the Algeria, they were the first Cunarders fitted with bathrooms. The bathrooms were situated so that there was one at the port side and one at the starboard side, for obvious reasons the bathhroom at the leevard side would be preferable when the wind was strong.