During the "Gründerzeit" at the beginning of the German Empire, the NDL expanded greatly. Thirteen new ships of the "Strassburg class" were ordered. A route to the West Indies offered from 1871 to 1874 proved unprofitable, but was followed by a permanent line to the east coast of South America. On the transatlantic route, the HAPAG, the Holland-America Line, and the Red Star Line were now all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with the "Elbe", eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to of the so-called "Rivers class" (all named for German rivers), were introduced to serve the North Atlantic trade.