Though soon outclassed by newer vessels, Indiana was to enjoy a substantial 36-year career, a highlight of which was her transportation of United States President Ulysses S. Grant on the first leg of his celebrated 1877–78 world tour.

[1] The Railroad intended to utilize the vessels to bring European immigrants direct to Philadelphia, thus ensuring the company a steady stream of customers.

The company established an entirely new shipyard for construction of the vessels, serviced by its own blacksmith, engine, boiler and carpentry shops, as well as providing it with a 700-foot outfitting wharf.

[7] A short-lived shipbuilding boom in the early 1870s made it difficult for the Cramp shipyard to obtain iron plates and other materials, and the yard was also affected by shortages of skilled labor.

[13] A highlight of Indiana's career occurred when the vessel was selected to convey U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant on the initial leg of his world tour.

The tour was destined to be highly successful, with Civil War hero Grant greeted with great enthusiasm and ceremony at every port of call.

Boarding the steamer Twilight, Grant and his entourage sailed to rendezvous with Indiana in midstream near New Castle, Delaware, accompanied by a huge flotilla of decorated yachts and tugs and a chorus of ships' horns and whistles.

Arriving at Liverpool on May 28, Grant was surprised to find the harbor filled with gaily decorated welcoming vessels, and the streets packed with cheering crowds, prompting him to remark that his reception was "as hearty and as enthusiastic as in Philadelphia on our departure".

[14] Grant and his wife eventually returned triumphantly to the United States on board the Pacific Mail steamship City of Tokio on September 20, 1879.

[15] The relief voyage was a result of the sympathetic relationship that had built up between Russia and Philadelphia via warship contracts awarded by the Russian Navy to the shipyard of William Cramp & Sons, which had kept the Philadelphian waterfront busy during an economic downturn.

Clement Acton Griscom, the executive head of the Inman Line, took advantage of this demand to sell the by now outdated Pennsylvania class vessels at a premium.