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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 12, 2008 18:03:33 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 12, 2008 20:58:10 GMT -8
As I mentioned on another thread about a month ago, the sinking of the Princess Sophia was the worst marine disaster in the history of the North American Pacific coast. It happened in Alaskan waters and involved one of the vessels from Canadian Pacific's BC Coast service. Every one on board was lost. The only survivor was a dog. This show should be regarded as a must see for any one interested in our marine history.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Jul 12, 2008 22:03:46 GMT -8
My VCR's already set. (No, I don't have a PVR yet.....)
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Post by Northern Exploration on Aug 6, 2008 12:08:54 GMT -8
Slightly off topic but does anyone know what has happened to the Princess Mary restaurant? Last I think I heard was it was being moved somewhere to make room for a condo. I know it hadn't been open for a long time. My grandfather loved going to that place. When he was alive it was always the end to a day in Victoria when we were visiting.
It was always a bonus when there were rail cars being shuttled back and forth. It was the same thing with the old Captain's Table restaurant in Seattle and owned by Ivar's. Between the restaurant and the water were railway tracks. You always hoped some trains would go by but it was a drag when they parked there and ruined your view of the water.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,151
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Post by Neil on Aug 13, 2008 10:43:43 GMT -8
Considering the Island Princess, I just had this curious thought about what her interior was like back when she was the old inter-island cargo ship/ferry. Of course she had four staterooms, but I wonder what her other amenities might have been, if any. Certainly, i would think her interior spaces might have been a little more appealing and soft than the molded plastic seating she has in her current configuration. We've never had a photo of the Langdale Queen's interior on this forum, and I would also love to see the Island Princess's layout. I'm pretty certain they had a food service, and I'd be intrigued to see what those little staterooms would have been like. Hard to imagine a lounge, coffee bar, and four staterooms on a boat that size. A few more from the Salt Spring Archives, all Galiano shots.... The simple facilities at Sturdies Bay Princess Mary at Sturdies One of my favorites, the lovely old Princess May, built in 1888. The Lady Rose, in Union service to the Gulf Islands Loading cars was just a touch trickier before ro-ro ferries. Don't know if this was perhaps an unusual shot; the Princess of Nanaimo, who usually sailed from Vancouver to Nanaimo, this time entering Active Pass.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 23, 2009 20:55:27 GMT -8
I am starting this thread to display photos of BC's historical ships. The photos that I will display will mostly be from my brother David's collection, though, for the most part they were not taken by him. (He wasn't around in 1930, you see.) The thread is for ships that were around before 1960 - the year BC Ferries started sailing. Otherwise it can be used for Canadian or US ships operating anywhere here on the west coast from California north to Alaska. The photos that I contribute will be mainly of CP's Princess fleet. I will leave you with just this one for now. P Charlotte & P Kathleen @ Esquimalt Graving dock - when the dock was new - BC Archives. My brother says this about that pic: "The photo was done done by Dominion Photos at the newly opened facility. Note the unfinished crane and autos, etc." JST adds: I had to find a date for this photo. I knew that it had to be between the time Kathleen entered the fleet in 1925, and the beginning of WW II. Then I went to Google to search for information on the history of the Esquimalt Graving Dock. I found this: www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/pacific/egd/text/history-e.htmlHave a look at that site and you will this statement: "The Esquimalt Graving Dock officially opened on July 1, 1927 and the ceremony was part of Canada's Diamond Jubilee celebrations." This photo is used in one of Robert Turner's books ( Those Beautiful Coastal Liners) I think. A larger version can be found here.
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Post by bcferryfan87 on Jan 23, 2009 23:44:56 GMT -8
what are the ships above - which ones?? (one looks like the George or something; and other on right ahead of it looks like princess pat or Princess marguerite II); btw I'm talking about the pic withe BC legislature in far off - its black and white with about 3 ships in it. Thanks
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 24, 2009 10:18:49 GMT -8
WCK: Thank You ! What an excellent thread idea, and I look forward to enjoying the photos that you and others post here.
For context, I was interested in comparison of ship size of the BCCSS fleet to our modern BCFS fleet.
Re the Princess Kathleen: Length-369 ft, beam-60ft
A comparable current BC Ferry would be: - Queen of Tsawwassen: 102.5metres, which is approx 307 feet. - Queen of Burnaby: 130 metres, which is approx 390 feet. - Queen of Prince Rupert: 332 feet. - Queen of Chilliwack (pardon the comparison ;D) - 375 feet.
So to get perspective on length, the Princess Kathleen is approximately the same length as the Q-Chilliwack.
I suppose that's why they call them "Coastal Liners", smaller than regular ocean liners.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 24, 2009 13:16:11 GMT -8
WCK: Thank You ! What an excellent thread idea, and I look forward to enjoying the photos that you and others post here. For context, I was interested in comparison of ship size of the BCCSS fleet to our modern BCFS fleet. Re the Princess Kathleen: Length-369 ft, beam-60ft A comparable current BC Ferry would be: - Queen of Tsawwassen: 102.5metres, which is approx 307 feet. - Queen of Burnaby: 130 metres, which is approx 390 feet. - Queen of Prince Rupert: 332 feet. - Queen of Chilliwack (pardon the comparison ;D) - 375 feet. So to get perspective on length, the Princess Kathleen is approximately the same length as the Q-Chilliwack. I suppose that's why they call them "Coastal Liners", smaller than regular ocean liners. The Queen of Tsawwassen is more in the area of 336 ft in lenght, or so.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 27, 2009 20:47:14 GMT -8
It seems that we have definitely determined that the twin funneled ship in the above photo is the Patricia. Thanks to 'ferrynutsseattle' for his persistence. Now for another... The Princess Maquinna @ Bamfield Cable Station, West Coast of Vancouver Island, 1948 - BC Govt photo now in BC Archives [DOT collection] The Maquinna was one of just a few CPR west coast Princesses that was built in BC (BC Marine Railway Co - later Yarrows, Vic Ship, etc.). She entered service in 1912 and continued until 1953 when she was retired by CP and sold to Union Steamships who converted her into a barge and renamed her Taku. In 1962 what was left of her was scrapped. The Maquinna spent most of her CP life serving the west coast of Vancouver Island out of Victoria. She was in the truest sense of the word a lifeline for the isolated settlements along the remote coast. There were no means of alternate transport available until late in her years - no roads, no planes. This ship was busy summer & winter serving fishing communities, sawmills, first nations villages, etc. Her schedule over most of her life involved return trips up to the north end of the Island via the west coast both ways. She would take about 3 days in each direction, making numerous stops en route. Of the various vessels in the CP fleet she obviously had the most difficult operating conditions, often being out on the open Pacific for hours at a time. The photo here was taken at the Bamfield Cable station wharf. Bamfield today may be best known as being at the north end of the that hikers' paradise, the West Coast Trail. Back at the time of the photo it was the end/beginning of the Trans Pacific Cable - the 'All Red Line'. For more check out these links: www.bms.bc.ca/information/archive/historical.htmlatlantic-cable.com/CableCos/Bamfield/index.htmen.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Red_LineLarger size available here. For more on this and other west coast Princesses check out Robert Turner's two excellent books The Pacific Princesses & Those Beautiful Coastal Liners.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 27, 2009 21:06:01 GMT -8
Beautiful photo WCK... you can definitely tell that the Maquinna was a working vessel from that photo, with her derricks in action, and her freight doors open with small vessels waiting.
That photo also features prominently in a book called Westcoasters: Boats that built BC, by Tom Henry. It has a chapter on the Princess Maquinna which is quite noteworthy... this is another book that I'm sure Flugel would love to read.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 27, 2009 21:16:09 GMT -8
That photo also features prominently in a book called Westcoasters: Boats that built BC, by Tom Henry. It has a chapter on the Princess Maquinna which is quite noteworthy... this is another book that I'm sure Flugel would love to read. I had the book in my hands at Chapters, a few weeks ago. But it didn't make the cut (I bought too many other books that day), so I'll have to buy it another time. I own and enjoyed reading Mr. Henry's book on the Union Steamship Company ("The Good Company").
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,947
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Post by FNS on Jan 31, 2009 16:49:37 GMT -8
The scene in Victoria with all those ships must have been taken during the winter of 1959.
I looked closely at the HiRes picture WCK sent me and you'll see a cover over the fore stack aboard the PATRICIA. For those who don't know, only the fore stack was functional on that ship and the MARGUERITE. The aft stack was a cosmetic addition to balance the ship's appearance. However, the main whistles were on the aft stack. This was in a set of three. The fore stack had a single whistle.
Interesting to note, the BCSS traded places of the whistles on the MAGGIE when she returned to service in 1981. Later on, the whistles were relocated one last time to their original places before her retirement.
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 8, 2009 22:04:04 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 24, 2009 20:19:45 GMT -8
anyways, if you look at the port bow side by wheelhouse/bridge, it says something like "CP 100 years", so whenever that was would be a good guess it was the same time the pic was taken. The Canadian Pacific 'company' was formed in 1881, several years after work had been started by the Dominion government to construct a 'Canadian Pacific' transcontinental railway. That would place their centennial year in 1981. So, it seems likely that that photo is from that year. It might also be 1985, 100 years after the railway's last spike ceremony at Craigellachie, BC. I have a vague recollection of CP celebrating 100 years of their corporate history somewhere back in the 1980's. Late addition: Some reading in my brother's Canadian Pacific Steamships collection indicates that CP elected to retire the P Pat following its last Alaskan cruise in October 1981. That fact no doubt seals the date of this photo.
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Post by Ferryman on Oct 25, 2009 22:09:18 GMT -8
Thank you very much bcferryfan87 for putting in the effort of posting that. I really appreciate that, and enjoyed listening to it.
Not to steal your fire, but I'd like to add in a video I found on youtube which includes some good colour footage of steamships and even the MV Chinook in 1949.
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 15, 2009 17:35:44 GMT -8
Loading cars was just a touch trickier before ro-ro ferries. haha, it's a Lo-Lo ferry ;D
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,947
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Post by FNS on Nov 23, 2009 8:15:19 GMT -8
WCK: Thank You ! What an excellent thread idea, and I look forward to enjoying the photos that you and others post here. For context, I was interested in comparison of ship size of the BCCSS fleet to our modern BCFS fleet. Re the Princess Kathleen: Length-369 ft, beam-60ft A comparable current BC Ferry would be: - Queen of Tsawwassen: 102.5metres, which is approx 307 feet. - Queen of Burnaby: 130 metres, which is approx 390 feet. - Queen of Prince Rupert: 332 feet. - Queen of Chilliwack (pardon the comparison ;D) - 375 feet. So to get perspective on length, the Princess Kathleen is approximately the same length as the Q-Chilliwack. I suppose that's why they call them "Coastal Liners", smaller than regular ocean liners. The Queen of Tsawwassen is more in the area of 336 ft in lenght, or so. And, the QUEEN OF BURNABY is 426 feet in length. Subtract this by 84 feet for the added 1970s mid ship addition and you get 342 as her original length.
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Post by Retrovision on Dec 3, 2009 10:02:38 GMT -8
From page 304 of The Princess Story - A Century and a Half of West Coast Shipping by Norman R. Hacking and W. Kaye Lamb...
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Dec 7, 2009 20:38:45 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 19, 2010 21:58:11 GMT -8
I posted this item on the "Why is the Sky Blue" thread earlier this evening. I am posting this again because the linked Youtube video has some excellent footage of CP steamers in Victoria Harbour, 1936.
Enjoy!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2010 12:07:56 GMT -8
I just got an e-mail from a friend about a film shot on May 4, 1907 in Victoria, B.C. William H. Harbeck who filmed this also filmed the aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. Harbeck died on the Titanic. The last bit of the film(about 2 minutes) shows a glimpse of the Building of the Empress Hotel. Also shown is the Parliament Buildings, The CP Terminal and docks, The land for sale where the Black Ball Ferry Terminal would eventually be and the Inner Harbor. hallmarksociety.ca/Harbeck/1907v.htmThe Travel Talks clip that was posted earlier in this thread, was very interesting. The Inner Harbor was much the same as I remember it in the late 50's early 60's. With one exception the CP dock buildings were gone. The boats pulled right up to the front edge of the CP Building. The area in front of the building was where the cars were loaded onto the boat. There was only one wharf in which boats could tie up in front of the Empress. BY the late 60's early 70's, the beautification of the inner Harbor was taking place. A walkway was built and more wharfs for boats to tie up in front of the Empress. The Massive Welcome sign and floral arrangement in front of the Parliament Buildings.
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Post by Starsteward on Mar 2, 2010 13:23:08 GMT -8
WOW, now that's a piece of nostaglia! Thanks for posting that shipdaughterwife, great to see that Victorians were then driving on the 'opposite' side of the road, think many still try, lol Very cool to see the footage.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 2, 2010 20:08:13 GMT -8
My thanks also to 'shipdaughterwife' for posting that link. We are accumulating an interesting collection of old videos giving us a glimpse of the BC coast and our historical ships in days gone by.
Hopefully there are more to come.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 12, 2010 6:38:41 GMT -8
Here's a great read of memories of a Texada Islander of the ships that served the areas around Texada. First the intro to our forum: My dad has completed a memoir of his travels on the CP ships when he was a young man.
Wow, the shoes to fill...my grandfather also has a number of stories published from his days growing up on Texada, though only minor mention is given to the CP ships. And here's the link to the memoirs: tedross-texadaisland.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-came-to-texada_27.html
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