Guess the Berth

[Retrovision]

I know that some of you will immediately recognize the design of this berth structure, and thought this reason enough to make a little challenge out of it.

See if you can guess where this berth is located



Cheers,
Graham

P.S. If I've given away the answer to you already in conversation, please leave the guessing to others; thanks.

[Koastal Karl]

I think I know where it is! I wont say though! I have seen that berth before!

[NMcKay]

im thinking barnston isl. it must be a river berth. hence the heron on the top

[Fenklebaum]

I seem to recall seeing a berth like that on the North side of the Fraser River... just west of the Arthur Lang Bridge, if I'm not mistaken. What it's for, however, I've no clue.

Fenk, guessing

[NMcKay]

did there used to be a ferry terminal there?

[Scott]

I'll guess that it's located at the Deas Island maintenance facility, but I really don't know. It doesn't look like a place that gets much of a tidal change, but it isn't Barnston Island - I don't remember it perfectly but I think all they have is a sort of boat ramp.

[Curtis]

I sure am stumped. Is it a BCFS Dock or another dock somewhere else? cause it looks familiar but I don't know where it is.

[Ferryman]

Possibly another former Swartz Bay berth, similar to the former Berth 3, which is now sitting at Porteau Cove?

[Koastal Karl]

I think that is by YVR isent it?? I have seen a dock on the river by the airport but not sure what the hell it's for, lol!

[Mike C]

Seaspan Berth on the Mainland side?

[Coastal Canuck]

No I think it is Barnston Island

[Gunny]

I would say it is the one on the North Arm of the Fraser River (on the Vancouver side)... I searched Barnston Island, and the ferry appears to not have any dock (it has ramps) and it appears a little high for little river ferry's dock. I think [the dock by YVR] was used by Canfor, but I am not sure.

[Mike C]

I've been to Barnston several times. Cute little ferry. Tug and barge system, under a minute crossing time, and a ramp as a berth. For those who have been on the Kwuna, it is a similiar configuration.

Oh, and at Barnston, they make you back off the ferry.

Years of experience, my good fellows.

[Queen of Nanaimo Teen]

Hmm, interesting picture..... But I think it looks like something at Deas

[Retrovision]

fenklebaum said:

I seem to recall seeing a berth like that on the North side of the Fraser River... just west of the Arthur Lang Bridge, if I'm not mistaken. What it's for, however, I've no clue.

Fenk, guessing

Gunny said:

I would say it is the one on the North Arm of the Fraser River (on the Vancouver side)... I searched Barnston Island, and the ferry appears to not have any dock (it has ramps) and it appears a little high for little river ferry's dock. I think [the dock by YVR] was used by Canfor, but I am not sure.

Both Correct, except, of course, Fenklebaum got it first.
Congratz to both of you, and thanks to everyone who played.

Here are some pics of the surrounding area - notice the Canada line construction, the new rapid transit line to the Airport and Ricmond Centre








And a couple maps, from: www.greenclub.bc.ca/Green_Club_Activity/GVRD_Parks_Events/UBC_issues/Save_Eburne/save_eburne.htm





...And a little history of Canfor upto the time of their purchasing the Eburne Mill, from: www.canfor.com/company/history.asp

1930's Canfor is a story of people, and how two entrepreneurs created an enterprise that grew from a modest beginning to become one of Canada's major forest products companies. The company traces its roots to the late 1930s, when brothers-in-law John G. Prentice and L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley and their families left their native Austria as the clouds of war gathered over Europe.

1938 PACIFIC VENEER
Only months after settling in Vancouver, John Prentice and Poldi Bentley formed a furniture and paneling veneer company called Pacific Veneer. They built a small mill, which employed 28 people, on the banks of the Fraser River in New Westminster, B.C. In 1939, Pacific Veneer became a supplier of plywood for aviation and marine applications, as well as Douglas fir plywood and the mill soon employed 1,000 men and women.

The two men had now laid the foundation for a business that could grow. And they had already begun to integrate their operations, creating a company that could rely on its own internal strengths.

1940 EBURNE SAW MILLS LIMITED
In 1940, they bought Eburne Saw Mills Limited, located near the mouth of the Fraser River, and upgraded and converted it to cut hemlock and balsam.

With the Eburne purchase, the company became a shareholder in Seaboard Lumber Sales Ltd., a Vancouver-based wood products marketing and shipping consortium. Seaboard gave the company better access to important offshore markets at competitive freight rates.

...And some interesting early colour photos of the same area - quite different from today:
seaisland1.homestead.com/eburne.html

Bonus Fact: Richmond Island, the little island beyond the berth, is a part of the City of Richmond, even though it is on the north side of the Fraser River and attached to the City of Vancouver.