|
|
Post by chinook2 on Jun 5, 2020 18:21:08 GMT -8
Here's an interesting photo of Departure Bay. Photo credit to Tourism Nanaimo. -Berth 1 had a full gantry, and berth 2 has been double decked. Berth 3 is still non-existant: Not sure if this his been discussed on the site, but as of January 1976 when the C class were months away from entering service, there were no plans to modify the docks and add loading ramps for the second car deck on the Cowichan and Coquitlam. There was an election late in 1975, and Bill Bennett's Socreds took over the reigns from Barrett's NDP government. Jack Davis became the minister responsible for BC Ferries, and these news clippings address the oversight. |
|
Neil
Voyager 
Posts: 7,308
|
Post by Neil on Jun 5, 2020 21:17:04 GMT -8
Here's an interesting photo of Departure Bay. Photo credit to Tourism Nanaimo. -Berth 1 had a full gantry, and berth 2 has been double decked. Berth 3 is still non-existant: Not sure if this his been discussed on the site, but as of January 1976 when the C class were months away from entering service, there were no plans to modify the docks and add loading ramps for the second car deck on the Cowichan and Coquitlam. There was an election late in 1975, and Bill Bennett's Socreds took over the reigns from Barrett's NDP government. Jack Davis became the minister responsible for BC Ferries, and these news clippings address the oversight. Frankly, I don't believe those stories. For one thing, the Vancouver Sun, and Province, (my employer at the time) were rabidly anti-NDP, and eager to cast the former government in the worst possible light. Second, I remember how the incoming Bennett regime moved many capital expenditures ahead, to appear in the last part of the fiscal year under the Barrett government, so as to worsen the balance books. They tried to portray the start of ICBC, which still exists, as chaotic. There was an organized campaign between the Socreds and their friends in the media to characterize every Barrett initiative as shambolic. We do know that the ' Coquitlam and ' Cowichan had ramps to load the top deck from the lower deck, but I simply do not trust reports that there was no provision in the ferries budget to upgrade ferry terminals for two deck loading. |
|
|
|
Post by Dane on Jun 5, 2020 21:27:53 GMT -8
Not sure if this his been discussed on the site, but as of January 1976 when the C class were months away from entering service, there were no plans to modify the docks and add loading ramps for the second car deck on the Cowichan and Coquitlam. There was an election late in 1975, and Bill Bennett's Socreds took over the reigns from Barrett's NDP government. Jack Davis became the minister responsible for BC Ferries, and these news clippings address the oversight. Frankly, I don't believe those stories. For one thing, the Vancouver Sun, and Province, (my employer at the time) were rabidly anti-NDP, and eager to cast the former government in the worst possible light. Second, I remember how the incoming Bennett regime moved many capital expenditures ahead, to appear in the last part of the fiscal year under the Barrett government, so as to worsen the balance books. They tried to portray the start of ICBC, which still exists, as chaotic. There was an organized campaign between the Socreds and their friends in the media to characterize every Barrett initiative as shambolic. We do know that the ' Coquitlam and ' Cowichan had ramps to load the top deck from the lower deck, but I simply do not trust reports that there was no provision in the ferries budget to upgrade ferry terminals for two deck loading. Interesting bit of context there, thanks both. I do wonder given how serious the plans were for service to move to Gabriola/Iona is there any chance that there in fact was a purposeful lack of planning for Departure Bay to get double ramps? |
|
Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
|
Post by Neil on Jun 5, 2020 21:57:44 GMT -8
Frankly, I don't believe those stories. For one thing, the Vancouver Sun, and Province, (my employer at the time) were rabidly anti-NDP, and eager to cast the former government in the worst possible light. Second, I remember how the incoming Bennett regime moved many capital expenditures ahead, to appear in the last part of the fiscal year under the Barrett government, so as to worsen the balance books. They tried to portray the start of ICBC, which still exists, as chaotic. There was an organized campaign between the Socreds and their friends in the media to characterize every Barrett initiative as shambolic. We do know that the ' Coquitlam and ' Cowichan had ramps to load the top deck from the lower deck, but I simply do not trust reports that there was no provision in the ferries budget to upgrade ferry terminals for two deck loading. Interesting bit of context there, thanks both. I do wonder given how serious the plans were for service to move to Gabriola/Iona is there any chance that there in fact was a purposeful lack of planning for Departure Bay to get double ramps? Dane, it's possible. Knowing the general mindset of the Barrett government though, I really doubt that they were fixed on imposing a terminal on an island community that would have gone so much against their wishes. I distrust the assertions presented in those articles. I could be wrong. |
|
|
|
Post by princessofvanfan on Jun 6, 2020 1:40:47 GMT -8
Interesting bit of context there, thanks both. I do wonder given how serious the plans were for service to move to Gabriola/Iona is there any chance that there in fact was a purposeful lack of planning for Departure Bay to get double ramps? Dane, it's possible. Knowing the general mindset of the Barrett government though, I really doubt that they were fixed on imposing a terminal on an island community that would have gone so much against their wishes. I distrust the assertions presented in those articles. I could be wrong. The Gabriola/Iona Island route was going to be a reality, and the C's were meant for that route, hence their original interiors and seating, which were designed for a shorter route - those cube style seats were not terribly comfortable to sit in for more than an hour or less! As well, the cafeteria was originally designed for basic, snack bar style food service only, which was woefully inadequate for route 2 (anyone old enough will remember the endless lineup for food in the first few years of the C's existence, and how much smaller the cafeteria was back then). We also had property on Mudge Island, and used to go for walks along the area that was cleared for the new thruway that was supposed to connect the bridges crossing Dodd and False Narrows, and on to Gabriola. The Gabriola/Iona route and ships were meant to be fast, efficient, and strictly utilitarian. I suppose that is why the C's originally had escalators connecting each deck as well. Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by chinook2 on Jun 6, 2020 16:05:29 GMT -8
Dane, it's possible. Knowing the general mindset of the Barrett government though, I really doubt that they were fixed on imposing a terminal on an island community that would have gone so much against their wishes. I distrust the assertions presented in those articles. I could be wrong. The Gabriola/Iona Island route was going to be a reality, and the C's were meant for that route, hence their original interiors and seating, which were designed for a shorter route - those cube style seats were not terribly comfortable to sit in for more than an hour or less! As well, the cafeteria was originally designed for basic, snack bar style food service only, which was woefully inadequate for route 2 (anyone old enough will remember the endless lineup for food in the first few years of the C's existence, and how much smaller the cafeteria was back then). We also had property on Mudge Island, and used to go for walks along the area that was cleared for the new thruway that was supposed to connect the bridges crossing Dodd and False Narrows, and on to Gabriola. The Gabriola/Iona route and ships were meant to be fast, efficient, and strictly utilitarian. I suppose that is why the C's originally had escalators connecting each deck as well. Indeed, the Iona-Gabriola route was the intended use for the Cowichan and Coquitlam...Vancouver Sun, Oct 22, 1975 Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by chinook2 on Jun 6, 2020 16:18:28 GMT -8
The Gabriola/Iona Island route was going to be a reality, and the C's were meant for that route, hence their original interiors and seating, which were designed for a shorter route - those cube style seats were not terribly comfortable to sit in for more than an hour or less! As well, the cafeteria was originally designed for basic, snack bar style food service only, which was woefully inadequate for route 2 (anyone old enough will remember the endless lineup for food in the first few years of the C's existence, and how much smaller the cafeteria was back then). We also had property on Mudge Island, and used to go for walks along the area that was cleared for the new thruway that was supposed to connect the bridges crossing Dodd and False Narrows, and on to Gabriola. The Gabriola/Iona route and ships were meant to be fast, efficient, and strictly utilitarian. I suppose that is why the C's originally had escalators connecting each deck as well. Indeed, the Iona-Gabriola route was the intended use for the Cowichan and Coquitlam...Vancouver Sun, Oct 22, 1975 Had forgotten about that bit of history, the iona/ Gabriola part..interesting looking back .... fun going back into the news archives....
Some years ago I was chastised by some, perhaps written off by others within this site, for suggesting that there were 5 ships operating on route two in the 1974 and 1975 summer seasons...my only defense at the time was I was there back then... now.....from the Vancouver Sun June 29 1975......
Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by princessofvanfan on Jun 6, 2020 19:28:12 GMT -8
Indeed, the Iona-Gabriola route was the intended use for the Cowichan and Coquitlam...Vancouver Sun, Oct 22, 1975 Had forgotten about that bit of history, the iona/ Gabriola part..interesting looking back .... fun going back into the news archives....
Some years ago I was chastised by some, perhaps written off by others within this site, for suggesting that there were 5 ships operating on route two in the 1974 and 1975 summer seasons...my only defense at the time was I was there back then... now.....from the Vancouver Sun June 29 1975......
Yep, like you, I was there (although very young at the time), and remember the grownups talking about it. |
|
Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
|
Post by Neil on Jun 6, 2020 20:03:04 GMT -8
Had forgotten about that bit of history, the iona/ Gabriola part..interesting looking back .... fun going back into the news archives....
Some years ago I was chastised by some, perhaps written off by others within this site, for suggesting that there were 5 ships operating on route two in the 1974 and 1975 summer seasons...my only defense at the time was I was there back then... now.....from the Vancouver Sun June 29 1975......
Yep, like you, I was there (although very young at the time), and remember the grownups talking about it. Two things. One: just looked at my schedules. Summer of '74- five vessels on route one in summer, four on route two. Queen of Sidney was making Gulf Islands stops on some of her crossings. Don't have a summer '75 schedule, but the first Queen of Surrey was around, so possibly there could have been five boats on route two for the only time ever. Two: Thanks for posting the news clippings. As they state, the Iona-Gabriola route was proposed. It never got the final go ahead. BC Ferries no doubt designed the Coquitlam and Cowichan to be suitable for a shorter route, if need be. However, BC Ferries wasn't the body that determined whether the route was doable in the broader socio-economic sense... that was the government's purview. And it was determined that such a route would pretty much ruin Gabriola and Mudge, not to mention the astronomical costs of the new terminals, approaches, and all other considerations. Both the NDP and Social Credit had fantasies about a faster crossing of the strait. Pat McGeer championed a bridge. Those ideas are all dead today, mainly because they would probably take in excess of fifty years to even make back the capital costs. When you look back on it, the construction of Tsawwassen terminal was astonishing for how fast it was done. But by the mid 1970s, bigger considerations were coming into play for mega construction projects, and proposed ideas, while promising on the drawing board, were given a more thorough vetting. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2020 22:03:46 GMT -8
From BC Ferries Twitter, posted here because the last one is in Departure Bay.
/photo/3
|
|
|
|
Post by Departure Bay on Jan 1, 2021 11:13:24 GMT -8
It was really nice to hear the ferries sound their whistles at midnight last night at Departure Bay. The Queen of Coquitlam sounded hers while docked and the Queen of Cowichan sounded hers at midnight just after she entered the bay (running a little late). The last time I heard them do this was NYE 2017.
|
|
|
|
Post by WettCoast on Apr 6, 2021 21:13:18 GMT -8
|
|
|
|
Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 5, 2022 13:06:37 GMT -8
Does BC Ferries not like using berth 3 with the Coastal Class vessels?
|
|
|
|
Post by Ferryman on Mar 5, 2022 17:24:06 GMT -8
Does BC Ferries not like using berth 3 with the Coastal Class vessels? No, because they’re too long for that berth. If end dolphin was extended out so the stern could secured with a breast line, it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. |
|
|
|
Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 10, 2023 17:04:08 GMT -8
|
|
|
|
Post by paulvanb on Jul 17, 2024 18:05:30 GMT -8
|
|
Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,308
|
Post by Neil on Jul 17, 2024 20:26:19 GMT -8
You know, Paul, it's always mystified me how Black Ball managed to build car ferry terminals at Horseshoe Bay, Departure Bay, Earls Cove, Saltery Bay, Snug Cove, and either Gibsons or Langdale... I'm not clear on where car ferry service to the Sunshine Coast actually began. Realtor and Sunshine Coast historian Gary Little has recorded a lot of the history of Black Ball and the transition to BC Ferries, but he hasn't taken up my suggestion that he write at least a modest volume on that part of our maritime story. Black Ball was here for a short ten years, but they changed the face of our getting around on the water, compared to how ossified the CPR was. |
|
|
|
Post by WettCoast on Jul 18, 2024 6:50:40 GMT -8
This photo also comes up on page 2 of this thread. It is from the latter 1960’s (~1967). Have a look at the discussion on page 2. |
|
