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Post by bcferryfan87 on Feb 12, 2009 22:59:36 GMT -8
So I thought it was interesting - though I don't know all the details - that some group over in the UK I believe, has re-created an old steam engine (re-built it in 2009, but using the old design as I understand it).
So I had often wondered - even before hearing this - if I or someone had the probably millions of dollars it would take, to build a re-created version of the Princess Marguerite II - our old friend the Maggie.
Since the powers that be had no wisdom to keep her (and believe me, at a young age at the time, I wrote letters to Cliff Michael, Minister in the Vanderzalm gov't, opposition members etc), I wonder what it would take to build a version as an exact running replica of her, but with newer safety features etc.
Imagine - maybe far fetched, but if someone had the money to build a "new (but old) Maggie"; have the bow thruster - which she didn't have; have updated engines that were efficient, but somehow have a way of having her steam whistle. Oh I loved that whistle.
Thoughts are welcomed, as this is not likely to ever happen - unless someone has that money to burn. If I was ever in the situation to have that money, it would maybe be a project I would take on, but don't plan on seeing that "new" classic Marguerite any time soon.
(I wish I knew how to add a picture of her in here!)
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FNS
Voyager 
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,948
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Post by FNS on Feb 12, 2009 23:51:48 GMT -8
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Post by trainguru on Dec 17, 2014 19:32:08 GMT -8
I for one would love to see Maggie make a comeback (as I was too late for the original!). It would be an undertaking, but the equipment to make steam technology is still around (for how long though we don't know), but anything's possible.
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Post by trainguru on Dec 17, 2014 19:43:24 GMT -8
I for one would love to see Maggie make a comeback (as I was too late for the original!). It would be an undertaking, but the equipment to make steam technology is still around (for how long though we don't know), but anything's possible.
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Post by princessofvanfan on Dec 17, 2014 22:14:43 GMT -8
Losing the Maggie was indeed a major blow to Victoria's identity. The Clippers are good, but just don't have the same character the old girl had. Oh, well, with the loss of the wax museum and Undersea Gardens now, the Inner Harbour will never be the same. even the Smitty's on Douglas is gone, now a Cora  . ============= edited by moderator to remove word that isn't really needed in that context |
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Dec 19, 2014 22:42:35 GMT -8
>:Dhaving the Princess Margurete towed away and junked by Stena was a travesty in my mind, on a par with Hapag Lloyd absorbing all memory of the once great Canadian Pacfic Steamships  mrdot. |
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Post by Starsteward on Dec 20, 2014 7:50:25 GMT -8
>:Dhaving the Princess Margurete towed away and junked by Stena was a travesty in my mind, on a par with Hapag Lloyd absorbing all memory of the once great Canadian Pacfic Steamships mrdot. I echo mrdot's comment on the scrapping of the Maggie.
Many pieces of beautiful wood furniture was literally tossed off the ship onto the dock, smashed to bits! How do I know of this destruction? The historic motor yacht El Primero was docked not far from the Maggie's inner harbour dock, the owner just happened to be passing by and upon witnessing the 'furniture toss' made her way down to the pier and begged the workers to allow her to save some pieces of furniture, namely some tables, and dining room fixtures and give those pieces a home on the El Primero. The workers' response was; help yourself. Two years after acquiring the furniture from the Maggie, I joined the crew of the El Primero as Head Steward and had the pleasure of using many of the 'cast-offs' and never missed an opportunity to relate the story of their rescue to guests aboard the El Primero during many charters over the next several years. My thanks to the late Trudy Kalke, for saving some of the history of the Princess Marguerite, by being at the right place at the right time. |
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Post by trainguru on Mar 24, 2018 2:35:41 GMT -8
Looking back at this old thread, after my First Trip to Victoria (by way of the M/V Coho- winning their Capital City Comic Con contest!), I have been spurred over the last few days, to look at the Viability of a Maggie II replica. I believe it would be Highly Viable, if we had a Consortium of PNW/Southern BC shipping companies. It's just about making a Compelling Case, that would be TOO Good to Pass Up!
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Post by coastal memories on Mar 8, 2019 21:36:27 GMT -8
Considering a replica of the Titanic is under construction, a replica Maggie might be a good idea. Perhaps make her a hybrid, part steam, part electric, part diesel or part LNG. A historic appearance with a modern power source.
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Post by princessofvanfan on Mar 8, 2019 23:37:49 GMT -8
Great idea, but with the Clipper established on that route, not likely feasible from a business standpoint.
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Post by westernflyer on Mar 9, 2019 10:10:18 GMT -8
Not to hijack this thread, but if we want to have one of BC's historic vessels make a comeback, rather than imagining an immensely expensive project like re-creating the Maggie, spare a thought for the last surviving vessel from the Union Steamships fleet, the Lady Rose. She still exists, is still afloat, but is in great danger of being lost forever. I admit she is not really comparable to the Maggie, and never was a steam powered vessel, but I'd argue she is perhaps the most important surviving link to the era of steam transport on the west coast.
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Post by trainguru on Mar 29, 2019 16:34:02 GMT -8
Great idea, but with the Clipper established on that route, not likely feasible from a business standpoint. Clipper's a Passenger-Only Transportation Company, that has a Hotel/Tour Booking Business, and a Freight Business. They Tried to make the "Maggie III" work, but it didn't for the Following Reasons: A) She was NO Maggie. The Mistake is Thinking in Terms of Transportation, instead of the Experience. People Sailed on the "Maggie" (II) because she was an "Ocean Liner in Miniature" that took you to "Old World Victoria." The Maggie (II) was no mere ferry, but a full-on Experience of a By-Gone Age, of Service, Splendor, and Magnificence- sailing from Seattle- "The Queen City of the Northwest," which was a modern city in miniature, to Victoria, through Picturesque Landscapes, on Seas that give the Ocean a run for the money. You felt like a Million Bucks, as you sailed to the Old World, had fun, and returned a Day or Two later, in the Evening, having a last romantic hurrah- on the Inland Sea, in a Beautiful Setting. B) The Queen of Burnaby, while a Fine Vessel, was NO Maggie. Six Staterooms, and some Interior Dressing, doesn't make Maggie Be. She was too Utilitarian, as she was rooted in the Coho, Sidney and Tasswassen's designs. She was a Working Girl, and spending the 90's trying to be something else, didn't play in her favor. C) The Ship docked at Odgen Point. While VIP did as well (for God know's why; she originally had forward doors on her Car Deck!), you had to get yourself from the Dock, to Downtown/The Inner Harbor- through Residential Neighborhoods (That didn't help her image!). Maggie (II) took you directly into the Inner Harbor (where Clipper docks today). It was that "Downtown to Downtown" convince, coupled with the "Full-Sensory" Experience she was- as mentioned in Point "A", made her THE Favored Way, to travel, between the Two Cities. What the B.C. Government (in 1980 and 1988-1992!), Stena, Royal Victorian, and Clipper, failed to understand, was that it was the "Full-Sensory Experience" that people went for, when they Chose the Maggie (II), over long drives up to Tasswassen or Port Angeles, to get to, and experience Victoria. It wasn't just about a convenient mode of transport between two cities, it was the Full-On Sensory Experience, of Escaping the Everyday, and being Caught-Up in a Story of a Generation or Two ago, of an "Ocean" voyage, from the New World, to the Old, without having to spend a lot of cash, plan months in advanced, or learn a foreign language. It was that Experience, that Brought People to the Maggie, and that Fundamental Misunderstanding, that doomed Maggie & VIP/PoV- with Stena, and every other Automobile-Carrying vessel ("Royal Victorian/Maggie III," the "Crown Princess Victoria," even the QPR/Victorian Princess, and the hydrofoil "Flying Princess" too in 1980), since. If ever a "New Maggie" emerged, she'd have Big Shoes to Fill, not only betwixt the First Two, but big stumbles to avoid, as those that Tried-in-Vain- to replace Maggie (II) and (to a lesser extent), the VIP/PoV. |
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Post by trainguru on Mar 29, 2019 16:42:32 GMT -8
Considering a replica of the Titanic is under construction, a replica Maggie might be a good idea. Perhaps make her a hybrid, part steam, part electric, part diesel or part LNG. A historic appearance with a modern power source. We still have the Tech to do Steam Turbine/Steam-Turbo-Electric. They Still Use Steam Turbines in LNG Carriers, these days (New ones from Hyundai Shipyards in the Republic of Korea/South Korea, have been launched recently). There's also a Paddle Steamer in Switzerland, that had a brand-new Steam Engine (Reciprocating), built, with Automatic Boilers, and Helm-Control (computerized) for Both the Boilers and Engines, thus reducing Operating Costs (better Boiler Firing/Fuel Economy, Thermal Efficiency/Steam Generation, Reduced Operations Crew costs, et cetera)- with the Technical work carried out by a firm from Germany or The Netherlands. The Tech is there; it's a matter of putting the pieces together. Besides, it would be much easier with Steam-Turbo-Electric, over Reciprocating engines, anyhow?! It's essentially a "Six-Million Dollar Man"/"Bionic Woman" deal (though pricier), for a New Maggie (II/IV), if it ever came to fruition. |
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mrdot.
