Old Schedules - photos & discussion

[Neil]

Re: Pender Queen/Queen of The Islands- This is the summer '78 schedule that I got the information from. The fact that they provide 70 minutes for the turnaround, as opposed to the usual hour, would seem to indicate the slower Pender Queen, at that time, anyway. Perhaps they changed vessels after the schedule was printed.

[Neil]

The schedule hasn't changed much, but the fares have gone up a tad....

[Neil]

Probably the very last schedule to include Kelsey Bay; the Bear Cove terminal opened the following spring.

[Mirrlees]

WOW, that brings back memories,I was on the Northbound/Monday-Southbound/Tuesday cruise that spring...

P.S. I was just a young "Whipper-Snapper" back then at the age of 8.

[queenofcowichan]

According to the ships of BC Book Alaska State Ferries got fed up with The QPR running aground that they decided to build a terminal in Bellingham and provided service from there to Alaska. This is when they purchased the Stena Germanica or was it Britanica from Stena Lines and renamed it Wickersham and put it on the Bellingham run untill the mv Columbia was built to replace it.

[Neil]

Queen of Prince Rupert had nothing to do with AMHS starting service to Seattle, which they did two years after the 'Rupert began service. They later moved to Bellingham for a better port deal, and because it was closer to Alaska.

[Airchime]

PS: Many thanks to one of our members, Alan, otherwise known as Airchime on this board, for the majority of the items in this collection.

Thanks Chris. You got a good chunk of my "doubles", but there's
a couple things I can add that you may, or may not, have seen.

A couple of older ferry tickets, before they started refering to foot
passengers as birds and animals!!



I've always known about the two terminals on Galiano Island.
According to this 1966 map, there were two terminals on Pender
Island as well.



The Bowen Queen in berth 1 at Swartz Bay is pretty interesting,
but the V-class in berth 2 has no emblem on her funnel! Probably
after the Expo 86 insignia was removed.



And, finally, the slogan that brought us the altered BC flag and a
standardized red and blue colour scheme for all government-run
transportation in the province.

[Scott (Former Account)]

Welcome back, Alan..!

Thank you for sharing those historically significant photos with us. You never fail to impress...

[Neil]

This is from the summer '66 schedule; on this map, Port Washington has been changed to Otter Bay, and by this year, if not '65 when the Mayne Queen took over the route (or even earlier), Hope Bay was no longer used.

[queenofcowichan]

Nice one of the Bowen Queen, I would assume she is on the Fulford Harbour run when that pict was taken. I was just on her again today, November 21 and took more pictures which I will upload when I get some computer time at home. I will post in the new photos section when I get them uploaded.

[Neil]

[ProudCanuck]

I assume the 85 vehicle ferry they refer to be introduced in 1991 was the Queen of Capilano.

[Low Light Mike]

proudcanuck said:

I assume the 85 vehicle ferry they refer to be introduced in 1991 was the Queen of Capilano.

Yes sir, it is.

That was an interesting read, as many ferry things were changing in 1991.

The "newly sponsoned QQII" caught my eye. Not that I understand that, but it sounded technical. (ie. sponsons make it more stable, so this allows them to carry heavier loads??)

[shipyard]

Sponsons add stability, as well as buoyancy, to a hull. I wonder if her sister, Tachek, received this modification as well?

[Hardy]

As I read the 1991 Service Plan, I began to wonder ... and I am sure that someone else has already mused this somewhere.

In terms of passenger satisfaction, are we better off with bigger boats (higher capacity) making less sailings, or more sailings with slightly smaller boats??

Looking at Rte-1 with 5-boat service and the earlier sailing starts, I find myself wondering if that would not be a better service approach? Not necessarily 5 boats per se, but earlier sailings could definately be a draw.

While I have a funny feeling my reply will be moved to a more appropriate thread, I thought it was worthy of comment here (apologies to the mods in case they have to move me!)

[Low Light Mike]

hardy said:

While I have a funny feeling my reply will be moved to a more appropriate thread, I thought it was worthy of comment here (apologies to the mods in case they have to move me!)

fair comment, good enough place. The almighty moderator powers (I think that's what you called them once...) are in the shop for regularly scheduled maintenance.

re the actual comment: I agree that scheduling-creativity was/is a good thing. Offering something new was all the rage in the early 1990's at BCFC.

[hergfest]

1991 was before the Spirits went into service, so a five boat schedule on Route 1 was probably needed to keep up with traffic. A V-Class without her platforms can only hold 286 cars.

[Ferryman]

I'm trying to figure out which would be the 5 boats running on Route 1 back then. I know for sure it would have been 4 V's, but am assuming the 5th was a C-Class. At the time, the V's wouldn't have been treated like the grand old ladies of the Fleet. They were very much in full service. So capacity with platforms being used, and the 5th vessel being a C-Class, there's space for 1756 vehicles that could be moved on 5 consecutive sailings. But then again, if you didn't have the C-Class running, but only 4 V's, there's capacity for 1416 vehicles. Currently with the Spirit Class, and the two V's (this time without the platforms), the capacity over 4 consecutive sailings, is 1540 vehicles. I guess it depends how you look at it. Maybe we'll have to dig around and find the stats and compare the amounts of traffic between then and now.

[Quatchi]

I am thinking it was:

Victoria
Vancouver
Saanich
Esquimalt
Burnaby

There was nothing mentioned about the Burnaby or the Sidney in the article. I am thinking the Sidney was up one the Powell River-Comox run*. That leaves the Burnaby** to be the 5th boat. I was under the assumption that BCF didn't run C's in active pass after the Alberni Incident. Also wouldn't they want the more powerful C's on the mid island express as the article states there are 3 ships on that route including the new west.

Well thats my approximation, half of it is probably wrong and if it is please tell me so I don't make the same mistake again.

*Not sure if this run is active.
**Not sure if BCF has possession of Burnaby at this point either.

[Mirrlees]

cadmunkey said:

I am thinking it was:

Victoria
Vancouver
Saanich
Esquimalt
Burnaby

There was nothing mentioned about the Burnaby or the Sydney in the article. I am thinking the Sydney was up one the Powell River-Comox run*. That leaves the Burnaby** to be the 5th boat. I was under the assumption that BCF didn't run C's in active pass after the Alberni Incident. Also wouldn't they want the more powerful C's on the mid island express as the article states there are 3 ships on that route including the new west.

Well thats my approximation, half of it is probably wrong and if it is please tell me so I don't make the same mistake again.

*Not sure if this run is active.
**Not sure if BCF has possession of Burnaby at this point either.

Yes, Cadmunkey, it was the `Burnaby as she wasn't handed over to the Victoria-Seattle run until 1994.

[Low Light Mike]

cadmunkey said:

Well thats my approximation, half of it is probably wrong and if it is please tell me so I don't make the same mistake again.

The S-ship is "Sidney". That's the way that the BC town spells it's name.

The platform decks are "gallery". The kitchen is a "galley".

[WettCoast]

cadmunkey said:

I am thinking it was:

Victoria
Vancouver
Saanich
Esquimalt
Burnaby

There was nothing mentioned about the Burnaby or the Sidney in the article. I am thinking the Sidney was up one the Powell River-Comox run*. That leaves the Burnaby** to be the 5th boat. I was under the assumption that BCF didn't run C's in active pass after the Alberni Incident. Also wouldn't they want the more powerful C's on the mid island express as the article states there are 3 ships on that route including the new west.

Well thats my approximation, half of it is probably wrong and if it is please tell me so I don't make the same mistake again.

*Not sure if this run is active.
**Not sure if BCF has possession of Burnaby at this point either.

You are right about all of the above, except with regard to the 'C' class. When the Queen of Oak Bay was new in 1980 it spent time working Route 1. The photo below was taken at Swartz Bay, by my brother, Mr. DOT, during that first year.


A new Q of Oak Bay at Swartz Bay - 1981 (DOT Collection ©)

In the winter of 1980-81 they lifted the first two V's, and the following year did the same to the other two. With the large capacity increase brought about by the lifted V's, the Oak Bay was no longer needed on route 1 and so they moved it away.

[shipyard]

Ahh, she looks so modern, uncluttered, and symmetrical. Those were the days.....

[Hardy]

Back to the point I started making about the 5 boat rotation on Rte-1 --- I like the idea of the EARLY sailing ... perhaps it is due to the fact that I am in the transportation industry and like to get a jump on my day (more of a MORNING person than a AFTERNOON person). Having a pre-0700 sailing to get over to (or back from) the Island seems like a good idea to me.

Currently, the only EARLY option to get to Victoria is to catch the first Rte-30 sailing and drive over the Malahat, adding extra miles to my trip. Sometimes this is necessary in terms of timing, but it adds un-necessary time to my journey. You tack 30 mins onto the ferry trip and then another hour for the drive over the 'Hat.

So, 0515 outta Tsa, 0715 into Duke and 0815 into Victoria ....
Contrast this to 0700 outta Tsa, 0835 into Swartz and 0900 into Victoria

So you only save 45 mins (which I sometimes need to do!) but you have to start the trip 1:45 earlier and drive about an 30 mins more ... hardly worth the effort.

Summer time when there is an 0600 sailing is BETTER but this sailing is generally under-used by the general public still.

This would be a good full-time Coast-Saver run ... plus offer some incentive to the trucking industry to draw traffic away from SCIM and VIB ... but that would require marketting and planning ... alas ...

[Curtis]

wetcoastkidjst said:

cadmunkey said:

You are right about all of the above, except with regard to the 'C' class. When the Queen of Oak Bay was new in 1980 it spent time working Route 1. The photo below was taken at Swartz Bay, by my brother, Mr. DOT, during that first year.


A new Q of Oak Bay at Swartz Bay - 1981 (DOT Collection ©)

In the winter of 1980-81 they lifted the first two V's, and the following year did the same to the other two. With the large capacity increase brought about by the lifted V's, the Oak Bay was no longer needed on route 1 and so they moved it away.

Take note that this was only one year after the Alberni Incident. However, I do recall seeing a postcard awhile back on the forum with the Queen of Cowichan and Tsawwassen in Active Pass, The Cowichan had "Expo 86" on Her Stack.
Here's My View of the Vessel Placement At the Time
Tsawwassen Swartz Bay
Queen of Vancouver
Queen of Victoria
Queen of Esquimalt
Queen of Saanich
Queen of Cowichan/Coquitlam

I Don't Know of the Usage of "C" Class Vessels on Route 1 in the 1990s. But the "two-ship operation" on Route 2 Gives us a clue to it. Also, Wouldn't the Burnaby be on the Swartz Bay-SGI Route? If not where was she? Deas??