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Post by WettCoast on May 17, 2023 9:03:06 GMT -8
Retired Queens @ Deas I am not providing any detail with this photo because I would like to provide newer members ( QoNW Fan, Ollie, Blue Bus Fan, etc) of the forum a chance to put names to each vessel seen here. We can discuss later.
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Post by Ollie on May 17, 2023 9:24:32 GMT -8
Retired Queens @ Deas I am not providing any detail with this photo because I would like to provide newer members ( QoNW Fan , Ollie , Blue Bus Fan , etc) of the forum a chance to put names to each vessel seen here. We can discuss later. I think from left to right these are the Queen of Prince Rupert, Queen of Vancouver, and Queen of Saanich (or Esquimalt)
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 17, 2023 9:35:01 GMT -8
Id say left to right:
Queen of Prince Rupert Queen of Vancouver Queen of Saanich
I'm very confident in the first one, but the other two I could be mixing up, I can't tell which of the two had the window cutouts in the lower deck, so I am guessing Vancouver
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 17, 2023 11:06:22 GMT -8
I know the first two, Queen of Prince Rupert due the bow, Queen of Vancouver because she and Queen of Victoria had three different windows on bridge compared to the other seven sisters. If my memory serves correctly the last one would be Queen of Saanich since she and Queen of Vancouver retired a few months apart. 1. Queen of Prince Rupert 2. Queen of Vancouver 3. Queen of Saanich
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Post by WettCoast on May 17, 2023 14:05:16 GMT -8
I am impressed. All three of you guys know your stuff.
Yes, only the Vancouver & Victoria had the three lowered windows at the centre of the wheelhouse. The Victoria was not with BC Ferries long enough to get the mating slug paint scheme so the middle vessel in the photo can only be the Vancouver.
The furthest over vessel, another V, is the Saanich, and it was retired about the same time as the Vancouver. The Esquimalt & Saanich were all but identical in appearance though there were a few clues to identity, but that third vessel is further away and the biggest clue is not clearly evident due to distance. At the time of my photo (see first post in thread) the Esquimalt had been renamed Princess Josephine, and was tied up on the Port Alberni waterfront.
Regarding the car deck openings (windows) at both the upper car deck & mezzanine car deck levels ... All four V's that served on route one had openings at both levels but the lower openings were filled in on some and left open on others. I don't know why that was. At any rate in 2009 the Vancouver had openings at both levels, the Saanich only at the upper level.
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Post by WettCoast on May 17, 2023 15:34:06 GMT -8
Princess Jacqueline [ex Queen of Esquimalt] @ BCFS Deas Dock - 14 October 2008. Not long after this photo was taken the Esquimalt was moved to Port Alberni. This photo shows pretty clearly that little oddity that made this vessel easy to identify apart from its sisters. That is the third upper car deck opening (back from the bow) was shorter than the first two. This was the case on both sides of the ship and unique to this vessel.
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Post by WettCoast on May 17, 2023 15:43:54 GMT -8
One other item of note with regard to the photo in my first post. Of the three vessels pictured one still lives (I believe), though perhaps not in service any longer.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 17, 2023 15:59:53 GMT -8
Princess Jacqueline [ex Queen of Esquimalt] @ BCFS Deas Dock - 14 October 2008. Not long after this photo was taken the Esquimalt was moved to Port Alberni. This photo shows pretty clearly that little oddity that made this vessel easy to identify apart from its sisters. That is the third upper car deck opening (back from the bow) was shorter than the first two. This was the case on both sides of the ship and unique to this vessel. First off, thanks for including me in this fun guessing game! I'm sure the others enjoyed it too. The Queen of Esquimalt is an interesting case, there are really not a lot of videos/photos of the inside online compared to the rest of the V class. In fact, there is only one video online I can find of the whistle, and that's in Ferryman 's epic tribute video. Ferryman, you actually have some of the only videos of the Esquimalt's interior anywhere online! There are certainly some photos of the interior in the Esquimalt thread, but I don't think as many as other V class ships. The Esquimalt seemed to be the least popular V class ship I think.
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Post by northwesterner on May 17, 2023 17:01:54 GMT -8
There are certainly some photos of the interior in the Esquimalt thread, but I don't think as many as other V class ships. The Esquimalt seemed to be the least popular V class ship I think. Perhaps my memory is fading severely, but I believe she was typically assigned as the second vessel at Langdale in the summer and occasionally as Route 30 relief in the off-season whereas Saanich and Vancouver spent their time one Route 1 as the #3 & #4.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 17, 2023 18:06:07 GMT -8
There are certainly some photos of the interior in the Esquimalt thread, but I don't think as many as other V class ships. The Esquimalt seemed to be the least popular V class ship I think. Perhaps my memory is fading severely, but I believe she was typically assigned as the second vessel at Langdale in the summer and occasionally as Route 30 relief in the off-season whereas Saanich and Vancouver spent their time one Route 1 as the #3 & #4. Ah so the Esquimalt wasn't used as often as other V class ships. Comparable to the Queen of Coquitlam.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 17, 2023 18:11:26 GMT -8
Perhaps my memory is fading severely, but I believe she was typically assigned as the second vessel at Langdale in the summer and occasionally as Route 30 relief in the off-season whereas Saanich and Vancouver spent their time one Route 1 as the #3 & #4. Ah so the Esquimalt wasn't used as often as other V class ships. Comparable to the Queen of Coquitlam. Queen of Esquimalt was often used like other Victoria Class up until Spirit Class was introduced made the Queen of Victoria and Queen of Esquimalt spare vessels.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 17, 2023 18:19:49 GMT -8
Ah so the Esquimalt wasn't used as often as other V class ships. Comparable to the Queen of Coquitlam. Queen of Esquimalt was often used like other Victoria Class up until Spirit Class was introduced made the Queen of Victoria and Queen of Esquimalt. Sorry, made them what?
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 17, 2023 18:34:51 GMT -8
Queen of Esquimalt was often used like other Victoria Class up until Spirit Class was introduced made the Queen of Victoria and Queen of Esquimalt. Sorry, made them what? Spare vessels.
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Post by WettCoast on May 17, 2023 18:53:09 GMT -8
Ah so the Esquimalt wasn't used as often as other V class ships. Comparable to the Queen of Coquitlam. The Esquimalt was used heavily for it first 30 years when it was one of the four regular V's working Route 1. For most of those years it was based out of Swartz Bay along with the Saanich. Things changed when the Spirits arrived in 1993,4.
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Post by Curtis on May 17, 2023 21:20:10 GMT -8
Once the Spirits came along, and especially after the Queen of Victoria was retired and sold, the Queen of Esquimalt became the rover of the major fleet. You’d normally see her on Route 3 or 30 as was said above, but she’d see use on Route 1 and 2 occasionally. If one or more major vessels were out of service during long weekend/holiday periods or an unexpected breakdown occurred, You can bet the Esquimalt would get the call.
This was especially the case when the ‘C’ Class were undergoing their Mid-Life Upgrades between ‘02 and ‘07 where each year, one ‘C’ was taken out of commission give or take from November through June. The Spirits also received their ‘Coastalized’ interior makeovers during the spring of ‘05 and ‘06, (I suppose we’d call that a 1/4-Life Upgrade in retrospect) so there was no shortage of off-season work for the Esquimalt back then.
I suppose there’s no true rover among the majors nowadays. The Queen of Coquitlam held the torch for awhile, but it seems to be more of a split between Routes 1 & 30 (Coastals/New West) and Routes 2 & 3 (Coquitlam) as far as interchangeability goes… I will chuckle though if once the ‘C’s are gone, the Coastal Renaissance assumes that rover role considering her entry into service is what allowed the Esquimalt to be withdrawn.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 17, 2023 21:45:31 GMT -8
Once the Spirits came along, and especially after the Queen of Victoria was retired and sold, the Queen of Esquimalt became the rover of the major fleet. You’d normally see her on Route 3 or 30 as was said above, but she’d see use on Route 1 and 2 occasionally. If one or more major vessels were out of service during long weekend/holiday periods or an unexpected breakdown occurred, You can bet the Esquimalt would get the call. This was especially the case when the ‘C’ Class were undergoing their Mid-Life Upgrades between ‘02 and ‘07 where each year, one ‘C’ was taken out of commission give or take from November through June. The Spirits also received their ‘Coastalized’ interior makeovers during the spring of ‘05 and ‘06, (I suppose we’d call that a 1/4-Life Upgrade in retrospect) so there was no shortage of off-season work for the Esquimalt back then. I suppose there’s no true rover among the majors nowadays. The Queen of Coquitlam held the torch for awhile, but it seems to be more of a split between Routes 1 & 30 (Coastals/New West) and Routes 2 & 3 (Coquitlam) as far as interchangeability goes… I will chuckle though if once the ‘C’s are gone, the Coastal Renaissance assumes that rover role considering her entry into service is what allowed the Esquimalt to be withdrawn. Yeah nowadays the Coquitlam is somewhat the only rover I can think of. I had no idea the Esquimalt ran routes 1 and 2 at times, that's pretty neat! I'm surprised you don't have any videos of the Esquimalt on your channel, did you ever get any videos on the ship that aren't on YouTube?
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 17, 2023 22:20:42 GMT -8
I kinda agree that BC Ferries has stopped roaming of major vessels due Queen of New Westminster and Coastal Renaissance being in charge relief operations on route 1, 30 while Queen of Coquitlam is in charge of relief operations on route 2, 3 and rarely Duke Point based on route 30.
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Post by Curtis on May 18, 2023 6:39:19 GMT -8
I had no idea the Esquimalt ran routes 1 and 2 at times, that's pretty neat! I'm surprised you don't have any videos of the Esquimalt on your channel, did you ever get any videos on the ship that aren't on YouTube? I started making videos in 2008 so the Esquimalt was already retired before I could get a chance. Even then, my last trip on her was in 2005 so all I have are a handful of pictures from onboard.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 18, 2023 16:38:53 GMT -8
I had no idea the Esquimalt ran routes 1 and 2 at times, that's pretty neat! I'm surprised you don't have any videos of the Esquimalt on your channel, did you ever get any videos on the ship that aren't on YouTube? I started making videos in 2008 so the Esquimalt was already retired before I could get a chance. Even then, my last trip on her was in 2005 so all I have are a handful of pictures from onboard. Aw that's too bad. At least you got most of the ships on video. I think I've watched nearly all your tour videos, they remind me of when I was younger and my family and I took the ferries to the mainland all the time. I didn't really know which ships were which, but I always loved going on them. The old ships had so much personality, I don't like the boring "coastalize" upgrades BC Ferries did. At least the QoNW has some classic features left. I hope the next ferries look different though.
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Post by Kahloke on May 18, 2023 19:00:21 GMT -8
I had no idea the Esquimalt ran routes 1 and 2 at times, that's pretty neat! I'm surprised you don't have any videos of the Esquimalt on your channel, did you ever get any videos on the ship that aren't on YouTube? I started making videos in 2008 so the Esquimalt was already retired before I could get a chance. Even then, my last trip on her was in 2005 so all I have are a handful of pictures from onboard. I never rode on Queen of Esquimalt, and my only photos I got of her were right after Coastal Renaissance started service in March, 2008. I rode on Renny about a week after she entered service from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, and Esquimalt was in Berth 1.  
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 18, 2023 20:22:54 GMT -8
I started making videos in 2008 so the Esquimalt was already retired before I could get a chance. Even then, my last trip on her was in 2005 so all I have are a handful of pictures from onboard. I never rode on Queen of Esquimalt, and my only photos I got of her were right after Coastal Renaissance started service in March, 2008. I rode on Renny about a week after she entered service from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, and Esquimalt was in Berth 1. This makes me happy. I wasn't on the forum back when the last conversations about the Queen of Esquimalt took place in the official Esquimalt thread. It's nice seeing photos and talking about the great ship. A lot of the photos in the official thread no longer work due to storage sites closing.
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Post by WettCoast on May 18, 2023 21:57:25 GMT -8
This makes me happy. I wasn't on the forum back when the last conversations about the Queen of Esquimalt took place in the official Esquimalt thread. It's nice seeing photos and talking about the great ship. A lot of the photos in the official thread no longer work due to storage sites closing. If you encounter photos of mine with broken links, let me know & I will fix. The Esquimalt was just like the other V's on the interior. It had the distinction of being the first of the Seven Sisters to be stretched (1969). Unfortunately it was not well cared for after it became the vagabond of the fleet in its later years. The Esquimalt was blessed in one way in that she kept her Expo livery right through the summer of 2003. The photo below shows her in May of that year en route from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay.
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Post by QoNW Fan on May 18, 2023 22:03:58 GMT -8
This makes me happy. I wasn't on the forum back when the last conversations about the Queen of Esquimalt took place in the official Esquimalt thread. It's nice seeing photos and talking about the great ship. A lot of the photos in the official thread no longer work due to storage sites closing. If you encounter photos of mine with broken links, let me know & I will fix. The Esquimalt was just like the other V's on the interior. It had the distinction of being the first of the Seven Sisters to be stretched (1969). Unfortunately it was not well cared for after it became the vagabond of the fleet in its later years. The Esquimalt was blessed in one way in that she kept her Expo livery right through the summer of 2003. The photo below shows her in May of that year en route from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay. That's really cool! Yeah from the little footage I've seen of the interior, the Esquimalt looked very old fashion almost. Very outdated for sure, but wow what a classic ship.
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Post by FNS on May 19, 2023 6:09:09 GMT -8
Princess Jacqueline [ex Queen of Esquimalt] @ BCFS Deas Dock - 14 October 2008. Not long after this photo was taken the Esquimalt was moved to Port Alberni. This photo shows pretty clearly that little oddity that made this vessel easy to identify apart from its sisters. That is the third upper car deck opening (back from the bow) was shorter than the first two. This was the case on both sides of the ship and unique to this vessel. This shows one of Mr. Herr Brinkmann's wave breakers set installed on her Main Deck. These were installed aboard the "Coastal" Class ferries for their voyages from Flensburg to BC via Kiel Canal, Atlantic Ocean, Panama Canal, and the Pacific Ocean. I just wonder if this set was returned to BCF from Mexico after this vessel was scrapped there?
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Post by northwesterner on May 21, 2023 22:51:07 GMT -8
Ah so the Esquimalt wasn't used as often as other V class ships. Comparable to the Queen of Coquitlam. The Esquimalt was used heavily for it first 30 years when it was one of the four regular V's working Route 1. For most of those years it was based out of Swartz Bay along with the Saanich. Things changed when the Spirits arrived in 1993,4. This might be buried deep in this forum somewhere, but didn't Esquimalt & Saanich have a greater stated vehicle capacity than Victoria & Vancouver? Larger platform decks? I assumed this meant they were the typical #1 & #2 except for off-season maintenance until 1993.
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