Canadian National Tug no. 6

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Canadian National Tug no. 6
CN Tug Boat number 6.jpg
CN Tug 6
History
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svgCanada
Owner Canadian National Railway
Port of registryEsquimalt
RoutePenticton to Kelowna
BuilderYarrows Limited, Esquimalt, BC
Launched1948
Maiden voyage1948
Out of service1973
Status Museum ship
General characteristics
Class and typeSteam Tug
Tonnage158  GT
Length88 ft (27 m)
Depth10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)

Canadian National Tug no. 6 was a diesel-powered tugboat owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) company on Okanagan Lake, British Columbia. It was launched in 1948 and transferred railway barges between Penticton and Kelowna. It was retired in 1973, becoming the last of many tugboats to operate on Okanagan Lake. Tug 6 was moved to Penticton in 2007 to rest alongside the SS Naramata and SS Sicamous, two Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) steamboats, as part of the S.S. Sicamous Inland Marine Museum. The ships are currently being restored by the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society.

Contents

Canadian National Railway in the Okanagan

After a long delay due to World War I, [1] the CNR finally reached Kelowna from Kamloops in September, 1925. This would prove to be one of the most important factors for the end of lake travel in the Okanagan, [2] as more fruit shipments would go through the railway in Kelowna than through the slower steamer route at Okanagan Landing. [1] Passenger service began February 1926 [2] and service on the lake began with the launching of the propeller-driven motor vessel MV Pentowna in June. CNR had transfer slips in Peachland, Westbank, Penticton, and Kelowna, and shared with Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) in Summerland and Naramata. [1] The Pentowna transported passengers between Penticton and Kelowna, hence the name. She competed with Sicamous, but was converted to haul freight in 1937 [2] due to her ungainly appearance and problems with vibrations. [3] CNR ended its barge service in 1973 due to the improvement of highways and other modes of transportation.

Construction

CN Tug no. 6 joined CNR's fleet in 1948. While it appears to have been built to meet service demands, some speculate that Tug 6 was launched because CPR, CNR's competitor, had launched the MV Okanagan the previous year. [3] It was built in 1948 by Yarrows Shipbuilders, Esquimalt, BC and registered in Esquimalt, B.C. [4] [ clarification needed ]Tug 6 is all-steel, including the hull, [5] with an eight-cylinder, turbo-charged diesel engine. It has a single blade rudder and a nominal horsepower of 575. It is 88 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 10 feet, 6 inches deep with a gross tonnage of 158 tons. There are three double cabins and a storage room on board.

Service

Like the tugboat Naramata, Tug 6 transported fruit, mail, and other freight. . [6] It was used to push and pull barges loaded with railcars full of fruit from Osoyoos, Penticton, Naramata, Summerland, Peachland, Gellatly's Point, and Westbank to the rail yard at Kelowna, [5] where they were then loaded onto the trains to Vancouver to be shipped across Canada. [6] Although not as glorious as the passenger sternwheelers such as Sicamous, tugboats were essential in the development of the Okanagan, as they developed the fruit industry and economy of the region. [1]

Crew

The last crew of Tug 6 is as follows: [7] Skipper: Ron Giggey Chief engineer: Ben Bounds Second engineer: Dick Sieward Cook: Harry Heyworth Mates: Ike Klassen, Harry Bailey, Inar Bozarth, Ken Marshall, Frank Hawkey

Retirement and restoration

CPR stopped its barge service in 1972, and CNR retired its two remaining vessels, Pentowna and Tug 6, the following year due to the new highways and other forms of transportation. [3] Thus, Tug 6 was the last tugboat to operate on Okanagan Lake. It was sold to Fintry Estates in 1973, along with Okanagan, while Pentowna was moved to the Peachland waterfront. [4] Thirteen years later, the city of Kelowna bought Tug 6 from its owner at the time, Angela Percy, for CAD$35 000. [5] The city was intending to make it a museum, [5] but decided to transfer the ship to the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society in 2007 to restore it and to expand and promote the Sicamous Inland Marine Heritage Park. Tug 6 was moved to Penticton on June 16, 2007, to rest alongside Sicamous and Naramata, becoming the only ship at Heritage Park to have been fueled by diesel instead of coal. [6] Restoration began with the construction of a bridge from the park to the floating tug. Cleaning and painting followed. Current plans include hopes to open Tug 6 for tours in the future. [8]

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SS <i>Naramata</i> Steam tugboat

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SS <i>Okanagan</i>

SS Okanagan was a steamship owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service. The vessel was constructed in 1906 at Okanagan Landing and launched in 1907, becoming Okanagan Lake's second steamship. She linked the transportation hubs at both the north and south ends of Okanagan Lake (Vernon and Penticton, respectively, aiding the development of interior British Columbia with other steamships of the 1900s. The ship was retired in 1934 and sold for scrap and spare parts. Only the Stern Saloon, a room in the back of the upper deck, remains. It was moved to the SS Sicamous Heritage Park in Penticton in 2002, to undergo restoration work.

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SS <i>Aberdeen</i>

SS Aberdeen was a steamship commissioned by Canadian Pacific Railway company. It was the first CPR steamship on Okanagan Lake and carried passengers and cargo from Okanagan Landing to Penticton from 1893 to 1919. Aberdeen connected communities along Okanagan Lake for the first time, creating a new era in the Okanagan Valley and greatly aiding the economy and settlement of the interior of British Columbia.

The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) system serves the Okanagan region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its administrative headquarters are in Kelowna. The system covers 59,000 square kilometers of area, and serves 360,000 people through 30 branches. ORL was founded in 1936. In 2013, the library held 3.2 million physical items. The library is largely funded through tax revenues from four administrative areas, the Regional District of North Okanagan, the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. It also receives funding from the provincial and federal governments.

The Penticton Aquatic Club was a boathouse, social centre, and clubhouse for aquatic activities in Penticton, British Columbia. Built in 1913 at the foot of Winnipeg Street by Okanagan Lake, it became an important part of Penticton summer life. It was perhaps best known for its annual Aquatic Regatta Day, which featured a variety of activities including a war canoe race. The building was demolished in 1952. The Club's four war canoes are undergoing restoration: one of them is a display at the S.S. Sicamous Heritage Park.

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SS <i>Kootenay</i>

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Canadian National Tug no. 5, or CN Tug no. 5, was a tugboat owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) company on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. She was launched on May 8, 1930 and was a steel tug that pushed railway barges to the Okanagan Landing shipyard and railway connection to transport fruit. By the 1950s and 1960s, CNR had three tugs: MV Pentowna, CN Tug no. 6, and CN Tug no. 5. Only one tug operated at a time, though two would be used in busy times, and each tug only pushed one barge. CNR's competitor on the lake, the Canadian Pacific Railway company, ran three tugs at a time, as well as many sternwheelers over the years, and each tug pushed two barges. Although the date of CN Tug no. 5's retirement is unknown, CNR terminated barge service on the lake in 1973, retiring its last ship, CN Tug no. 6, due to the highways and other modes of transportation that had emerged by that time.

SS Maude-Moore was a wood-burning screw steamer that provided a ferry service between the communities of Summerland, Naramata, and Penticton on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Turner, Robert D. The Sicamous and the Naramata. Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1947.
  2. 1 2 3 Cox, Doug. S.S. Sicamous: Queen of Okanagan Lake. Penticton: Skookum Publications, 1995.
  3. 1 2 3 Affleck, Edward L. Steamboating on the Columbia River System in British Columbia. Vancouver: Alexander Nicolls Press. 2002.
  4. 1 2 Turner, Robert D. Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs. Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1947.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "City buys lake tugboat as floating museum piece". Capital News. p. A10. 31 March 1993.
  6. 1 2 3 "S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society". The Story of Lake Boats in the Okanagan Archived 2014-08-02 at the Wayback Machine . August 2014.
  7. ↑ "CN Tug, Barge end Service Today". The Penticton Herald. 15 February 1973.
  8. ↑ "S.S. Sicamous Heritage Park Summer Newsletter". August 2014

49°30′09″N119°36′42″W / 49.502444°N 119.611721°W / 49.502444; -119.611721

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