SS Kootenay

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SS Kootenay
Bonnington, Rossland, and Kootenay (sternwheelers) in ice at Nakusp ca 1911.gif
Bonnington, Rossland, and Kootenay (sternwheelers) in ice at Nakusp ca 1911
History
Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg Canada
Name:Kootenay
Namesake: Kootenay, British Columbia
Owner: Canadian Pacific Railway
Route: Arrowhead to Trail
Builder: Thomas Bulger
Launched: April 1897
Maiden voyage: April 1897
In service: 1897-1919
Out of service: 1919
Status: Abandoned at Crescent Bay, British Columbia
General characteristics
Class and type: Sternwheeler
Tonnage: 1117 gross, 732.5 net
Length: 184 feet (56 m)
Beam: 33 feet (10 m)
Depth: 6 feet (1.8 m)
Installed power: 21.6 horsepower

SS Kootenay was a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) wooden-hulled sternwheeler that serviced the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada from 1897 to 1919. [1] She was a large freight and passenger steamship and the first in a series of CPR riverboats built for the Arrow Lakes. [2]

Canadian Pacific Railway railway in Canada

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), also known formerly as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.

Paddle steamer steamship or riverboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.

Arrow Lakes lake

The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beachland is fairly rare, and is interspersed with rocky headlands and steep cliffs. Mountain sides are heavily forested, and rise sharply to elevations around 2,600 metres.

Contents

Construction

In the 1890s, CPR purchased the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company (C&KSN), which had hitherto provided steam transportation services on the Arrow Lakes. Soon after the takeover, CPR commissioned a series of three new vessels to improve services on the lakes and expand traffic in the Slocan Valley during the prosperous years of the late 1800s. Kootenay was the first to be built and was a large, attractively designed riverboat almost identical to the earlier Nakusp, but slightly larger.

Slocan Valley

The Slocan Valley is a valley in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada.

<i>Nakusp</i> (sternwheeler)

The Nakusp was a sternwheel steamboat that operated from 1895 to 1897 on the Arrow Lakes of British Columbia.

Kootenay was also considered a sister ship to Aberdeen, which ran on Okanagan Lake. [3] Kootenay was built at Nakusp yard at Rosebery, near Slocan Lake, by Thomas Bulger and his workers. Kootenay was the largest steamer on the upper Columbia River until the launch of Bonnington in 1911 and had two passenger decks with large lounges and a dining saloon, a freight deck for fuel and cargo, and a wheelhouse. [1] Her engines came from the sternwheeler William Irving, which had been wrecked on the lower Fraser River in 1894.

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.

Okanagan Lake lake

Okanagan Lake is a large, deep lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is 135 km (84 mi) long, between 4 and 5 km wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2.

Rosebery, British Columbia Place in British Columbia, Canada

Rosebery is an unincorporated community on the east side of Slocan Lake in the Slocan Valley of the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located north of the Village of New Denver. Rosebery is a largely agricultural, recreation-retirement and resource community, with historical roots in the days of the Silvery Slocan silver-mining rush in the region and was important in the days of railway services in the valley which used the Rosebery Slip, a combined dock and barge transfer slip serving steamboats on Slocan Lake and the Nakusp & Slocan Railway.

William Irving was considerably smaller than Kootenay, so the latter was underpowered and slow. However, she operated successfully for many years. She had an elaborate system of hog chains and cables to strengthen her wooden hull. Kootenay was launched in April, 1897 at Nakusp. [1]

Hog chains

Hog chains were a technological device that permitted river boats to have lightly built hulls so they could travel in shallow water.

Service years

With the addition of Kootenay, a large, modern vessel, to the Arrow Lakes service fleet, CPR was able to provide daily service to the surrounding communities. With the Nakusp, Kootenay traveled daily between Arrowhead and Trail. Other vessels were available for relief, freight, and to service the route from Trail south to Northport. [1]

Arrowhead, British Columbia Place in British Columbia, Canada

Arrowhead is a former steamboat port and town at the head of Upper Arrow Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Though the initial site has been submerged beneath the waters of the lake, which is now part of the reservoir formed by Hugh Keenleyside Dam at Castlegar, the name continues in use as a reference for the locality, and is sometimes used to refer to the local region.

Trail, British Columbia City in British Columbia, Canada

Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area.

Renovation

During the lay-up period of the winter of 1908 to 1909, several Arrow Lake ships, including Kootenay, underwent renovations to accommodate the increased tourist traffic. On Rossland, the Texas deck, or upper deck, was expanded to increase the number of staterooms and Kootenay underwent a similar modification. The following winter, Minto was renovated as well. The cost of the work on Kootenay was $3159 CAD. [1]

<i>Rossland</i> (sternwheeler)

The Rossland was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia. It was named after Rossland, British Columbia, once a prosperous mining town in the region.

<i>Minto</i> (sternwheeler)

Minto was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia from 1898 to 1954. In those years of service, Minto had steamed over 3.2 million kilometers serving the small communities on Arrow Lakes. Minto and her sister Moyie were the last sternwheelers to run in regularly scheduled passenger service in the Pacific Northwest. The "Minto" class of sailing dinghies is named after this vessel.

Winter 1916

The winter of 1916 brought record low temperatures and heavy snowfalls. On January 11, Kootenay became stranded in ice near Cottonwood Island, at the head of Lower Arrow Lake. Minto brought the passengers to safety, but Kootenay remained stranded for several weeks and relied on wood cut on shore for fuel when coal ran out. Finally, she was able to break out by smashing open a channel with the paddlewheel. Although Kootenay survived, her hull was significantly damaged, which limited her future use. [1]

Crew

Kootenay's crew in 1897 consisted of master W.E. Nesbitt, purser A.W. Shiels, chief engineer J.E. Jeffcott, pilot P. Wilson, first officer E.C. Bridgeman, second engineer J. Johnston, freight clerk Fred B. Wright, steward William Dyson, express messenger J.G. Millard, and bar manager J.S. Byron. [4] By 1913, the captain had become G. Robertson and the chief engineer was A. Thompson. [5]

Retirement

Kootenay had a wooden hull, which proved to be a disadvantage because it required constant maintenance and easily became weak and waterlogged. New, steel-hulled steamers such as Bonnington, launched in 1911, with larger and better accommodations, larger freight capacity, new machinery, and advanced design took over transportation services. Kootenay was retired 1919 and sold in 1920. She was left to rot at Crescent Bay near Nakusp. [1]

However, the steamships' historical significance and role in the development of the region are evident, as Christmas cards bearing photos of the ships and crews with greetings have become valuable to collectors. In 2012, a Kootenay card from 1897 sold for $162.50 USD. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Columbia and Kootenay Railway was a historic railway in the Interior of British Columbia between Nelson on Kootenay Lake and Robson at the confluence of the Kootenay River and the Columbia River near Castlegar operated as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

The Nakusp and Slocan Railway (N&S) is a historic Canadian railway that operated in southeastern British Columbia.

<i>Moyie</i> (sternwheeler) paddle steamer sternwheeler

The Moyie is a paddle steamer sternwheeler that worked on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada from 1898 until 1957.

<i>Bonnington</i> (sternwheeler)

Bonnington was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia from 1911 to 1931. Bonnington and two sisterships were the largest sternwheelers ever built in British Columbia. Bonnington was partially dismantled in the 1950s, and later sank, making the vessel the largest freshwater wreck site in British Columbia.

Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes

The era of steamboats on the Arrow Lakes and adjoining reaches of the Columbia River is long-gone but was an important part of the history of the West Kootenay and Columbia Country regions of British Columbia. The Arrow Lakes are formed by the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia. Steamboats were employed on both sides of the border in the upper reaches of the Columbia, linking port-towns on either side of the border, and sometimes boats would be built in one country and operated in the other. Tributaries of the Columbia include the Kootenay River which rises in Canada, then flows south into the United States, then bends north again back into Canada, where it widens into Kootenay Lake. As with the Arrow Lakes, steamboats once operated on the Kootenay River and Kootenay Lake.

<i>Lytton</i> (sternwheeler)

Lytton was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes and the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia and northeastern Washington from 1890 to 1904.

<i>Sicamous</i> (sternwheeler) sternwheeler in British Columbia

SS Sicamous is a large five decked sternwheeler commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by the Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company for Okanagan Lake service between the fruit communities of Penticton, and other towns of Kelowna and Vernon, British Columbia. Launched in 1914, Sicamous ran for many years connecting rail lines and areas. The vessel operated until 1937 and is currently beached as a part of a heritage shipyard operated by the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society in Penticton. The vessel today is operated both as a museum and events and banquet facility.

Okanagan Landing Shipyard in British Columbia, Canada

Okanagan Landing was an unincorporated settlement and steamboat port at the north end of Okanagan Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Located southwest of the city of Vernon, it was the terminus station for the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway and served as the port and shipyard for steamboats operating to the south, as well as a transfer barge slip.

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.

SS <i>York</i>

SS York was a small steamer that was used to haul freight on Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. York was built in 1902 by Bertram Iron Works of Toronto and assembled at Okanagan Landing. She was pre-fabricated with a steel hull and was twin-screw-driven. She was a small vessel in comparison to the many other ships on the lake; York was only 88 by 16 feet. York was capable of moving 134 tons in freight and could carry up to 90 passengers.

<i>Canadian National Tug no. 6</i>

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.

SS <i>Illecillewaet</i>

SS Illecillewaet was a wooden-hulled stern wheeler that operated on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada from 1892 to 1902. She was built as a replacement for SS Dispatch on the Columbia River and although she was not attractive, she served as a functional freight ship until she was converted into a barge and retired in 1902.

SS <i>Whatshan</i>

SS Whatshan was a steam tug owned by Canadian Pacific Railway that operated on the Lower Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada from 1909 to 1919. Although she was small, she proved to be the most suited to the Lower Arrow Lake run of all the tugs on the route from 1909 to 1961 because she had enough power to keep the channel open in bad weather when other ships became stranded in ice.

SS <i>Trail</i>

SS Trail was a sternwheeler used for freight on the Columbia River and Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada. Built to replace SS Kootenai, Trail began service on June 11, 1896 and operated until she burned down in 1900.

SS Columbia was a large screw-driven tugboat that operated on the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada.

SS Columbia was a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger and freight steam tug built in 1920. She provided a winter service on Lower Arrow Lake in British Columbia, Canada from 1921 to 1948.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Turner, Robert D. (1998). Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs. Winlaw, British Columbia: Sono Nis Press.
  2. Crowsnest.bc.ca,. 'S.S. Kootenay'. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 June 2015.
  3. Cox, Doug. (1995). S.S. Sicamous: Queen of Okanagan Lake. Penticton, British Columbia: Skookum Publications.
  4. 1 2 Nesteroff, Greg. 'Christmas Cards From Kootenay’S Past - Nelson Star'. Nelson Star. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 June 2015.
  5. (May 1913) Canadian Railway and Marine World.