The Canadian Pacific River Lake and River Service, also known as the British Columbia Lake and River Service, was a division of

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR) which began operating passenger and cargo shipping routes along British Columbia's inland waters during the late 19th century.

CPR overview

In 1884, CPR began purchasing sailing ships as part of a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

supply service on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. Over time, CPR became a railroad company with widely organized water transportation auxiliaries including the Canadian Pacific Railway Upper Lake Service, the Trans-Pacific service, the British Columbia Coast Steamships, the British Columbia Lake and River Service, the Trans-Atlantic service, and the Ferry service.Smith, Joseph Russell. (1908). In the 20th century, the company evolved into a transcontinental railroad which operated two transoceanic services which connected Canada with Europe and with Asia. The range of CPR services were aspects of an integrated plan.

British Columbia Lake and River Service

CPR's expansion in the West included expanding routes. More ships were added to the inland waters fleet. For example, in 1901 CPR built three

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

s for use on the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

— the ''Tyrrell'', the ''Duschesnay'', and the ''Dawson''.Morley, Alan. (1961). ''Vancouver; from Milltown to Metropolis,'' p. 118. The investment in more ships was accompanied by increased numbers of CPR workers. Expansion required additional CPR station and terminal structures to be built.Morley, p. 135.

Inland fleet

21st century

Despite many changes, including corporate mergers and restructuring, some elements of the lake service continue to operate.

Notes

References