Rossland (sternwheeler)
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''Rossland'' was a sternwheel
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
that ran on the
Arrow Lakes 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. Beac ...
in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. The vessel was named after
Rossland, British Columbia Rossland is in the West Kootenay region of south central British Columbia. High in the Monashee Mountains, the city lies immediately east of the intersections of BC highways British Columbia Highway 3B, 3B and British Columbia Highway 22, 22. The f ...
, once a prosperous mining town in the region.


Design and construction

''Rossland'' was the third steamboat built by the
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) for its steamboat lines running in the lakes of the
Kootenays The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Koote ...
. She was designed by the superintendent of the CPR's Lake Service, the accomplished steamboat man James W. Troup, to be an express passenger and tourism boat, intended to make the round trip from
Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...
to Robson and back in one day.Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon River Sternwheel Steamers'', at 125, 128 and 130, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1972 ''Rossland'' was built at
Nakusp The Village of Nakusp () is located south of the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its nearb ...
at the shipyard owned by the master builder Thomas J. Bulger and his sons James M. and David T. Bulger. Most inland steamers of the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
were built with a flat bottom with as shallow a
draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
as possible so that they could move as far up the many shallow rivers to reach gold fields, farms or other areas where transportation was needed and roads or railroads were absent or inadequate. ''Rossland'' was an exception to this rule. She was intended to operate as a "lake boat" where depth of water was normally not a problem, and therefore she had a rounder and deeper bottom than the normal sternwheeler design. Her lake boat design would make ''Rossland'' faster and more efficient on the deep water of the Arrow Lakes. Her powerful engines were built by B.C. Iron Works, in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...


Service on Arrow Lakes

Following her
launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...
, ''Rossland'' was towed to a nearby wharf by the vessel for completion. Before passenger accommodations were installed, ''Rossland'' was worked towing
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
s while was being overhauled. Passenger service for ''Rossland'' began in early 1898. At her maximum speed, , ''Rossland'' was easily the fastest vessel on the lakes. However, she burned too much
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
at this pace, and normally did not run so fast. Steamboats were prone to damage and even destruction by fire, as ''Nakusp'' had been in 1897. In 1899 ''Rossland'' caught fire below the town of Nakusp. Captain Forslund was able to beach the vessel and extinguish the flames. Steamboat operation on the Arrow Lakes was seasonal, as they were generally frozen over during winter. The boats were moored in as safe a place as could be found during the freeze up, and sometimes work would be done on them to prepare them for the next season. Often work would be done on the boats to prepare them for the next season, and this occurred in ''Rossland''s case.


Reconstruction

During the winter of 1908 to 1909, at a cost of $2,290, her (the highest cabin on the ship except for the pilot house) was extended all the way back to the stern to allow additional passenger accommodations. ''Rossland''s hull, built entirely of wood, wore out quickly under heavy use, and became waterlogged. This was typical for wooden steamboats. If repair of the hull was impractical, sometimes a new hull would be built and the boat's cabins (called the "house") and machinery would be transferred to the new hull. In the winter of 1909–1910, this was done with the ''Rossland''. She was brought into the shipyard at Nakusp, where builder James Bulger hauled her out of the water, unfastened her house and machinery, and jacked them up on timbers. Bulger and his workmen then launched the old hull back onto the lake and built a new hull under the old house and machinery. The supports were removed, and the vessel was relaunched. With a new hull, ''Rossland'' was practically a new steamboat. The texas was also extended a bit during the 1909–10 reconstruction.


Effects of the Great War

When Canada entered the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1914, the young men of British Columbia were mobilized and many CPR employees volunteered for Canada's armed services. Engineers, deck and engine room hands were especially wanted by the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
. As the young men left, the local farms and businesses declined, and there was a fall-off in tourism as well. In her last years, ''Rossland'' like other CPR inland steamers, transported troops. The economic downturn caused by mobilization forced CPR to take a number of its steamers out of operation. ''Rossland'' had been having boiler troubles, and rather than repairing them, CPR took her out of service.


Foundered at dock

On January 25, 1917, ''Rossland'', moored at Nakusp, sank at the dock. Either her hull seams had opened or the weight of ice and snow on her decks and house had pressed her down so far that water poured in through ports that had been left open. She sank quickly, heeled over sharply on her port side, with the water up to the pilot house. ''Rossland'' was raised in March 1917. Her long-time master, Captain Forslund, bought her hull and used it as a wharf boat for his place south of Needles.


See also

*
List of historical ships in British Columbia The following is a list of vessels notable in the history of the Canadian province of British Columbia, including Spanish, Russian, American and other military vessels and all commercial vessels on inland waters as well as on saltwater routes up to ...


Notes


Further reading

* Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River'', Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 * Mills, Randall V., ''Sternwheelers up Columbia—A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country'', University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE (1977 reprint of 1947 ed.) * Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing—A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West'', Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho


External links


Photographs of ''Rossland'' from the Provincial Archives of British Columbia


''Rossland'' at Nakusp, circa 1898
The short texas (upper cabin) dates this photograph as before the winter or 1909–1910.
''Rossland'' at Nakusp, 1910 or later
The longer texas allows this photograph to be dated as after 1910. The close interaction between the railway and the Arrow Lakes steamers can be seen with the rail tracks and freight cars running right out to the docks. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossland (Sternwheeler) Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes Paddle steamers of British Columbia History of British Columbia 1897 ships Ships of CP Ships Troopships of Canada