SS ''Princess Mary'' was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of 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) during the first half of the 20th century. This ship was called a "pocket liner" because she offered amenities like a great

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

, but on a smaller scale. The ship was part of the CPR "

Princess fleet The Princess fleet is an eponym for the coastal vessels of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the first half of the 20th century. The names of these small ocean liners began with the title "Princess." The ships of the British Columbia Coast ...

," which was composed of ships having names which began with the title "Princess". Along with the SS ''Princess Adelaide'' the SS ''Princess Alice'' and the SS ''Princess Sophia'', the SS ''Princess Mary'' was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910–11.

History

''Princess Mary'' was built by

Bow, McLachlan and Company Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish Marine propulsion, marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. History 1872–1914 In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshi ...

of Paisley,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for the

.Plimsoll ship data''Lloyd's Register, Navires a Vapeur et a Moteurs,'' 1945-46
/ref> The 2,155-ton vessel had length of , breadth of , and depth of She was added to the active roster of the CPR fleet in 1910. Miramar Ship Index
SS ''Princess Mary'', ID# 1126950. On March 14, 1911, the ''Princess Mary'' made her first trip on the

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

- Comox–

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.Nanaimo Museum
Nanaimo Chronicles
/ref> A highlight of ''Princess Mary''′s service occurred on February 15, 1915, when the 30th Battalion of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

(CEF) embarked on her at

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, British Columbia, to begin its journey to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for

World War I 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 ...

service. In 1952, ''Princess Mary'' was removed from the active service list. She was converted into a

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 ...

.alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (C)
/ref> While under tow by the Canadian

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

''Chelan'' from

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, to Vancouver with a cargo of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

ore concentrate Ore concentrate, dressed ore or simply concentrate is the product generally produced by metal ore mines. The raw ore is usually ground finely in various comminution operations and gangue (waste) is removed, thus concentrating the metal component. ...

s, she was lost when ''Chelan'' sank on April 15, 1954, with the loss of all 14 people aboard off the entrance to Sumner Strait approximately west of Cape Decision in

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

. When she was converted into a barge, part of ''Princess Mary''′s

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

was beached on Harbour Road in West Victoria, British Columbia, across the street from the Point Hope Shipyard. The superstructure became the Princess Mary Restaurant, which later moved to a different location in West Victoria. Plans were made to save the vacated superstructure and move it to Powell River, British Columbia, but the move never took place. In 2011, the superstructure was torn down to make room for development.

Notes

References

* Musk, George. (1981)
''Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line.''
Newton Abbot, Devon:

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

.
OCLC 7523720
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Mary 1910 ships Ocean liners Steamships of Canada Ships of CP Ships Troopships of Canada Ships built in Govan

History

See also

Notes

References