Engineering:SS Canadiana

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SS Canadiana.jpg
The Canadiana during its inaugural trip on May 30, 1910.
History
Name: SS Canadiana
Owner:
  • Lake Erie Excursion Company (1910-1924)
  • Buffalo and Crystal Beach Corporation (1924-1947)
  • Crystal Beach Transit Company (1947 - 1956)
  • Seaway Excursion Lines (1958-1959)
  • Toledo Excursion Lines, Inc.(1959-1960)
  • Lucas County Bank (June - December 1960)
  • Pleasurama Excursion Lines, Inc. (1960-1966)
  • S. Parella of Cleveland, Ohio (1966-1967)
  • Mobrays Floating Equipment Exchange Inc. (March 7–15, 1967)
  • Waterman Steamship Corporation (1967-1968)
  • Tropicana Products Inc. (March 20–28, 1968)
  • Sea-Land Service Inc. (March - April 1968)
  • Maritime Administration (April - June 1968)
  • Jim Vinci of Cleveland Ohio (June 1968- May 1983)
  • Northrup Contracting Company (May 1983 - April 1984)
  • Friends of the Canadiana (April 1984 - June 1993)
  • Canadiana Restoration Project (1993- onward) [1]
Builder: Buffalo Dry Dock Company of Buffalo, New York
Cost: $250,000
Yard number: 215
Launched: March 15, 1910
Maiden voyage: May 30, 1910
Identification: US 207479
Nickname(s): "The Crystal Beach Boat"
Fate: Remaining hull scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario Canada in 2004.
General characteristics
Class and type: Passenger ferry
Tonnage:
  • 974 tons gross
  • 427 tons net
Length: 215 ft (66 m)
Beam: 54 ft (16 m)
Height: 16.1 ft (4.9 m)
Decks: 3
Installed power:
  • Detroit Ship Building Company 1910
  • Coal fired triple-expansion steam engine
  • Piston #1: 20 in (51 cm)
  • Piston #2: 30 in (76 cm)
  • Piston #3: 50 in (130 cm)
  • Stroke Length: 36 in (91 cm) [2]
  • 1,446 shp
Propulsion: Single propeller
Capacity:

3,500 passengers (when launched)

1,800 passengers (downrated)

The SS Canadiana was a passenger excursion steamer that primarily operated between Buffalo, New York and the Crystal Beach Amusement Park at Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada from 1910 to 1956.[3] The Canadiana was also noted for being the last passenger vessel to be built in Buffalo, New York.[4]

After being sold in 1956 the Canadiana changed owners numerous times and by 1983 she was berthed in Ohio needing major restoration.[3] A nonprofit group, the "Friends of the Canadiana", brought the ship back to Buffalo in 1984 with a hope of restoring her to service.[5] When restoration efforts failed the ship was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 2004.[6][7]

Construction

The Canadiana was built at the Buffalo Dry Dock on Ganson Street in 1910 and was the last passenger vessel to be built in Buffalo.[4] She was designed by marine architect Frank E. Kirby who would go on later to design the largest side wheel overnight steamers built for the Great Lakes, the Greater Buffalo and the Greater Detroit.[8]

The completed ship was 215 feet (66 m) long and a 54 feet (16 m) beam amidships.[3] She was powered by one triple-expansion steam engine that produced 1,446 horsepower and a single propeller provided propulsion.[3] The Canadiana also had a cutout in the main deck to allow passengers to view the "workings" of the engine.[3]

The Canadiana was fitted with brass railings, red mahogany trim from Honduras and beveled mirrors. She was designed to be a premier vessel designed not only for transportation but also for pleasure.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag A British pilot, who was flying with the Canadian Air Force, was killed when he lost control of his aircraft while "buzzing" the Canadiana during World War II as well.[9]

In its last year of service an "incident" happened on board the Canadiana. While returning from Crystal Beach to Buffalo on the evening of May 30, 1956, violence erupted between several youths. The group of belligerents, made up of whites and African-Americans, left little doubt that racism was a factor in the incident.[10][11] This incident, along with shrinking revenues, made continued operation of the ship uneconomical. The 1956 season proved to be the last for the Canadiana and she was sold.

After being sold, the Canadiana was involved in an accident on July 30, 1958. While on her normal excursion trip traveling upstream on the Maumee River from her berth in Toledo to Bob-Lo Island, the Canadiana was struck by a railroad swing bridge and damaged.[12]Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

During the 1990s, a number of studies regarding the ship and its use were undertaken.[13][14] The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society applied for, and was awarded on December 8, 1994, a $400,000 grant under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act for the restoration efforts.[15] Following the award, in 1995, the award funding was withdrawn by the New York State Department of transportation and a lawsuit was filed by The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society.[16] The final outcome of the court case was that the withdrawal of funding by the New York State Department of Transportation was upheld.[17]

Scrapping

When restoration plans were not realized the remaining hull of the Canadiana was cut up for scrap in 2004 at Port Colbourne, Ontario.[7][18] The ship's engine was salvaged and returned to Buffalo to be part of a planned exhibit.[19] Much of the wooden superstructure was saved including the pilot house.[20] Some of the salvaged wood has been manufactured into various memorabilia.

See also

  • Frank E. Kirby
  • USS Sable (IX-81)
  • MV Aquarama
  • Buffalo, New York
  • Crystal Beach, Ontario
  • Edward M. Cotter (fireboat)

References

  1. ↑ "Geaneology". SS Canadiana.com. http://sscanadiana.com/genealogy.html. Retrieved 18 July 2009. 
  2. ↑ "Canadiana". University of Detroit Mercy *Fr. Edward J. Dowling, S.J. Marine Historical Collection. http://research.udmercy.edu/find/special_collections/digital/gls/item.php?record_id=239&collectionCode=gls. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "The Canadiana Revisited". WNY Heritage Press. 2006. http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2006/canadiana_revisited/canadiana_revisited.htm. Retrieved 18 July 2009. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Story of the S.S. Canadiana". Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101211123112/http://www.itcanada.com/~cessna/Story.htm. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  5. ↑ "Mission Statement". The Canadiana - The Organization - Directions and Goals.. The S. S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044733/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana/can-dir.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  6. ↑ "Final Destruction in Dry-Dock". http://www.itcanada.com/~cessna/Final.htm. Retrieved 17 July 2009. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Licata, Elizabeth; Carri Gregorski (September–October 2001). "They Didn’t Build It. And Nobody Came.". Buffalo Spree. http://www.buffalospree.com/buffalospreemagazine/archives/2001_0910/091001build.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  8. ↑ "The Greater Buffalo & The U.S.S. Sable". WNY Heritage Press. 2005. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081005094315/http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2005/greater_buffalo/greater_buffalo.htm. Retrieved 18 July 2009. 
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Rossi
  10. ↑ "FBI Studies Teen Riot on Excursion". The Charleston Gazette. 1956-06-01. pp. 29. 
  11. ↑ Rossi, Erno. Crystal Beach. Seventy Seven Publishing. pp. 144, 145. https://books.google.com/books?id=5QE3lHEuOmsC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=ss+canadiana&source=bl&ots=PbPUGye1MB&sig=i41JTEZzeMRibHnzdlbiNZvOaJg&hl=en&ei=TwdhSvfOCJGHlAfvnsicDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7. 
  12. ↑ Philip E. Thorpe vs US (10 August 1960). Text
  13. ↑ "The Canadiana". The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044829/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana/can-eng.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  14. ↑ "The Canadiana "The Crystal Beach Boat"". The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044835/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana/can-fea.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  15. ↑ "The ISTEA Awards". The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044849/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana/can-ist.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  16. ↑ "Letters That Prove New York State Is Stealing Canadiana's ISTEA Funding". The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044928/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana/letters.html#congrats. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  17. ↑ "The S.S. Canadiana Homepage". The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society, Inc.. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101212044709/http://www.olm1.com/~wny/buffalo/canadiana.html. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  18. ↑ "Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive". http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/8-02.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  19. ↑ Sommer, Mark (April 12, 2006). "Canadiana's Engine Comes Home". City & Region. The Buffalo News. http://www.phillipslytle.com/include/uploads/NEWS-2006-04-11-Powers_SS_Canadiana.pdf. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  20. ↑ "SS Canadiana Pilot House Restoration". 2004. http://sscanadiana.com/pilothouse.html. Retrieved 18 July 2009. 

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