Shipping Steel for Ships to the Shipyards, 1918-1920

The vast majority of paper records (and for legal reasons certainly the essential ones) were taken from  Kingston to head office in Collingwood, ON at the time of the closure of the Canadian Steamship Engineering Co.'s Kingston Shipyards. Some remained, apparently left high up in a ancient storage shed loft and discovered. An archivist named Wilson spent several days in 1968 checking out several tons of poorly-preserved records. Though perhaps mundane and workaday in nature, some of those records now comprise the five-box Kingston Shipyards Collection at the Queen's University Archives.

I can't imagine several tons. Having requested all five boxes, I felt badly that I could only make it part of the way through one, during each of two four-hour visits there! After viewing the photos of the first major ships built there, I was very interested to view some of the background correspondence. Specifically, steel shipments for use in building of the vessels. More specifically, car numbers containing the shipments! Being just over one hundred years old, they're a little early for my main era of interest, but to me they're engrossing for many reasons: their detail, the care taken forming the correspondence, and the variety of information that came in just a few small boxes from that high-up loft over fifty years ago!

Naturally, as in all government transactions, a paper trail was kept. The top letter records a shipment of steel plates from the Brier Hill Steel Co. of Youngstown, OH dated March 15, 1919. An example of the constant exchange of letters with notifications of cars arriving, weights and lading, and documentation for billing purposes. At the end of World War I, there had been difficulty in sourcing enough rolling stock to deliver much-needed products like steel.

I believe the ships the steel was used in are: CGS-148, CGS-164 likely the Canadian Beaver, CGS-179/Ship 16 the Canadian Coaster.

A sample invoice, this one from the Lackawanna Steel Co. in Buffalo, NY dated October 21, 1918. Routing is South Buffalo RR to Wabash RR to Canadian Pacific:

The steel plates were a variety of sizes, such as 300 x 72 x 3/4 inches or 240 x 73 by 5/16 inches. This car is found at the top of an August, 1919 list of carloads received (below) for CGS-148.

A January 3, 1919 letter notifying the shipyard of 300 tons of steel set to arrive for CGS-164, likely the Canadian Beaver, including keel plates, frames and floor plates:

 

A sample letter for a steel shipment, dated March 7, 1919:

A February 13, 1919 letter:

A few examples of railway paperwork are included, such as this Bill of Lading from La Belle Iron Works, dated January 1, 1919. Note the shipping route from Steubenville, OH to Kingston: Wabash RR. to Canadian Pacific Rly.

An April 13, 1920 letter describes 576 tons of steel plate to be sent from Dominion Steel & Coal Corporation (DOSCO) from Sydney, NS to Kingston. (Some of the steel shipped was not the correct size i.e. 92 inches instead of 192 inches in length!)

A March 17 and 19, 1919 accounting of cars received for CGS-164 between the Department of Marine and the shipyard from the Brier Hill Steel Co. The latter notes a discrepancy of four cars which have not arrived yet.

From all the documents, here's a list of the steel shipments by date, car number, lading, weight and originating steel mill/shipper. Note that some of the cars were likely travelling together, sometimes referred to as 'twins'. Perhaps one car was an idler car? A wide range of railway initials is evident (see bottom)

Canadian lines listed as Railway, all others are American:

B&O (Baltimore & Ohio)

B&S (Buffalo & Susquehanna)

C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio)

CCC&StL (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis)

CGR (Canadian Government Railways)

CN (Canadian Northern Railway)

CNO&TP (Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific)

FEC (Florida East Coast)

GET

IRC (Intercolonial Railway)

K&M (Kanawha & Michigan)

LV (Lehigh Valley)

MC (Michigan Central)

NYC (New York Central)

PL

P&LE (Pittsburgh & Lake Erie)

PMcK&Y (Pittsburgh, McKeesport & Youghiogheny)

P&R (Philadelphia & Reading)

PRR (Pennsylvania Railroad)

VRR (?Vandalia Railroad)

WM (Western Maryland)

D.C. Everest, Kingston's Canaller

The remarkable D.C. Everest, was a 259-foot pulpwood carrier for the Marathon Paper Company and the only lake freighter built at Kingston Shipyards (Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd.). The first vessel launched since the last of the Warrior-class tugs in 1946, the Everest was the only all-welded vessel built there. My brother provided some context for this launch on his Rolly Martin Country blog. In his just-published post, David notes that the ship's namesake, David Clark Everest, was president of the Marathon Corporation, whose pulp mill was constructed at the corporation's namesake town on the north shore of Lake Superior between 1944 and 1946. Mr Everest became President in 1938 and Chairman of the Board in 1950. Marathon Corporation was acquired by American Can of Canada in 1969. 

I must admit that I assumed the 'Everest' in her name referred to the conquest of the mountain of the same name by Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953 - the year she entered service!

Specially designed to carry pulpwood by Montreal marine architects German & Milne, D.C. Everest's keel was laid October 4, 1951. Built at a cost of $1 million, following her October 15, 1952 launch, testing required seven different 10-foot propellers until a satisfactory one was found. Two photos above show her departing for a test voyage to the Bay of Quinte on November 28, 1952. She departed Kingston for Marathon on April 1, 1953. Equipped with a troublesome Wisconsin-built 1,200 horsepower Fairbanks Morse Model 37F16 engine, with a gross tonnage of 2,200 the Everest carried logs to customer operations at Green Bay, WI and Menominee, MI. Shipping reports indicate she could carry 220 tons of processed pulpwood bales, returning to Marathon with 3,500 tons of limestone as needed.

In 1980, the Everest was acquired by Johnstone Shipping Ltd. and renamed Condarrell, fitted with a travelling crane for steel handling. Subsequent owners included Marine Salvage in 1982 and McKeil Work Boats in 1987, with her original name restored in 1988. Idle at Toronto, moved to Valleyfield, she saw occasional service as a lighter, sold for scrap in 2006, and broken up in 2014.

(Photos in the post from Queen's University Archives.)

The Canadian Coaster

Kingston Shipyards (at the time, the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company, Kingston Yard) launched Canadian Beaver initially known as hull #15 or K-15, its first commercial freighter on December 10, 1919. The Beaver was officially received by the Department of Marine and Fisheries on May 10, 1920. The same year, work was underway on the second such ship built here, the Canadian Coaster,  initiailly known as hull #16 or K-16, slipped down the ways. Both steel vessels were for Canadian Merchant Marine Service and both were 2,400 gross tons with a length of 250 feet. Only ten years earlier, the Collingwood Shipyards had taken over operation of the drydock and shipyard. This 1920 aerial photo shows likely the Canadian Coaster being built at the shipyard:

After World War I, the need for a Canadian built and operated Merchant Marine fleet was identified with 66 vessels built and in service between 1919 and 1922. These photos show the construction and launch of Canadian Coaster. Both vessels built in Kingston were smaller than most of the fleet, and were intended for West Indies trade. Before long, the small size and mix of designs in the fleet, their slow speed and coal-fired power plants, plus the fact that no passengers could be carried rendered them uneconomical to operate.

Early start on the keel and ribs (above). Canadian Coaster was renamed Champlain  in 1929, Kingsley in 1930. Silvestre  in 1943, Santa Lucia in 1950, and broken up in 1966 in Santos, Brazil. An interesting September 24, 1920 in-progress photo which not only shows the lettering on the punch shed but also some of the Kingston skyline and some passing smoke over Ontario Street:

Progress as of February 24, 1921:

I was fortunate to view correspondence from the construction period. The Department of Marine & Fisheries made at least ten instalment payments to Canadian Shipbulding Co. Kingston. This is notice of the ninth instalment for $70,992.50 made on April 1, 1921. The tenth instalment was paid on April 20, 1921.

On the eve of the launch, March 23, 1921:

Launch day, March 24, 1921! The two figures on the bridge superstructure must have some vital function, or are perhaps thrill-seekers holding on for dear life:

Good news travels fast! A telegram was sent to Ottawa mentioning the 10:30 a.m. launch, from a Mr Pemberton to Charles Duguid, Chief naval Constructor at the Department of Marine:

A reproduction of the news item of the day:

A slightly different pre-launch view, with flags flying and support poles removed from the ways:

Trial trips were undertaken, as noted in this letter from the Department of Marine and Fisheries to the shipyard on April 11, 1921:

A further letter from April 21, 1921 noting dock trials two days later:

All photos from the Kingston Shipyards Papers, Queen's University Archives.

Canadian Locomotive Co. Loads and Dimensionals, Part 3

In two earlier posts, ( Part 1 and Part 2 ) I'd published photos of dimensional loads leaving Kingston's Canadian Locomotive Co. (CLC) plant. Most of those photos are part of the Canadian Science and Technology Museum's Picturing the Past Collection. Recently, while viewing the CLC fonds at the Queen's University Archives, I found additional photos, hence this third post in what became a series. In no particular order, and with no caption information provided with the originals whatsoever, here are some more dimensional load photos taken at CLC:

Not only do these photos show the versatility of the workforce and its manufacturing output, they also speak to the diversification necessary to keep the plant operating in the face of disappointingly low locomotive orders. Chicago Great Western flat car 200xxx (above). CN flat car 600306 appears twice in this post. Top photo - with large load inside the plant and (below) carrying a load stencilled 'Auckland NZ':

CN flat car 663327:

Chassis and export parts on CP 3xx535. Though no dates are shown, a 'later than' date can be gleaned from build and shop dates stencilled on some of the cars. This flatcar was built in January, 1954:

CP 301x62. This flat car was built June, 1953:

CN depressed-centre flat car 6xx959 showing a built date of October 1923 and a shop date of June, 1953. Note that the car is being switched by what appears to be a CN steam locomotive:

Kingston and "97" Freight Car Chalk Marks

This post (300TH POST!) really gets down to the nitty-gritty details of railroading! In fact, these details are so far down in the weeds that no-one would probably notice them in photos, or give them a second thought. But they're meaningful for my Hanley Spur modelling.

In a January, 2016 post on my main railway blog, I showed some examples of 'hat checks' that were used to denote passengers' destinations on Canadian passenger trains. Specifically, these shorthand numbers were used on CN's Kingston Subdivision by CN and later by VIA conductors:

• Oshawa 14
• Cobourg 8
• Belleville 3
• Napanee 0
• Kingston 7
• Gananoque 90
• Brockville 91
• Prescott 89
• Cornwall 81

Former VIA trainman and current CN conductor Steve Lucas has noted that these numbers were shortened versions of previous Grand Trunk Railway station designations, for instance:

• Belleville 103
• Napanee 100
• Kingston 97

and that these designations may well have begun from the east in either Portland, ME or even Riviere du Loup, QC!

In another post from April, 2021 I discussed the prototype use and modelling of freight car chalk marks. In the pre-digital era, these marks were used by train crews to convey all sorts of specific messages to other train crews.

The top photo of this post is an enlargement of a chalk mark that was very much in the background of an undated photo showing Canadian Locomotive Co. (CLC) officials in front of a new diesel locomotive. Two hopper cars, one Delaware & Hudson and one New York, Chicago & St Louis "Nickel Plate Road" are visible, and the Richardson 97 chalk mark appears on the latter. This meant that the car was destined to Richardson coal at Kingston "97". Richardson's coal operation at the foot of Queen Street became Crawford in the 1950's, and was just a short shovaway from where the above photo were taken.

Then I started looking closer at some other cars carrying CLC loads, to see if similar chalk marks could be found. Calcutta C-1 steam engine on CP depressed-centre flat car 309928 bears a 'Kingston Rush' chalk mark, making me think that shipment of the first locomotive in this order was to be expedited!

A CLC diesel bound for Calcutta on depressed-centre CP 309925, taken on August 21, 1967 in front of the derelict canaller Bayquinte, is also chalked Kingston. 

Even as late as 1981, CN documents in my collection denote cars for Kingston with a handwritten "97" showing that the steam-era designation was very much alive well into the diesel era!

All photos in this post are from Canadian Locomotive Co. fonds or Kingston Whig-Standard Fonds, Queen's University Archives.

4th Anti-Aircraft Battery Leaving Kingston

Just over two years ago, a unique photo showing what appeared to be military vehicles being loaded on flatcars near the Canadian National freight shed was discussed in this post. The unit pictured, the 4th Anti-Aircraft Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery was station at Kingston at the time. Departing for summer training at Point Petre on May 27, 1939 they were scheduled to return on August 26, 1939. And return they did, just in time to be embarked for deployment to protect Halifax harbour.

The top photo, undated and captioned Princess at Regent Streets, shows a military convoy led by Military Police in a car. The site is virtually unrecognizable today, with newer buildings on all sides. (Photo - Kingston Picture Collection, Queen's University Archives). The convoy is heading out of the city with evening sun. Marc Shaw kindly added additional information: The limestone building was originally the offices of the Kingston Street railway company, and the adjacent barn to the west provided stabling for the horses before the system was electrified. Originally there was a loop in front of the building for the cars to turn around, and a siding to move the cars into the barn. But later on the turnaround was relocated to the corner of Princess and Alfred Street. After the street railway departed, the stone building became the Coulter family home; they ran a store and the post office out of there. And later still the site was used by the David M Nesbitt Dodge Dealership. Nesbitt used the former stone building for sometime but demolished it around 1954.

A 1949 Queen's University Archives photo showing a Nesbitt ad on the limestone building:

The Kingston Whig-Standard covered the deployment of the 4th Anti-Aircraft Battery, starting with this view of the unit's storage building at Artillery Park, published on August 25, 1939:

The loading of flat cars and departure of the troops was also profiled on August 28. Story on page 1:

There were two further mentions of the movement, with groups of photos on pages 3 and 10. This group of three photos includes the one that started it all, though considerably more difficult to make out than the one in the post linked to above!

This group includes a view of happy volunteers in a coach, as well as a broadside view of the loaded vehicles.

A cropped and lightened version shows the anti-aircraft gun being towed up the ramp onto the waiting flatcar by its gun-tractor:

I believe these are Leyland gun tractors. The anti-aircraft gun design dates to World War I. These vintage postcard views show the gun tractors during training at Petawawa, though not anti-aircraft guns. With 18-pounder guns and limbers in 1935 (below), in the transition from horse-drawn to horsepower! Sounds as if it was a particularly sentimental, angsty transition. Wouldn't they always have horse-drawn guns? Also the transition from summer pith helmets to tin helmets.

1938 views with newer, rubber-tired limbers and guns. The first row of trucks (above) does not have the noticeable dual-wheel fenders and a different box style than the ones shown in the original Kingston photo. Crossing a bridge (below) and both views show typical Petawawa pine forests.

For future reference and investigation into the exact makes and models, here are some data points from various online sources. Needless to say, the unit in question was not as well-covered as it could have been, while in Kingston!

Canadian light anti-aircraft (LAA) batteries were equipped with the Polsten 20mm and the dependable 40mm Bofors gun for engagement of low-level aircraft. The heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) units guarded against higher altitude aircraft with the 3.7-inch gun.

The first unit to become mechanized was the 3rd Medium Battery, RCA. It was issued four 6-wheeled Leyland tractors in 1929 to tow its 60-pounders. A and B Batteries RCHA Brigade were mechanized in 1930. It wasn’t until 1937 that C Battery parted with its last horses. 

The first Permanent Force anti-aircraft component of The RCA was raised in 1937 at Kingston. Designated the 4th Anti-Aircraft Battery, it was equipped with four 3-inch 20-cwt. Mark IA guns and first conducted firing practice at Point Petre on Lake Ontario in the fall of 1938. The unit inherited a number of members from the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery Company at Quebec. The following year it proceeded overseas as part of the 2nd Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Regiment.

CLC's 2000th Locomotive, 1942

In 1942, CPR 2396 was specially painted as 'CLC 2000' to commemorate its building of the Canadian Locomotive Company's 2000th locomotive. Featured on a 1946 CLC brochure (top photo), it was one of 52 heavy G3 Pacifics built by CLC for the CPR between 1940 and 1943. CPR 2396's delivery took place on July 28, 1942. Earlier, on February 10, 1942 a Whig-Standard article mentioned the first locomotive of 40-locomotive order #C-593. CPR 2378 was delivered on January 30:

CPR's usual passenger paint scheme was temporarily replaced by a special paint scheme, logo and lettering for CLC 2000:

The panels on the tender and running boards were maroon, trimmed with three-quarter inch gold stripes that were hand-painted. Unfortunately, colour builder's photos of this and other CLC locomotives are rare to non-existent, there being only a handful ever made. Detail views of the cab side and tender:

CLC's 1000th locomotive was CPR 2-8-0 1835 delivered in October 28, 1911. Number 3000 was Calcutta Port Commissioners D51, shipped to India on December 22, 1958. A lithographed souvenir card of CLC 2000 was produced for publicity and sales use:

Photos above from Canadian Locomotive Company Fonds, Queen's University Archives. This remarkable photo was posted to Vintage Kingston Facebook group. It shows CLC workers informally posed alongside the special Pacific. In the photo are: Gord Hart, Harry Miller, Ed Hamilton, and Alonzo Purvis.

CLC 2000's completion was a rare moment of celebration for the company. However, the milestone received little national fanfare, perhaps due to wartime austerity. The only news published in the July 24, 1942 Whig was a scant two paragraphs alongside a photo of a bewhiskered French-Canadian 'tar', not a specially-painted steam engine!

However, the same day, the Whig published a CLC ad inviting women to join the wartime workforce: