Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Telescope, v. 28, n. 2 (March-April 1979 ), p. 33

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waited at Tail of the Bank for Algoma. The latter, loaded with coal and general cargo, cleared on September 24, and set off for Canada in company with Alberta the next day. They both arrived at Quebec City on October 8. The locks of the St. Lawrence and Welland Canals were too short to permit transit of such large ships. Alberta, Algoma and Athabasca were each cut apart at the Cantin Shipyard at Montreal. Tugs towed each section of the ships to Buffalo, where the sections were rejoined by the Union Dry Dock Company. Once intact, each ship proceeded to Port Colborne. There, final work was performed to prepare them for their duties. This included constructing a series of additional passenger cabins on the upper deck. TELESCOPE Page 33 Algoma, the last of the sisters to be built, was the first to enter service. She cleared Owen Sound on May 11, 1884, with freight and 1,100 passengers. This was far more passengers than she had been designed to carry comfortably, but most were eager to start a new life in the West, and the bulk of them travelled in a "no frills" manner called "Emigrant Class."' Alberta followed from Owen Sound on May 13, and Athabasca set out on May 15 to get the three- ship operation under way. The iron-hulled ships chartered for the 1883 season, Spartan and Magnet, remained on the Upper Lakes for a few more seasons, operating as far as Sault Ste. Marie. The CPR trio carried thousands of families on McCANNELL Collection A picturesque photograph shows ALBERTA at Owen Sound in the early years.

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