Landsdowne (Ferry), 30 Oct 1884

      The Grand Trunk Co.'s new transfer ferry boat, the LANDSDOWNE, is nearing completion now at Windsor. In the course of 3 or 4 weeks it is hoped she will be ready to go into commission. Her general outline resembles that of the GREAT WESTERN. Her upper works are modeled after that craft. But the design of the hull of the LANDSDOWNE is different being of 3/4 inch iron plates and designed expressly for keeping a passage clear in the ice. Her sheer is extreme, and as she is a double ender, equal speed can be made forward or backward. Her machinery and boilers are those used in the old MICHIGAN. The machinery was thoroughly overhauled and tested before being placed in the LANDSDOWNE. The two engines have a combined strength of 900 horse power, which it is estimated will drive the vessel through the heaviest ice forming in the river. She has two low pressure condensing engines with 50 inch cylinder and 9 feet stroke. The wheels are 29 feet 5 inches in diameter, built of oak and sheathed with wrought iron. The whole space occupied by the two tracks is open, so that she will carry as little weight as possible. On either side of the wheels are the officers' rooms and waiting rooms, small but ample to meet all requirements. The pilot houses are most substantially built, being elevated on wooden frame work and tied in with iron work. They are connected with each other by the long gallery.
      Her dimensions are 318 feet long, 41 feet beam, 72 feet over the guards and depth of hold 15 feet. She draws 7 feet of water on an even keel. The hull was erected by the Detroit Drydock Company, at Wyandotte, the duty of which amounted to $13,000. The boiler were placed in position and the whole of the roiveting done by John McGregor & Sons. Her engines and machinery, including her wheels, were superintended by James Radcliff. The carpenter work reflects the greatest credit on the foreman, William Lane. The whole of the work was most ably directed by one of the engineers of the above company, the locomotive and ferry superintendent, W.O. Russell. It is hoped that she will make a much better and no worse an ice pioneer than the old MICHIGAN. - Detroit Free Press
      The Marine Record
      October 30, 1884 3-2