SS Kamloops: Construction

SS Kamloops, circa 1920s. Isle Royale National Park Archives

Construction

Kamloops was built in England by Furness Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. at its shipyard at Haverton Hill on Tees in 1924. Built for Steamships, Ltd. of Montreal, Canada for use in the Great Lakes package trade, the single-screw, steel freighter was designed as a canaler, with dimensions appropriate for passage through the Welland Canal system. Its primary intended function was to transport package freight, but it could also carry bulk cargo.

Kamloops had a length between perpendiculars of 250 feet, molded breadth of 42 3/4 feet and a molded depth of 26 1/2 feet. Its deadweight capacity was 2,400 tons on a 14-ft. draft (Canadian Railway and Marine World, July 1924). Kamloops was of the vessel type built to the maximum possible canal dimensions.

A fairly complete description of Kamloops was published in Canadian Railway and Marine World in July 1924 (p. 370):

Kamloops is built on the longitudinal system of framing, with upper, shelter, and forecastle decks. The double bottom, extending all fore and aft, and the peak tanks, are arranged for water ballast, and a water-tight cofferdam is fitted at the sides of [the] fore hold to give added protection to the cargo to meet the severe conditions of the service. The captain's accommodation and chart-room are in house on [the] forecastle deck, with [the] steering wheel in [the] teak Texas house above. Special attention has been given to the accommodation[s] for the officers and crew in [the] forecastle, and engineers and firemen in [the] deck-house aft. The whole of the accommodation is heated by steam radiators, and electric lighting is to be installed. A powerful steam windlass is fitted in [the] forecastle, and special pockets are arranged in the hull to house the anchors. The cargo gear, consisting of 4 sampson posts, each having one 5-ton derrick, is operated by one 8x12-inch and two 7x10-inch steam cargo winches, and mooring arrangements are carried out by means of four 6x10-inch steam mooring winches. A hoisting gear, consisting of 13 winches driven through shafting by a double-cylinder vertical steam engine, will be fitted in the upper 'tween decks for discharging cargo. A steam steering gear will be fitted in [the] after 'tween decks and controlled by shafting from [the] wheelhouse forward and boat deck aft. The propelling machinery consists of a set of triple expansion inverted marine engines, having cylinders of 18, 30, and 50 inches diameter, and a stroke of 36 inches. Steam is supplied by two single-ended boilers 13.6 feet in diameter by 11 feet long, working at a pressure of 185 lbs.

Steamships Ltd., the company that ordered both sister ships built (Kamloops and Lethbridge), was a subsidiary of Canada Steamship Lines, Ltd., and all of its principal company executives were also officers of Canada Steamship Lines. Steamships, Ltd. was incorporated in November 1923, stating its purposes as "to carry on the business of transportation of passengers, freight, etc., towing, wrecking and salvage in or over any of the navigable waters within or bordering on Canada, and to or from any foreign port, and various other businesses connected therewith" (Canadian Railway and Marine World, August 1924:422-3).

The first of the two new ships slid down the ways on May 20, 1924, after being christened Kamloops by Agnes Black, daughter of the Canada Steamship Lines superintendent. Lethbridge followed on June 14.

The triple-expansion engine and the Scotch boilers were made specifically for Kamloops by Richardson, Westgarth and Co., Ltd. of Hartlepool, England, and rated at 1,000 indicated horsepower. The engine could push the ship at an estimated speed of 9 1/2 knots.

Kamloops completed its builder's trial on July 5, 1924 and proceeded to Copenhagen to load the first cargo, which was bound for Montreal. The ship went on to Houghton, Michigan. The vessel, along with its sister, would run regularly between Montreal and Fort William, Ontario carrying package freight west and grain east (Canadian Railway and Marine World, Oct. 1924:527).

Shipwrecks of Isle Royale

Operational History of the Kamloops

SS Kamloops Home

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• Isle Royale National Park

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