Once More For Glenellah/Calgarian

Table of Contents



Title Page
Meetings
The Editor's Notebook
Marine News
Ship of the Month No. 153 CITY OF OWEN SOUND
Once More For Glenellah/Calgarian
The Engine of the Beatty Line Steamer Quebec
United Empire Revisited
Lay-Up Listings - Winter 1986-87
Segwun Needs You!
Table of Illustrations

Featured in the October issue was Ship of the Month No. 148, the steam canaller GLENELLAH (27), (b) CALGARIAN (II), and a short follow-up to that piece appeared in the January issue. The following additional recollection of this handsome steamer has been provided by Donald Page of Kingston.

"This ship had an enormous engine built to turn a huge propeller rather slowly at about 72 r.p.m. Shortly after World War Two, when this steamer was placed on the Montreal (lower lakes) end of the (C.S.L.) package freight trade, she suffered constant propeller damage from striking the canal banks when passing in the narrow canals (of the old St. Lawrence Canal system). Her longbladed propeller, combined with her nice lines aft, made her vulnerable. Mr. Frank Norris, C.S.L. superintendent engineer in those days, had a solution to this problem.

He put her on the dock at Kingston and fitted her with a spare hub and blades for one of the "City" class of (express) package freight canallers because of its much smaller diameter. The results of this change were not all that good. Certainly the blade damage was eliminated, but how the old monster revved up! Until one was used to it, 105 r.p.m.'s on an engine of this size (19 1/2, 33, 54 x 36) seemed positively dangerous! The fuel bills did not come down either, and her astern power was limited. However, the old steamer soldiered on for more than a decade after this "cure", a fine example of British shipbuilding of the pre-World War One days."

 


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