SS Columbia (1896)

For other ships with the same name, see SS Columbia.

This article is about the screw-driven tug boat. For other uses, see List of ships named SS Columbia.

SS Columbia (1896)

History
Canada
Name	Columbia
Owner	Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company, Canadian Pacific Railway
Route	Columbia River and Arrow Lakes
Builder	Thomas J. Bulger
Launched	1896
Acquired	Canadian Pacific Railway in 1897
Maiden voyage	1896
In service	1896-1920
Out of service	1920
Fate	Scrapped
Notes	not to be confused of the 1920 tugboat of the same name
General characteristics
Class & type	Screw-driven tug
Tonnage	50 GT 34 NT
Length	77 feet (23 m)
Beam	15 feet (4.6 m)
Depth	6 feet (1.8 m)
Installed power	19.5nhp compound 2-cylinder steam engine
Speed	11 miles per hour (18 km per hour)

SS Columbia was a large screw-driven tugboat that operated on the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada from 1896 to 1920.

History

SS Columbia was built in 1896 at Nakusp, British Columbia for the increased freight traffic between Nakusp and Arrowhead due to the completion of the Nakusp and Slocan Railway. Her builder was Thomas J. Bulger, a prominent shipwright for the Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service in British Columbia. The tug was registered number 103892 and was fit with a 19.5nhp compound 2-cylinder steam engine manufactured by John Daly of Toronto.

At the time of her launch the Columbia was the only screw-drive tugboat in the Columbia & Kootenay Steam Navigation Company fleet. In 1896, the Canadian Pacific Railway took ownership of the Columbia & Kootenay Steam Navigation Company and their entire fleet, including the Columbia tugboat. Several screw propulsion tugs would later be built by the CPR for use on Arrow Lakes.

Columbia was a valued part of the fleet because she was able to lighten the cargo burden from the sternwheelers by moving rail car barges loaded with cargo.

Despite the central role she once played, the Columbia was scrapped in 1920. Her machinery went to her replacement, a tug also called Columbia, built in 1920.