Princess Royal was a wooden steamship built in 1907 for the Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service. The ship operated on the coasts of British Columbia, south east Alaska, and northern Puget Sound until 1933, when the ship was sold for scrapping.
Design and construction Princess Royal was ordered by James W. Troup, superintendent of the coastal steamship service of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was intended to run on routes north of Vancouver along the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska.Turner, Pacific Princesses, at page 55.
Princess Royal was built in 1907 by the B.C. Marine Railway Company, Ltd., at Esquimalt, British Columbia. Princess Royal was the second ship built for the CPR Coast Service by B.C. Marine Railway Co. (The first was Princess Beatrice.) Princess Royal, like Princess Beatrice, was built of wood. The ship's dimensions were long, beam, depth of hold, and 1997 gross tons. The ship had a single propeller. The power plant had a single triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinder diameters, from high to low steam pressure, of 22, 35 and . Bore stroke on all cylinders was .Turner, Pacific Princesses, at page 235. This power plant, manufactured by Bow, McLachlan and Co. of Paisley, Scotland generated 1600 horsepower.Newell, ed., McCurdy Marine History, at page 138. The ship's speed maximum speed was . Princess Royal had 72 staterooms with 144 berths. The ship's Canadian registration number was 121988.The New Mills' List, “Registered Canadian Steamships 1817-1930 over 75 feet” (accessed 06-17-11)
Princess Royal was launched on September 2, 1906. At the time the ship was launched, it was anticipated that it would not be ready for service until the following summer.Turner, Pacific Princesses, at pages 60 and 63.
Operations Princess Royal began its first Alaska trip from Victoria, British Columbia on July 18, 1907, under the command of Captain W.O. Hughes. 120 passengers were carried north, with 136 embarking for the southbound trip. Captain Troup himself was on board for the trip. The plan was to provide a weekly Alaska service, with the Princess Royal running in alternate weeks with the Princess May.Turner, Pacific Princesses, at pages 67 to 69. Princess Royal was run on this route for a while, then transferred to the Victoria-Seattle route. It was on the Seattle route that Princess Royal became involved in the 1908 rate war between the CPR and the Puget Sound Navigation Company. Fares on the steamers on the route fell well below costs, to as low as 25 cents.Newell, ed., McCurdy Marine History, at page 145.
The ship was also operated on route from Victoria to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Originally Princess Royal was painted light gray and white. By 1913, the color scheme had changed to a black hull and white upper works.Turner, Pacific Princesses, at page 92.
In 1928 Princess Royal was converted to oil fuel. To better transport automobiles, the overhead clearance was increased from to four inches (102 mm) .Turner, Pacific Princesses, at pages 137 and 139.
Disposition In 1933 Princess Royal was sold to Capital Iron and Metals Co. of Victoria to be scrapped. After all metal salvage was removed, in August 1934 the hulk was deliberately burned off Albert Head near Victoria.Turner, Pacific Princesses, at page 157.
See also Royal eponyms in Canada
Notes
References Newell, Gordon R. ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966) Turner, Robert D., Pacific Princesses – An Illustrated History of Canadian Pacific Railway’s Princess Fleet on the Pacific Northwest Coast, Sono Nis Press, Victoria, B.C., 1977
Further reading Hacking, Norman R., and Lamb, W. Kaye, The Princess Story -- A Century and A Half of West Coast Shipping, Mitchell Press, Vancouver BC 1974