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.British Columbia Maritime Museum. (n.d.). Columbia (I). Nauticapedia. https://nauticapedia.ca/vessel.php?id=3857
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. Fonds - C.P.R. Nelson Shipyard fonds. (n.d.). MemoryBC. https://www.memorybc.ca/c-p-r-nelson-shipyard-fonds 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.
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