In service 1910 Class and type Ocean liner Length 76 m Draft 4.3 m | Out of service 1954 Beam 40.1 ft (12.2 m) Tonnage 1.955 million kg | |
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Name 1910-1954 SS Princess Mary Owner 1911-1954 Canadian Pacific Builder | ||
SS Princess Mary was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) during the first half of the 20th century.
This ship was called a "pocket liner" because she offered amenities like a great ocean liner, but on a smaller scale. The ship was part of the CPR "Princess fleet," which was composed of ships having names which began with the title "Princess". Along with the SS Princess Adelaide the SS Princess Alice and the SS Princess Sophia, the SS Princess Mary was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910–11.
History
The SS Princess Mary was built by Bow, McLachlan and Company of Paisley, Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The 2,155-ton vessel had length of 248.4 feet (75.7 m), breadth of 40.1 feet (12.2 m), and depth of 14.0 feet (4.3 m)
The SS Princess Mary was added to the active roster of the CPR fleet in 1910.
On March 14, 1911, the Princess Mary made her first trip on the Nanaimo-Comox–Vancouver service.
Among the highlights of Princess Mary's service was February 15, 1915, when the 30th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) embarked from Victoria, British Columbia sailing to the War in Europe.
In 1952, the ship was removed from the active service list. Her reconfigured hull was lost at sea in 1954. Part of her superstructure was beached on Harbour Road in West Victoria, British Columbia. This was across the street from the Point Hope Shipyard. It had become a restaurant known as the Princess Mary's Restaurant. At some point the restaurant closed. In 2011, the structure was torn down to make room for development. A plan was to save the structure and move it to Powell River, but this never happened. The restaurant, however, is still around with the same name and has moved to a different location in West Victoria.