S.S. Skeena
S.S. Skeena, also known as “Pat Burns Meat Boat” was built in 1908 at Vancouver, BC by D. McPhee for Foley, Welch and Stewart, railway contractors for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The P. Burns & Co. ran her on the Skeena River carrying live beef, hogs and sheep along with vegetables to railway construction crews. The vessel was fitted with iron sheathing to allow supplies to be transported during the winter when there was some ice in the river. In 1908 she made 25 trips between Prince Rupert, Copper River and Kitselas with railway supplies. In 1909 and 1910 the Skeena was on the river continually working between Hazelton and Prince Rupert well into November, 1909. On the lower river she continued into December and even into January and February of 1910. Her last downriver trip was made on July 21st 1911. She was under the command of Captain Seymour.
After completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Skeena went to the Fraser River to run between New Westminster and Chilliwack. For a while she was used as a floating boarding house and later the hull was used as a barge.
| Name, Reg | Tonnage | Len x Wid x Draft | NHP | Engines | Passengers | Info |
| Skeena, C-126212 | 515 | 121.2×26.8×5.6 | 11×54 | 150 | u/k |
Captains:
George Magar
Charles E Seymour
Ships Registry for Skeena (1908) courtesy Library and Archives Canada:
Ships Registry for Skeena (1914) courtesy Library and Archives Canada:
Sources:
Armstrong, Cliff Sternwheelers on the Skeena , 2001
Bennett, Norma V Pioneer Legacy: Chronicles of the Lower Skeena River, 2001
Macdonald, Joseph F. Macdonald’s Steamboats & Steamships of the Pacific Northwest.
O’Neill, Wiggs Steamboat Days on the Skeena River, 1963
Wright, E. W. Lewis & Drydens Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, 1967.
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