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> We have
added two pages to our history section that outline two very important
individuals in the SS Moyie's history: KLHS President Jack Morris
and Site Manager Ken Butler.
The S.S. Moyie sternwheeler is one of the most
significant preserved steam passenger vessels in North America.
When the Moyie was retired in 1957, after a 59-year career with
the Canadian Pacific Railway's BC Lake and River Service, she was
the last operating passenger sternwheeler in Canada. She is in a
surprisingly complete state for a vessel with such a long service
record.
The Moyie was ordered originally by the CPR for
a planned "All Canadian Route" to the Klondike. When the
bill authorizing the essential railway link failed to pass the Canadian
Senate in 1898, the CPR began to dispose of its fleet of vessels,
and the Moyie was shipped by rail to Nelson for service on Kootenay
Lake.
"The Moyie was originally
planned for an 'All Canadian Route' to the Klondike."
The Moyie began service on the Nelson-Kootenay
Landing Route on December 7, 1898, to connect with the newly completed
rail line from southern Alberta through the Crowsnest Pass to the
lower end of Kootenay Lake. The Moyie operated on the Nelson-Kootenay
Landing Route as the major vessel (the "Crow Boat"), providing
the service until the construction of the larger and faster S.S.
Kuskanook in 1906. It appears that the Moyie strayed little from
the "Crow Boat" service during these years except for
operation on the occasional excursion. The Moyie connected with
the trains, its Dining Saloon providing the sole eating facility
on the service. By 1900, however, buffet cars were included in trains
to Kootenay Landing. After completion of the Kuskanook in 1906,
the Moyie was assigned to secondary routes from Nelson or Procter
to Kaslo and other smaller communities along the shore of Kootenay
Lake, in particular, Lardeau and Argenta.
> Continue history
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