The Victoria

In early 1897, the contract for construction of the side wheeler Victoria was awarded to Edward McGuiggan, a noted Saint John builder. The model used was that of the old steamer the Rothesay. The frame was built of spruce, and the bottom of birch and spruce to the gunwales, the stern was fashioned from hemlock, and the rudder from oak. Her length overall was 200 feet, while her beam was 30 feet. She had a capacity of 631 tons.

All the joinery work was supervised by George Beatty. The main saloon was elegant and spacious, with mirrors filling the spaces between the windows the length of the room. Gold leaf decorations surmounted each window, while the floor was covered in deep pile carpeting. The prominent furnishings were the solid mahogany chairs and couches richly upholstered in plush. A new touch was the soda fountain that extended across the forward end of the dining saloon. She is referred to in contemporary accounts as "palatial", and she did outshine all her rivals.

Steward , Arthur Ganong, is shown here with the Victoria's dining room staff. All were in readiness for the arrival of the first hungry passengers. Who of those that have had the experience of being such a passenger could ever forget the wonderful repasts that were offered up in this setting? The white linens and efficient service complimented the tempting menu of salmon fresh from the river, together with choice vegetables grown in the passing fields, hot shamrock rolls with country butter, and a generous portion of strawberry pie, warm from the oven, for those who were still able to partake.

Machinery for the Victoria came from the government steamer the St. Lawrence and it was overhauled and adapted at Phoenix Foundry in Saint John. It was an 11-foot stroke, beam engine with a 40.5-inch cylinder. The boilers carried 47 pounds of steam and the engine was fitted with adjustable cut off gear. Her 26-foot side wheels were expected to propel her at a rate of over 17 miles per hour. Total cost of the Victoria when she was ready for service was $57,000 and she was to prove the biggest and probably the most luxurious of the St. John River steamboats.

Although the Victoria made one trip to Fredericton in 1897, it was late in the season, and it was decided not to place her on the route until the following spring. But in May of 1898, she began a long career on the St. John where she became known for excellent service. In addition to her scheduled run, the Victoria conveyed many day and moonlight excursions out of both Fredericton and Saint John, as well as picnic groups to different parts of the river. Some seasons, as many as 35 excursions were offered during the holiday period, and by times these sailed as far as Gagetown. On one of the picnic outings to Browns Flat, the Victoria carried 952 passengers. Most of the steamers carried their loads of excursionists between regular runs as time and opportunity permitted.

A writer of that day recounted in an enthusiastic article the enjoyable trip he had on the Victoria. Here is an excerpt:

"To the person wishing to take a short holiday, there cannot possibly be a more delightful one than a run on the river in a Star line steamer. The cost is cheapness itself. The fare to Fredericton is only $2, with the option of returning by train, and with ample time in Fredericton to see the beauties of the capital. Of course proportionately low rates are offered for different points on the river. A day on the river will add more to the complexion than all the rouges a chemist ever concocted; it will lift the mind from the cares of the household, the shop, the office, it will add strength to the body, inflate the lungs with pure air and sharpen the appetite without any artificial tonic. It is the balm for old and young.

The Victoria was occasionally called upon to make a round trip to Fredericton. During the Fredericton Exhibition of 1903, for example, she left Indiantown every weekday morning at 7 o'clock and returned the same day, making frequent stops, both going and coming, for freight and passengers.

Quite a few of the river steamboats used "trimmers" to keep on an even keel. These were wooden barrels or casks filled with sand or gravel and weighed about 600 pounds. Trimmers were rolled from one side of the boat to the other as required. The largest of the steamers carried 9 trimmers, 5 near the forward gangway and 4 near the gangway aft. They were particularly useful on the side wheel boats because greatest efficiency and speed could not be obtained with one paddle wheel deeper in the water than the other.

At times, it was necessary when running cross winds and seas to give the boat an intentional list to prevent the seas from pounding up under the overhang that would cause subsequent damage to the deck and superstructure. Sometimes, when crossing Grand Bay from Kennebecasis Island to Boars Head with a strong northeast wind and flood tide, it was advantageous to give the steamer a downward list to starboard to avoid unnecessary pounding. A bell pull located in the wheelhouse was connected to a small bell on the main deck, and this was to call deck hands to roll trimmers. The bell was also rung twice to summon a deck hand to the wheelhouse for necessary instructions from time to time during a trip. In a heavy wind for instance, it could prove difficult to get the boat near enough to a wharf for a deck hand to throw an ordinary line. In such cases a deck hand might be ordered to the saloon deck, or hurricane deck with a "heaving line".

The Victoria was considered a very fast boat. On one occasion she made the run from her wharf to the McAlpine Bluff, halfway to Fredericton in 2 hours and 29 minutes. As John Dunham recorded in his poem:

Now there was the glorious "Vic"

Whose answer to helm was quick

She e'er did contrive

While the river she'd ride

All rivals to handily lick

While the Victoria was the premier steamer on the St. John at the time, she did not always show a profit to the owners of her operation. In 1905, for example, her revenue consisted of $5,689 from passengers, $4,426 from freight, $1.499 from picnics, excursions, and an additional $775 from subsidies. Yet, expenditures for the year were $13,147, leaving a net operating loss of $779. In fact, of all the steamers of the Star Line, it was only the Pokanoket that showed an operating profit in 1905.

The fact is that with the new century, business for the steamboats on the St. John declined rather steadily. Improved roads, and other means of transportation, meant less business and a corresponding slimmer - and even non-existent - profit margin, and fewer steamboats were in operation.

The Victoria burned at Lancaster on February 3, 1916. A replica of the Victoria can be found at the New Brunswick Museum.