A Cape liner is all the sub-Continent from the Equator to Simon's Town,
an Orient boat is Australasian throughout, and a C.P.R. steamer cannot
be confused with anything except Canada.

Rudyard Kipling
The Road to Quebec

CP ad before WWI (coll. Arthur D. Dubin)

CP folder (coll. William Pearce/ WS)

The Colony of Canada achieved a status of autonomy in 1839 and the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867. Its Leading Atlantic port is Halifax, for Montreal, the economic centre, can be reached only through the St. Lawrence, closed by ice during winter months. A local steamer of the St. Lawrence shipping, the "Royal William", partially owned by Samuel Cunard, made an Atlantic crossing when she was sold to England in 1833. It was not before 1876, that the Intercolonial Railway connected Montreal with its winter harbour Halifax. Already in 1853 the Colony had awarded a mail contract to the Canadian Steam Navigation Co. of Liverpool, which failed soon. The family Allan, who had been trading to Canada with brigs, was more successful. In 1854 the Montreal Ocean S. S. Co. , founded by Hugh Allan, introduced the screw-driven "Canadian" on the Liverpool - St. Lawrence route, becoming known as the Allan Line. With acquisition of the State Line, Glasgow - New York services were added in 1891, listed as Allan Line & State Line, but they lasted only until 1905. In Canada, the Canadian Pacific Railway was omnipresent and in 1914 it swallowed the Allan Line. A competitor on the Liverpool - Canada route, the Beaver Line, then taken over by Elder Dempster & Co., was acquired by the Canadian Pacific in 1903, too.

"Calgarian" of 1914, Allan Line (old card, coll. WS)

"Sarnia" of 1882, Dominion Line (Peabody Museum of Salem)

Another competitor entering the St. Lawrence was the Liverpool & Mississippi Co. , originally engaged in New Orleans traffic, later known as the Dominion Line, in 1902 acquired by the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM) of J.P. Morgan and absorbed by his White Star Line.

Canadian Pacific
Winner was in the end the Canadian Pacific. In 1886 CP's transcontinental railway was completed and in 1891 their first 'Empresses' started from Vancouver to Hong Kong. 'From Ocean unto Ocean' was their advert slogan. Already in 1886 George Stephen, President of CP, presented the idea of a Liverpool line to the Prime Minister of Canada. In 1903 CP started services from Liverpool and London to Montreal with the "Lake Manitoba" (1901/8,850 gt), taken over from the Beaver Line. When the Allan Line placed the first ocean-going turbine-driven vessels, the "Victorian" and "Virginian" (10,700 gt) on the North Atlantic in 1905, CP countered with the "Empress of Britain" and "Empress of Ireland" (14,200 gt). Built at Fairfield's yard, they were the last British fast liners driven by reciprocating engines, operating on the Quebec - Liverpool route. An attempt by European competitors to create a joint-venture for Canada services, rivaling CP, did not materialize.

The "Empress of Ireland", advertised as "fastest and finest to Canada", became subject of one of the outstanding tragedies at sea on 29 May 1914. Owing to the outbreak of World War I shortly after, this disaster has never received much public attention. The medium-sized two-funnel-liner, leaving the St. Lawrence, collided in a foggy night with the Norwegian coal ship "Storstad" entering the stream from the Atlantic. Although both ships had kept contact to one another and sent out horn signals, the collier rammed the liner on her portside, tearing an immense leak and disappeared in the fog. Within 14 minutes the liner went down, taking with her 1,912 people. The Norwegian captain declared not having noticed the sinking of the liner.

Royal Line
The Canadian Northern, formed by amalgamation of separate railways, provided Canada's second trans-continental rail service from 1915. Like the competitor, they saw a chance in the immigrant trade. In 1909 they bought two almost new liners from the dissolved Egyptian Mail Steamship Co and founded the Royal Line as a subsidiary (information by Campbell McCutcheon in Ships Monthly, Nov. 2010). The "Royal George (1907/c.11,100gt, ex "Heliopolis") and sister "Royal Edward" (ex "Cairo") were nice steamers with two buff, black-topped funnels, 3 turbines and 3 screws enabling a speed of 19 knots. In 1910 they opened the Canada service from Avonmouth near Bristol. Two years after the "Titanic" tragedy, on 25 May 1914, the "Royal Edward" rammed an iceberg in dense fog, but could be repaired at Avonmouth. Taken up by the Admiralty, she was sunk by torpedo in 1915. The "Royal George" was bought by Cunard, but nicknamed 'Rolling George', she was laid up in 1920. The Canadian Northern had acquired also the Uranium SS Co, which disappeared with WWI, too.

"Royal Edward" (ex "Cairo") as a troopship, 1915 (via Wikimedia)

Canadian Pacific after WWI
After World War I the Canadian Pacific tried a penetration of the European market with a Canada Trust Ltd in cooperation with the Great Eastern Railway of England and Mitropa of Germany. In 1921, the CP acquired the ex-German "Kaiserin Auguste Victoria" (24,581gt). After World War I the Hapag liner had been awarded to Cunard, then sold to the CP. As "Empress of Scotland" she served the Quebec - Hamburg route calling at Southampton and Cherbourg. Owing to the economic recession during the late 1920s, she was sold for scrapping in 1930 but was destroyed by fire before transfer.

Another fine ship sailing under the flag of the CP was the "Empress of Australia". The 21,500 ton three-funnel liner was commissioned by Hapag in 1914, intended to open the Panama-South America route under the name "Admiral von Tirpitz", other sources mentioned simply the "Tirpitz". It was rumoured that the Kaiser would have used her personally in the case of a German victory. However, she never entered service on her provided route. Completed after the war, she was delivered to the Shipping Controller of London in 1920 and then acquired by the CP. Renamed "Empress of China", she was sent to the builder in order to fit her for transpacific operation. She took up a service from Vancouver to Manila via Yokohama, Shanghai and Hong Kong in 1923 under her new name "Empress of Australia". Thoroughly modernized in 1926 and having changed her steam-turbo-hydraulic engines by geared turbines, her speed was raised from 17 to 20 knots at reduced fuel consumption. Fitted with up-to-date accommodations, she started a Quebec - Southampton service from 1927 and was occasionally employed on cruises. Finally she truly was used by a Royal Highness - King George VI on his state visit to Canada in May 1939. During World War II she served as troop ship and survived many air attacks. She did not resume her commercial operation and went to the ship breaker in 1952.

"Empress of Australia", arriving with King George VI at Quebec, 1939 (contemporary press)


"Empress of Britain" (II) of 1931 (Canadian Pacific)

To join the Club of the Big Five on the North Atlantic, the CP placed an order with John Brown at Clydebank for a crack liner, an Empress of Empresses. The white-painted three-funnel liner, christened "Empress of Britain", proved to be one of the most remarkable ships of the era, featuring luxurious facilities for only 1,195 passengers in three classes. The "Empress of Britain", with 42,348 tons the largest Canadian liner, entered service in 1931. Her turbines, producing 63,400 h.p., gave her a traveling speed of 24 knots at a maximum of 25.5 knots. During the winter season, when the scheduled passages had to be reduced, the ship was sent on cruises departing from southern ports. In spite having been the largest vessel ever in ownership of the CP, her dimensions allowed an unhindered passage through the Suez and the Panama Canal and to enter also smaller ports. The third funnel was a dummy, integrated in the ventilation system. For a passage from Cherbourg to Father Point on the St. Lawrence she took not more than 4 days and 18 hours. Like the "Empress of Ireland", also the "Empress of Britain" was involved in a collision, in this case with the 5,000-ton coal carrier "Kafiristan", fortunately with less dramatic followings: three hands of the collier were killed.

A second 42,000-ton liner and two 25,000-ton ships (according to Weyer 1940) were on the program, but the outbreak of World War II prevented it. On 2nd September 1939, the day before Great Britain had declared war on Germany in response to Hitler's attack on Poland, the "Empress of Britain" made her last commercial sailing. Thereafter she conveyed troops to several theatres of war. On 26 October 1940 she was attacked by German bombers. Burning and towed away by the Polish destroyer "Burza", she was torpedoed by U32. The "Empress of Britain" has been the largest passenger ship that got lost by war actions.

After World War II
In the years after World War II Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd, sailing under British flag, continued to avoid any race for the Blue Riband. The "Empress of Scotland" (ex "Empress of Japan", 26,032 gt) of 1930 was returned from military service in 1948 and ten years later she was sold to the Hamburg-Atlantik Linie. Her three funnels replaced by two ones, she became the 30,029-ton "Hanseatic" (I).

To compensate war losses, the CP ordered a new but smaller "Empress of Britain" at the Fairfield Yard of Glasgow. The 25,254-ton liner, designed for a operation speed of 20 knots, entered service on the Montreal - Liverpool route in 1956. A sister, the 25,285-ton "Empress of England" followed one year later. Both vessels presented themselves in the new style of the time, bearing only one mast and a single pyramidically shaped buff funnel. In 1961 the ships were joined by the vastly similar 27,284-ton "Empress of Canada".

The "Empress of Britain" (II) was sold in 1964 to the Greek Line and served after modernization as "Queen Anna Maria" on the North Atlantic. The "Empress of England" was sold in 1970 to Shaw, Savill & Albion of Southampton. After a single unsuccessful voyage to Australia she changed into the tourist trade. Her last sailing went in 1975 to Taiwan for scrapping. The "Empress of Canada" was acquired by Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972. As "Mardi Gras", she opened services of nowadays' biggest cruise corporation. Finishing her career as "Apollon", she arrived at Alang scrap-yard in December 2003.

Of course also truly British and other companies served the Canada traffic and for some ones Halifax was a port-of-call on the way to New York. One of the lesser known companies had been the Europa-Canada-Linie, owned by the Holland America Line and Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Their service Bremerhaven - Montreal was operated from 1955 with the "Seven Seas", a rebuilt U.S. freighter, temporarily also with the "Willem Ruys" and the "Ryndam". With the victory of the jetliner, every North Atlantic service to and from Canada, famous or unknown, had disappeared in the 1960s and 70s.

The glory of Canadian Pacific's 'Empresses' is history now, but one of them survived until the 21st century. It was the "Empress of Britain of 1956, then "Queen Anna Maria", from 1975 the "Carnivale" of Carnival Cruise Lines, then the "Fiesta Marina", "Olympia" and finally she got a reprieve as "The Topaz" (registered with 32,327 tons) of the Peaceboat Organization until 2008. She was scrapped in 2009.

"Queen Anna Maria" ex "Empress of Britain" (III), Salamis 1975, before becoming the "Carnivale" (WS)

"The Topaz", the former "Empress of Britain" (III), Piraeus 2007 (WS)