Radium Queen (ship)
 The Radium Queen, at her northern terminus, Fort Fitzgerald on the upper Slave River. | |
| Career (Canada) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Radium Queen |
| Operator: | Northern Transportation Company |
| Builder: | Manseau Shipyards |
| Laid down: | 1937 |
| Completed: | 1937 |
| Commissioned: | as Radium Queen |
| Homeport: |
Registered: Actual: |
| General characteristics | |
| Length: | 96 feet (29 m) |
| Beam: | 20 feet (6.1 m) |
| Draught: | 4 feet (1.2 m) |
| Installed power: | 2 x 240 horsepower (180 kW) diesel engines |
| Crew: | 10 |
The Radium Queen and her sister ship the Radium King were built in Sorel, Quebec in 1937, for the Northern Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Mines.[1] The Slave River, that runs between Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake is generally navigable. However there is a 16 miles (26 km) stretch of rapids near Fort Smith, NWT. The Radium Queen towed barges from the railhead at Waterways, Alberta to a portage around the rapids. Cargo was unloaded there and transported by land, and loaded on barges on the lower river that were towed by the Radium King, and later by other tugboats, like the Radium Charles, Radium Express and Radium Yellowknife.
The Radium Queen and Radium King were built at the Manseau Shipyards, then disassembled and shipped by railroad to Waterways.[1] The Radium Queen was shipped first, and reassembled at Waterways, so she could tow the parts to assemble the Radium King downstream to the rapids on the Slave River. The parts to the Radium King were then portaged around the rapids to be assembled on the lower reaches.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Radium King en route: Eldorado Subsidiary's Ship Leave for West by Train". Montreal Gazette. 1937-04-15. p. 20. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
Both ships were built for the Northern Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Mines, Limited, and will ply the Mackenzie and Athabaska rivers, 1,600 miles north of Edmonton.