PS Trillium

History
 Canada
Name: Trillium
Owner: City of Toronto
Operator: Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
Builder: Polson Iron Works
In service: 1910
Out of service: 1957
Refit: 1974
Reinstated: 1976
Homeport: Toronto, Ontario
Status: In service
General characteristics
Tonnage: Gross:672.82 Net:463.42
Length: 150 feet (45.7 m)
Beam: 30 feet (9.1 m)
Depth: 8 feet (2.4 m)[1]
Installed power: Scotch boiler
Propulsion: Side wheeler
Notes: Polson Iron Works - Ship Builds, 1910[2]

The Trillium is a side wheeler ferry operated by the City of Toronto, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of several ferries between its terminal at Bay Street and Queens Quay and three landing points on the Toronto Islands. It is the last sidewheel-propelled vessel on the Great Lakes.[1]

History

The ship was built in 1910 by Polson Iron Works[3] [4][5][6] at a cost of CA$75,000.[7] The ferry was built for and initially operated by the Toronto Ferry Company.[8] It was launched on June 18, 1910, christened with a bottle of champagne by eight-year-old Phyllis Osler, granddaughter of politician Edmund Boyd Osler.[7] The ferry entered service on July 1, 1910.[9] Trillium's sister ship the Bluebell and other ferries The Primrose and Mayflower in the company's fleet were also named after flowers.

In 1926, the City of Toronto acquired the Trillium and the other ferries in the Toronto Ferry Company's fleet, and took over all ferry services.[8] The ferry was remodelled by the Toronto Transit Commission, replacing worn woodwork and the main deck cabin, and removing the side gangways and officer daycabins.[5]

The Trillium was retired in 1957 and sold for CA$4,500 to the Toronto Works Department.[9] It was left to sink in a lagoon in the Toronto Islands, along with its sister vessel Bluebell. Unlike Bluebell, which was converted to a garbage scow, the Trillium was left to deteriorate. It was first proposed in 1965 to be put back in service. Partly due to the advocacy of historian Mike Filey and Toronto Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson, Metro Toronto approved its restoration in 1973.[7] The restoration at a cost of CA$950,000 ($3.72 million in 2016 dollars)[10], was chosen over building a new ferry which would have cost three to four million dollars.[11]

Champion Engineering Ltd. supervised the restoration, which was done in Port Colborne, Ontario at the E. B. Magee drydock in Ramey's Bend.[5][11] The restoration replaced the superstructure, boiler and deck. Original gauges and other 1910-era accessories were salvaged from Toronto Department of Public Works pumping stations.[11] Other items were salvaged from the boats Imperial Windsor and Texaco Brave which were being scrapped.[11] Several replicas were made of original parts, such as the brass bells and the beavers adorning the sides of the paddle boxes.[11] The boat was rebuilt as close as possible to the original 1910 plans.[5] The ship was rechristened on June 18, 1976, 66 years after its first launch, the ceremony officiated by the same Phyllis Osler Aitken.[7] It was returned to service on July 1, 1976, on runs to Hanlan's Point, the other island ferry docks having been converted for the other ferries.[8]

In 2017, the Trillium was refurbished at a cost of CA$450,000. The refurbishment will extend its lifespan. The repairs included replacements to sections of the hull and rudder and three new coats of paint.[12]

Incidents

In 1910, the Trillium helped douse a fire on the harbourfront.[9] In 1911, the Trillium ran aground while on her return from a lacrosse match.[13] The Trillium collided with the former MS Normac in 1981.[14][15] The Normac, a former Great Lakes passenger vessel had been converted to Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant, and had been permanently moored in the Yonge Street slip since 1970. A mechanical failure caused the Trillium to stop before colliding with the restaurant. The restaurant developed a slow leak, which caused it to sink two weeks later. A 29-year-old man drowned after jumping off the Trillium while attending the 1993 Caribana festival. He jumped off at 11 pm on July 29, telling friends that he would meet them on shore at Ontario Place. The Trillium was about 300 feet (91 m) from shore. Police recovered his body on July 30.[16] The victim's mother was hurt by speculation about his sobriety.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Know Your Ships 2017. Marine Publishing Co. Inc. 2017. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-891849-22-0.
  2. ↑ "Polson Iron Works - Ship Builds, 1910". PolsonIronWorks.ca. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Nautical History". Save Ontario Shipwrecks. 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2011. The Iron Works only two existing ships in Toronto are the Trillium (built in 1913, which still ferry's passengers to Centre Island) and the RCYC passenger ferry Kwasind (1913). mirror
  4. ↑ "Trillium". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Hail to the Trillium". The Scanner. Toronto Marine Historical Society (Summer 1976). Retrieved November 21, 2008. mirror
  6. ↑ "The Elegant Paddle Steamer". The Great Lakes Schooner Company. Retrieved November 21, 2008. mirror
  7. 1 2 3 4 Vyhnak, Carola (July 3, 2015). "Trillium: Queen of the Ferries". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 "Trillium (Ferry)". City of Toronto. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 Bateman, Chris (January 12, 2013). "The nautical adventures of the Trillium ferry in Toronto". BlogTo. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada. "Consumer Price Index, historical summary". CANSIM, table (for fee) 326-0021 and Catalogue nos. 62-001-X, 62-010-X and 62-557-X. And Consumer Price Index, by province (monthly) (Canada) Last modified 2017-07-21. Retrieved July 28, 2017
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Champion, Gordon. "The Rehabilitation of the Trillium". PolsonIronworks.Ca. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  12. ↑ Hains, David (July 26, 2017). "Toronto's oldest ferry set to launch again". Metro Toronto. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  13. ↑ Ernest Hemingway, William White (1985). "Dateline, Toronto: the complete Toronto star dispatches, 1920-1924". Scribners. Retrieved March 27, 2012. In 1911 the ferry boat Trillium ran aground and lay for fifty-eight minutes, stuck fast on her way to the city from the Toronto-Tecumseh lacrosse match at ...
  14. ↑ "Captain John's boat leaves watery grave". Maritime History of the Great Lakes. June 15, 1986. Retrieved March 22, 2012. mirror
  15. ↑ "Captain John's Restaurant sinks". Heritage Toronto. October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2012. mirror
  16. ↑ "Body of man, 29, found on bottom of lake". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. July 31, 1993. p. A04.
  17. ↑ Lisa Wright (August 1, 1993). "Police find body of man who leapt from ferry boat". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. p. A5. Retrieved July 31, 2011.

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