Radium Express (ship)
 Hull of the Radium Express being shipped to Waterways alberta, 1939. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Canada | |
| Name: | Radium Express |
| Operator: | Northern Transportation Company |
| Builder: | Russel Brothers |
| Laid down: | 1939 |
| Launched: | 1939 |
| Completed: | 1939 |
| Commissioned: | as Radium Express |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 88 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 60 tons |
| Length: | 21.94 metres (72.0 ft) |
| Beam: | 6.03 metres (19.8 ft) |
| Draught: | 2 feet (0.61 m) |
| Installed power: | 100 horsepower (75 kW) diesel engine |
| Speed: | 9 knots |
The Radium Express is a tugboat operated by the Northern Transportation Company.[1][2] The vessel was built in Owen Sound, Ontario, disassembled, and then shipped by rail to Waterways, Alberta, which was then the terminus of the North American railway grid.
Like the other vessels in the "Radium Line", she was reassembled in Waterways, on the Clearwater River, a tributary of the Mackenzie, and then proceeded up the Slave River to Fort Smith, and portaged to the upper river, where she could navigate most of the remainder of the extensive Mackenzie River system.
In 1938 the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reported the vessel was designed to travel at up to 20 knots, faster than the Radium Line's larger vessels, so it could take over tows in regions of particularly rapid current.[3] The Canadian Transportation Agency reported her speed as 9 knots in 2011.[2]
On November 16, 1945, the Radium Express and the Radium King were caught by freeze up in Yellowknife.[4]
| Gross Tonnage: | 88 t |
| Net Tonnage: | 60 t |
| Length: | 21.94 metres |
| Breadth: | 6.03 metres |
| Depth: | 1.67 metres |
| Draught: | 0.91 metres |
| Self-Propelled Power: | 474 brake horsepower |
| Speed: | 9.0 knots [sic] |
References
- ↑ "Radium Express". Owen Sound Sun Times. 1939-05-05. Archived from the original on 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- 1 2 3 "Vessel: Radium Express". Canadian Transportation Agency. 2011-12-22. Archived from the original on 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- ↑ "Mackenzie Supplies arrive by River Boat". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 1938-05-30. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- ↑ "Boats Are Caught In North Waters". Edmonton Journal. 1945-11-16. p. 14. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
Both the Radium King and the Radium Express are frozen fast in ice just off Joliffe Island, a stone's throw from the town of Yellowknife. With them are their three barges, being unloaded at the Negus mine dock when freeze-up caught them deciding to make the last short haul as far as Yellowknife's dock, the boats nearly made it, but were caught just a few hundred yards offshore.