Paddlewheeler

It's a bit embarrassing, but I was pretty much this many years old before it really sank in for me how important paddlewheelers were in Western and Northern Canadian history.  It really shouldn't have taken this long, as I've been exposed to them all my life, but when I see them I tend to think of them as a curiosity, rather than a crucial link in the development of transportation infrastructure.

As a kid, I enjoyed visting the reproduction of the SS Moyie at Heritage Park in Calgary.  

Heritage Park's Moyie is a half-size reproduction of the original SS Moyie, which Arthur and I visited in 2023 at Kaslo, BC, where she is in dry dock a museum ship on the shore of Kootenay Lake.

Another find on the shore of Kootenay Lake was this former paddlewheeler that's been converted into a home!

I've also read about paddlewheelers like SS Northcote, which participated in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion/Resistance, and the SS City of Medicine Hat, which sank after crashing into a bridge over the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon.  I suppose they never entered my consciousness the way railways did, as they didn't leave the same legacy.  My main cultural appreciation for paddlewheelers is tied to Mark Twain and the Mississippi paddlewheelers!

On our summer trip this year, however, Arthur and I encountered several more paddlewheelers that worked in Yukon, including SS Klondike in Whitehorse,

SS Keno in Dawson,

And the remains of SS Tutshi in Carcross.

As a result of my new appreciation for paddlewheelers, I purchased Sarissa Precision's colonial paddlewheeler.  This is a pretty massive model, and was tricky to build, especially compared to other MDF models.  The rails and supports are somewhat delicate and need to be handled gently.  The rear deck on the upper level is open, and so the supports are thin and also delicate.  After assembling, it still took me a while to paint this model.

By the way, thanks to Doug for the blue cellophane - it makes a great river!

The lake-based paddlewheelers like SS Moyie have splashguards for their wheels, like this.  It kept the water from splashing onto the ship.

The Yukon River paddlewheelers omitted the guard, as there was too much chance of ice or other debris getting caught in the guard, as visible here on SS Keno.  You can also see the red rudders that steer the ship.

The Sarissa paddlewheeler has no guard, so most closely aligns with the Yukon paddlewheelers.

The top and upper deck lift off to allow access to the interior, so figures can be moved around inside the ship.

Upper deck.

Wheelhouse.

Main deck.  Ship's wheel and the engine order telegraph.  This is the dingy-thingie that is used by the captain to send a signal to the engine room instructing the crew to power the engine "full ahead", "all stop", "reverse engines" or whatever.  Eventually I'll glue it down (or else I'll end up losing it!) but for now it can be lifted out.

Lower deck with a view of the engine room and the engine crew.  Bob Murch's railway men are well suited for this job!  Although it's worth noting that the Yukon steamers burnt the readily available timber, roughly one cord of wood per hour, rather than coal, so I may need to consider the crewman who is shoveling coal. 

River paddlewheelers had limited cargo space, so they often pushed barges to allow more cargo to be moved.  I picked up a pair of these Sarissa skiffs to represent the barges.  Barges were pushed rather than towed as of course the paddlewheel gets in the way.

Here they are with cargo loaded.

Cargo crates from Xolk.

This post is also an opportunity to show off this older, smaller, resin paddlewheeler from Eureka Miniatures that's been in my collection for many years.  I'm pretty sure it is no longer available.  It's smaller so can be more easily moved around the table.  The paddlewheels on each side are not glued down, so they can be removed to allow more deck space as well!

Neither of my two steamships have names, yet.  My first instinct was to name the big Sarissa ship the Alice May, after the derelict from Robert Service's Cremation of Sam McGee, but it doesn't feel right to name my ship after a wrecked ship.  I have the same reservation about naming her Mary Ellen Carter, no matter how much I love Stan Roger's song.  Feel free to make some suggestions for suitable names in the comment section below!