1928
Built by John Brown & Co. Ltd. Clydebank, Scotland
Length: 291' Beam: 48' Draft: 13' Tonnage: 2027
The most notable new construction of 1928 was the completion in England and arrival at Vancouver of two new steamships for the Canadian Pacific B. C. Coast Service. The Princess Elaine, latest of the handsome C. P. R. three -stackers, arrived from the John Brown yards on the Clyde in April, entering the Nanaimo-Vancouver service early in May. A triple-screw turbine steamer of 2,027 tons, with dimensions of 291.4 x 48. 1 x 13.4, her 4,600-horsepower turbines gave her a service speed of 19 1/2 knots. She was equipped to handle 60 automobiles in ferry service, had accomodations for 1,200 day passengers and was rifted with six staterooms. The Princess Elaine made two round trips daily with a running time of two hours and 15 minutes each day. She was commanded by Capt. R. N. Stuart, V. C. 5 Gordon Newell, "Maritime Events of 1927-28," H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest.. p. 384
FINAL DISPOSITION
Sold in 1963 for use as a restaurant in Blaine, Washington.
The last of the old Canadian Pacific three-stack coastal passenger liners still afloat in the Northwest, Princess Elaine, which had been moored at Blaine for the past four years as a nightclub and restaurant ship, was purchased by Seattle restaurant operator Selma Rodgers and towed to a mooring at West Seattle for similar service. Although restaurant ships have been highly successful in British Columbia, Oregon and California cities, they have not done well in Seattle, and the Princess Elaine was no exception. She was subsequently sold to California owners and, for the, next several years was moored, unused, at the old Sperry Ocean Dock in Tacoma. Gordon Newell, "Maritime Events of 1967," H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest 1966 to 1976, p.XLVI.
Another well-known old CPR steamship, the three-funnel liner Princess Elaine, already in use as a restaurant ship for several years, was sold by Mrs. Selma Rodgers of Seattle to Gordon McRae of Redondo Beach, California, who planned to renovate her for use in southern waters. However, it was found impracticable to fit her for an offshore passage under tow and after lying unused at the old Sperry Ocean Dock in Tacoma for several years, she is currently (1976)being scrapped at Seattle. Gordon Newell, "Maritime Events of 1968," H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest 1966 to 1975, p.44.
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