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PSTrillium

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History
Canada
NameTrillium
OwnerCity of Toronto
OperatorParks, Forestry and Recreation
BuilderPolson Iron Works,Toronto
ChristenedJune 18, 1910
In serviceJuly 15, 1910
Out of service1957
Refit1974
Reinstated1976
HomeportToronto,Ontario
StatusIn service
General characteristics
TonnageGross:672.82 Net:463.42
Length150 feet (45.7 m)
Beam30 feet (9.1 m)
Depth8 feet (2.4 m)[2]
Installed power
PropulsionSide wheeler
Capacity955 (originally 1,450)
NotesPolson Iron Works - Ship Builds, 1910[1]

Trilliumis aside wheelerferryoperated by theCity of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation,inToronto,Ontario,Canada. Now114 years old, she is one of severalToronto Island ferriesoperating between theJack Layton Ferry TerminalatBay StreetandQueens Quayand three landing points on theToronto Islands.She is the last sidewheel-propelled vessel on the Great Lakes.[2]

History

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The ship was built in 1910 byPolson Iron Works[3][4][5][6]at a cost ofCA$75,000.[7]The 1,450-capacity (reduced later to 995) ferry was built for and initially operated by theToronto Ferry Company.[8]She was launched on June 18, 1910,[9]christened with a bottle of champagne by eight-year-old Phyllis Osler, granddaughter of politicianEdmund Boyd Osler.[7]The ferry entered service on July 1, 1910.[10]Trillium's sister ship,Bluebelland other ferriesPrimroseandMayflowerin the company's fleet were also named after flowers.

In 1926, the City of Toronto acquiredTrilliumand the other ferries in the Toronto Ferry Company's fleet, and took over all ferry services.[8]Nine boats and half-acre of land on Hanlan's Point was bought forCA$337,500.[11]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]

Trilliumwas retired in 1957 and sold forCA$4,500to the Toronto Works Department,[10]which intended to use it to carry sewage sludge from the new Humber Sewage Treatment Plant.[12]It was left to sink in a lagoon in the Toronto Islands, along with her sister vesselBluebell.UnlikeBluebell,which was converted to a garbage scow,Trilliumwas left to deteriorate, its metal fittings stripped by scavengers and souvenir hunters.[13]

In the sixties, there was renewed interest in theTrillium.First, in 1964, it was proposed to display theTrilliumalong with other historic boats at theToronto Maritime Museumat theExhibition groundsbut the proposal failed.[14]In 1965, it was then proposed to return the boat to service. Partly due to the advocacy of historianMike Fileyand Toronto Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson, Metro Toronto approved her restoration in 1973.[7]The restoration at a cost ofCA$950,000($4.55 million in 2023 dollars)[15],was chosen over building a new ferry which would have cost three to four million dollars.[16]

Champion Engineering Ltd. supervised the restoration, which was done inPort Colborne, Ontarioat the E. B. Magee drydock in Ramey's Bend.[5][16]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.[16]Other items were salvaged from the boatsImperial WindsorandTexaco Bravewhich were being scrapped.[16]Several replicas were made of original parts, such as the brass bells and the beavers adorning the sides of the paddle boxes.[16]The boat was rebuilt as close as possible to the original 1910 plans.[5]

The ship returned to Toronto Harbour in November 1975.[17]The ship was rechristened on June 18, 1976, 66 years after her first launch, the ceremony officiated by the same Phyllis Osler Aitken.[7]She was returned to service on July 1, 1976, on runs to Hanlan's Point only, the other island ferry docks having been converted for the other ferries.[8]This caused numerous complaints, notablyJohnny Lombardi,who offered to get volunteers to rebuild the Centre Island docks in time for the annual CHIN picnic.[18]

In 2017,Trilliumwas refurbished at a cost ofCA$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.[19]

Incidents

In 1910,Trilliumhelped douse a fire on the harbourfront.[10]Toronto Ferry Company ownerLol Solmanoperated the hose himself from the second level ofTrilliumto douse the flames at the Niagara dock.[11]

In 1911,Trilliumran aground while on her return from a lacrosse match.[20]The ferryIsland Queentook off 600 passengers, then ran aground herself. Launches, sailboats, rowboats and canoes had to come to the rescue of the 2,000 stranded people.[20]That year the water level of Lake Ontario was the lowest it had been since 1874.[20]

On July 15, 1916 at 3pm, theTrilliumwas docking at Hanlan's Point dock to discharge passengers going to a baseball game. As it was docking, it created a side-wash that overcame and capsized a canoe being paddled by couple Sam Sniderman and Rose Ezrin nearby. By the time people could reach the scene, the couple had disappeared underwater and drowned. Their bodies were found within minutes but could not be revived.[21]

Trilliumcollided with the formerMSNormacin 1981.[22][23]Normac,a former Great Lakes passenger vessel had been converted toCaptain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant,and had been permanently moored in the Yonge Street slip since 1970. A mechanical failure causedTrilliumto fail before colliding with the restaurant. The restaurant developed a slow leak, which caused her to sink two weeks later.

A 29-year-old man drowned after jumping offTrilliumwhile attending the 1993Caribana festival.He jumped off at 11 pm on July 29, telling friends that he would meet them on shore atOntario Place.Trilliumwas about 300 feet (91 m) from shore. Police recovered his body on July 30.[24]The victim's mother was hurt by speculation about his sobriety.[25]

  • Trillium ferry in drydock in June 2017
    Trilliumferry in drydock in June 2017
  • Bluebell Ferry in Toronto Harbour 1920
    BluebellFerry in Toronto Harbour 1920

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Polson Iron Works - Ship Builds, 1910".PolsonIronWorks.ca.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  2. ^ab Know Your Ships 2017.Marine Publishing Co. Inc. 2017. p. 41.ISBN978-1-891849-22-0.
  3. ^"Nautical History".Save Ontario Shipwrecks.2003. Archived fromthe originalon February 7, 2012.RetrievedDecember 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).
  4. ^ "Trillium".Library and Archives Canada.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  5. ^abcd"Hail to the Trillium".The Scanner(Summer 1976). Toronto Marine Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012.RetrievedNovember 21,2008.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^"The Elegant Paddle Steamer".The Great Lakes Schooner Company. Archived fromthe originalon February 23, 2012.RetrievedNovember 21,2008.
  7. ^abcd Vyhnak, Carola (July 3, 2015)."Trillium: Queen of the Ferries".Toronto Star.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  8. ^abc "Trillium (Ferry)".City of Toronto government.Archived fromthe originalon May 10, 2017.RetrievedMarch 27,2012.
  9. ^"New Ferry Boat Launched Today".Toronto Star.June 18, 1920. p. 10.
  10. ^abc Bateman, Chris (January 12, 2013)."The nautical adventures of the Trillium ferry in Toronto".BlogTo.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  11. ^abVyhnak, Carol (July 5, 2015). "Trillium: Queen of the Ferries".Toronto Star.p. A12.
  12. ^"Reprieve Bluebell To Become Tanker".Toronto Star.September 17, 1958. p. 16.
  13. ^Sutcliffe, Ted (March 30, 1973). "1910 ferry may yet chug again".Toronto Star.p. 37.
  14. ^"Ship Museum at CNE Sunk In Committee".Toronto Star.March 6, 1964. p. 3.
  15. ^1688 to 1923:Geloso, Vincent,A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850(December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based onStatistics Canadatables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021)"Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted".Statistics Canada.RetrievedApril 17,2021.and table 18-10-0004-13"Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit".Statistics Canada.RetrievedMay 8,2024.
  16. ^abcde Champion, Gordon."The Rehabilitation of the Trillium".PolsonIronworks.Ca.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  17. ^"Trillium's Back After $1 Million Refit".Toronto Star.November 7, 1975. p. B2.
  18. ^"Transportation to Island is inadequate, Lombardi charges".Toronto Star.August 3, 1976. p. B5.
  19. ^Hains, David (July 26, 2017)."Toronto's oldest ferry set to launch again".Metro Toronto.RetrievedJuly 27,2017.
  20. ^abcHemingway, Ernest;White, William (1985).Dateline, Toronto: the complete Toronto star dispatches, 1920-1924.Scribners.p.361.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 Hanlan's Point.
  21. ^"Lovers Drowned In Wake Of Ferryboat".Toronto Star.July 15, 1916. p. 5.
  22. ^"Captain John's boat leaves watery grave".Maritime History of the Great Lakes.June 15, 1986. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015.RetrievedMarch 22,2012.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^"Captain John's Restaurant sinks".Heritage Toronto.October 6, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon April 15, 2012.RetrievedMarch 22,2012.
  24. ^ "Body of man, 29, found on bottom of lake".Toronto Star.Toronto ON. July 31, 1993. p. A04.
  25. ^Wright, Lisa (August 1, 1993)."Police find body of man who leapt from ferry boat".Toronto Star.Toronto ON. p. A5.RetrievedJuly 31,2011.[dead link]
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