# Identify ship or ship line?



## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Hi,
I'm trying to identify (as much as possible) on which ship or ship line this picture might have been taken.
The woman (my grand-mother) lived in Montreal and it would most likely date between 1924-1928. 

Also most likely a visit at the dock, not a trip. Any hints or idea are appreciated!


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

Fair guess.... the ship is the Canadian Steamship Lines ST LAWRENCE. The forward funnel has the right 'livery' and the three cowl vents. These ships ran excursions up the St Lawrence.

So, this is a 'fair guess'. I need some references. The three vents are not the same height as in your photo. 

Stephen


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Stephen J. Card said:


> Fair guess.... the ship is the Canadian Steamship Lines ST LAWRENCE. The forward funnel has the right 'livery' and the three cowl vents. These ships ran excursions up the St Lawrence.
> 
> So, this is a 'fair guess'. I need some references. The three vents are not the same height as in your photo.
> 
> ...


Interesting, thank you! I was searching ships of the time that had a white line on the 'chimney' (sorry for my lack of ship vocabulary). I think this is as close as I'll get, since I have no other info to go on.


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

chantalm said:


> Interesting, thank you! I was searching ships of the time that had a white line on the 'chimney' (sorry for my lack of ship vocabulary). I think this is as close as I'll get, since I have no other info to go on.


Found this on the internet...


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## shiploversa (Dec 8, 2019)

chantalm said:


> Hi,
> I'm trying to identify (as much as possible) on which ship or ship line this picture might have been taken.
> The woman (my grand-mother) lived in Montreal and it would most likely date between 1924-1928.
> 
> ...


found some more of the st lawrence


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Thank you!! It's very likely that one! Although I'll still go through pictures and newspapers of the time to gather more info. Thanks for the help!


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

I can see what looks like lifeboat, davit and awning on right of picture on level with that deck. St Lawrence's boats look lower down. How about it being the Saguenay or Richelieu ? Canada Steamship Lines - Shipping Today & Yesterday Magazine

My interest; several years on the River, Seaway and Lakes on SS Tynemouth
Andrew


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## Bootsmann (Feb 12, 2006)

Passengers had access to that boat deck, so maybe more like this one:


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

GW3OQK said:


> I can see what looks like lifeboat, davit and awning on right of picture on level with that deck. St Lawrence's boats look lower down. How about it being the Saguenay or Richelieu ? Canada Steamship Lines - Shipping Today & Yesterday Magazine
> 
> My interest; several years on the River, Seaway and Lakes on SS Tynemouth
> Andrew


Yes, since posting the above I found a picture of the Richelieu and it's as much a possibility 😏. Since she was from Montreal, it has to be on the St-Lawrence river between 1924-1929, so I'm checking newspapers. Her husband (my grandfather) was an amateur sailor, he also worked for the Canadian Vickers for a while in the 1940's and even built his own boat later in life which he used to travel between Montreal and the Thousand Islands (I have a very bad 8mm film of one of his trips).


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

chantalm said:


> Yes, since posting the above I found a picture of the Richelieu and it's as much a possibility 😏. Since she was from Montreal, it has to be on the St-Lawrence river between 1924-1929, so I'm checking newspapers. Her husband (my grandfather) was an amateur sailor and even built his own boat later in life which he used to travel between Montreal and the Thousand Islands (I have a very bad 8mm film of one of his trips).


Thanks for your help, that's great info!


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Interesting! The Richelieu is older, it seems that it was previously the Narrangasett, and was renamed the Richelieu in 1923. But the St-Lawrence, Quebec and Tadoussac are sister ships put into service in 1927 and 1928, which helps date the picture should it be one of those.


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

The funnel 'straps' on the funnels (with the funnel stays) on RICHELIEU are in the middle of the white band.
The funnel 'straps' on St Lawrence are quite pronounced... top and below the white band.
Bootsman, the lifeboats on your ship do not match up.

The one that come to my eye might be the QUEBEC. I still cannot find the spot where the photographer had been to cat the three cowl vents. They are different size. The photog might have caught three in a 'line'. Problem is that the funnel seems to sitting on a white house. So, I think I'll keep open on this one. Here is a photo of QUEBEC. Oh, the TADOUSSAC. I went wandering about this 'wreck'. She was landlocked in the sand of the desert at Sharjah... back in 1978. At that point my ship was discharging cargo. The TADOUSSAC was no more than 100 yards away. I believe the port has expanded and there is no chance to steamer will every float again!


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

TADOUSSAC at Sharjah UAE,


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## Bootsmann (Feb 12, 2006)

Forget any of the suggested TADOUSSAC, QUEBEC, St. LAWRENCE or RICHELIEU. No passengers would be running around on a unfenced funnel deck. Like Andrew said the boat deck is one below on those ships. CHIPPEWA or possible sisters match, even the 3 air vents. And I don't see why her 2nd live boat doesn't match. I'm not saying that she is CHIPPEWA but definitely not the others mentioned.


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

"No passengers would be running around on a unfenced funnel deck." Really? I guarantee you be able to find young ladies ANYWHERE on ANY ship if there is some sailor to show her where to go! 

The boats on CHIPPEWA. On photos there are boats on a lower deck, but are also in the photo the boat is actually sitting outside the fencing, looks like a mesh. You can see both upper and lower block from the davit. Definitely does not fit the four large ships. I cannot line up the vents in a row (F&). looking up at the funnel and with the boat at right. I was thinking that I might be looking AFT (port) and looking up at the aft funnel. It still does not look right. On CHIPPEWA passengers could be up on upper deck

Stephen


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Stephen J. Card said:


> "No passengers would be running around on a unfenced funnel deck." Really? I guarantee you be able to find young ladies ANYWHERE on ANY ship if there is some sailor to show her where to go!
> 
> The boats on CHIPPEWA. On photos there are boats on a lower deck, but are also in the photo the boat is actually sitting outside the fencing, looks like a mesh. You can see both upper and lower block from the davit. Definitely does not fit the four large ships. I cannot line up the vents in a row (F&). looking up at the funnel and with the boat at right. I was thinking that I might be looking AFT (port) and looking up at the aft funnel. It still does not look right. On CHIPPEWA passengers could be up on upper deck
> 
> ...


Thanks! I agree about her being on the top deck (and standing on a fence I might add 😁) which is what always lead me to think she was visiting a boat at the pier, not travelling on it.
I've been looking through old newspapers for some article or ad regarding a boat visit at the Montreal port (no luck yet).
The Chippewa is interesting! I'll look it up!


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Bootsmann said:


> Forget any of the suggested TADOUSSAC, QUEBEC, St. LAWRENCE or RICHELIEU. No passengers would be running around on a unfenced funnel deck. Like Andrew said the boat deck is one below on those ships. CHIPPEWA or possible sisters match, even the 3 air vents. And I don't see why her 2nd live boat doesn't match. I'm not saying that she is CHIPPEWA but definitely not the others mentioned.


Thank you, I'll look it up!


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

Try this out. Look at the HEIGHT of the WHITE band on the funnel. Mark on a small paper. Then compare it to the WIDTH of the WHITE band, The band of the four larger vessels, the bands are 2.3 width compared to height. 1 to 2.3

OK. Do the same with CHIPPEWA. The bands on the funnel as different and compare 1 to 2 . Also, the funnels of CHIPPEWA are quite tall. On the other ships the funnels seem to be less high.

Technical explanation!!!!  
Stephen


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## gjgeracci846 (8 mo ago)

Look Carefully Folks! The Stack behind her does NOT have the Steam escape pipe behind the stack in her picture. That is a prominent feature on most of the photos of the ships postured here. Somehow she appears at the aft stack based on the Vents, but there is NO steam exhaust pipe directly behind her along with the stack itself. It would be very prominent in the photo! It is as I said, according to the photos, a very obvious feature that would've been in the photo at that angle


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

I did not say that. If you are on port side looking AFT then the three vent you would looking at the FRONT of the funnel. Not all funnels have steam pipes on the backside of funnels. Some, bit not all. It i sometime the pipe is inside the funnel within the gap between the outer casing and the uptake. Forward side of the funnel... might have steampipe for the whistle. I believe the ship is CHIPPEWA, not any of the other larger ships.


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## chantalm (7 mo ago)

Hi,
This weekend I received this picture from a family member that shows a slightly different point of view. I didn't know if it gave hints that the other didn't. The binoculars in the friend's hands also suggests that they were on a cruise, not just visiting a ship at the dock.


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