S.S. OPERATOR

Built:  1909 in Victoria by G.A. MacNicholl
Registration #:  n/a

Hull length:  137.5 feet (exclusive of sternwheel)
Hull width:  31.4 feet
Hull depth:  5.4 feet
Gross weight:  583.2 tons
Registered weight:  379.67 tons
Engines:  1909 Polson, two horizontal high pressure cylinders 15" wide x 72" long, rated at 15 NHP

OPERATOR on Skeena River
Image Courtesy of BC Archives - Detail of Call #C-05493

The OPERATOR was one of five vessels built for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to assist in railway construction in the Skeena Valley.  Primarily a freight boat, she was commanded by Captain Meyers, who became known as the "Flying Dutchman" or in some circles, the "Terrible Swede".  He was known to pack the biggest loads on his vessel, and probably made the most money for the contractors.  The OPERATOR sailed to Victoria in 1911, where her machinery was installed in the S.S. OPERATOR #130886 at Tete Jaune Cache.  Like the CONVEYOR, when her work was finished on the Fraser River, she was hauled out at Prince George.  Her machinery and fittings were sold to the local sawmills and her hull was left to rot on the ways.

This digital collection was produced under contract to the
   SchoolNet Digital Collections program, Industry Canada. Revised:  02/15/99