SS Asbury Park
Encyclopedia
Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, PA, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes San Francisco Bay
, Puget Sound
and British Columbia
. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.
(1903-1918) Monticello Steamship Co. (1918-1917); Golden Gate Ferry Co. (1918-1927), Southern Pacific Railroad
, (1927-1941), Puget Sound Navigation Co.
, (1941-1952), Ball Ball Lines, Ltd, (1951-1961), and BC Ferries
(1961-1976).
, compound steam engine; cylinder bores 23 in (58.4 cm), 37 in (94 cm) and 2x 43 in (109.2 cm); stroke 30 in (76.2 cm), generating 5,900 horsepower
, with each engine driving a propeller shaft. Steam was generated by nine coal-fired boilers, which ventilated through twin smoke stacks. This drove the vessel at speeds in excess of 20 kn (39.2 km/h).
With a speed of over 20 knots, she operated during the summer season between the north Jersey Shore
and New York City
. However, her size and speed made her ill suited to the route, and she lacked manoeuvrability in the congested waters of New York harbour
. With the decline in traffic during the First World War
she was laid up during the 1917 and 1918 summer seasons.
Asbury Park was taken to the west coast under Capt. Fred Warner and Capt. Fred
Warner and Chief Engineer Samuel Sutton. Once the vessel arrived in San Francisco it was placed on the Vallejo
– Mare Island
, transporting workers to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
. In 1925 the vessel was and extensively modified and renamed to become the commuter ferry SS City of Sacramento crossing San Francisco Bay
between San Francisco and Vallejo
. In 1925, she was refitted and more passenger deck space was added, and in 1927 she came under the ownership of Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries following a series of mergers of the ferry companies operating on the Bay.
In 1927 Southern Pacific acquired Monticello Steamship Company, and its three ships, including City of Sacramento.
The opening of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge
in 1937 put most of the ferry services on San Francisco Bay out of business, and in 1941 the City of Sacramento was sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company
(PSNC) and moved to Puget Sound
. There she operated between downtown Seattle and Bremerton
, site of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
, one of the United States Navy
's main centres for building, maintaining, and repairing warships during the Second World War
.
(PSN) in 1941, but was not brought north to Puget Sound
until May 1944. The delay had been caused by the Navy's having requisitioned the ship to transport works to and from navy shipyards.
in 1951, PSN reorganized itself into an international company which included a Canadian division, Black Ball Line Ltd.
In 1952-53, PSN transferred the vessel to Canadian registry, and moved to the Yarrows shipyard at Esquimalt, British Columbia
, where the ship was underwent a substantial reconstruction. The steam engines were removed and were replaced with four V-16 General Motors
diesel-electric engines, each generating 1,750 horsepower. The new engineering plant drove the vessel at a service speed of 20 kn (39.2 km/h).
Passenger capacity of the reconstructed vessel was set at 1,000, with room for 100 automobiles on the six-lane car deck, which was 275 feet (84 m)long. The vessel was renamed Kahloke, and was placed on the run from Vancouver, BC across the Strait of Georgia
to Nanaimo, BC, completing the route five times per day.
between Nanaimo
and Horseshoe Bay
in West Vancouver
.
In November 1961, Black Ball Ferries was purchased by BC Ferries
, which had commenced operations in June 1960 as a division of the British Columbia Toll Highways and Bridges Authority, a Crown corporation of the British Columbia
provincial government. In 1964, MV Kahloke was renamed MV Langdale Queen and moved to the Horseshoe Bay
-Langdale
route, where she continued to operate until 1976.
After being retired by BC Ferries, new owners renamed her MV Lady Grace. Under a succession of further changes of ownership, storms and a semi-submersion at her berth damaged her beyond repair. In 1988 her superstructure was removed, and her hull found service as a barge. After apparently being abandoned sometime after 2004 on the Fraser River, the barge sank after being covered in heavy snowfall in December of 2008. The hull was raised and salvaged in the spring of 2009.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.
Owners
Asbury Park had a number of owners over the long career of the vessel. These included, among others, the Jersey Central RailroadCentral Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
(1903-1918) Monticello Steamship Co. (1918-1917); Golden Gate Ferry Co. (1918-1927), Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, (1927-1941), Puget Sound Navigation Co.
Puget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
, (1941-1952), Ball Ball Lines, Ltd, (1951-1961), and BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
(1961-1976).
Engineering
As built, the mechanical plant of Asbury Park consisted of twin four-cylinder, triple expansion steam enginesSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
, compound steam engine; cylinder bores 23 in (58.4 cm), 37 in (94 cm) and 2x 43 in (109.2 cm); stroke 30 in (76.2 cm), generating 5,900 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
, with each engine driving a propeller shaft. Steam was generated by nine coal-fired boilers, which ventilated through twin smoke stacks. This drove the vessel at speeds in excess of 20 kn (39.2 km/h).
Jersey coast service
The Jersey Central had a fleet of steamships which it operated from New York to points along the coast of New Jersey. Asbury Park was considered a prestige vessel and was the flagship of the Jersey Central fleet. The vessel was intended to attract wealthy patrons from New York's financial district, who would use the ship to reach their summer homes on the New Jersey shore.With a speed of over 20 knots, she operated during the summer season between the north Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore is a term used to refer to both the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities. . The New Jersey State Department of Tourism considers the Shore Region, Greater Atlantic City, and the Southern Shore to be distinct, each having...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. However, her size and speed made her ill suited to the route, and she lacked manoeuvrability in the congested waters of New York harbour
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
. With the decline in traffic during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
she was laid up during the 1917 and 1918 summer seasons.
California service
War conditions and other economic problems had caused Asbury Park to be taken out of service in 1916. In 1918, Asbury Park was sold to the Monticello Steamship Company, a San Francisco firm.It was announced that prior to the transfer, extensive mechanical work would be done to the vessel, including removal of a number of the vessel's boilers (with a consequent decrease in engine power) and conversion to an oil-burner. In addition the saloons and staterooms of the vessel would be dismantled in preparation for conversion to a passenger ferry. However it appears that this work was not done on the East Coast, but later, after the vessel had reached California.Asbury Park was taken to the west coast under Capt. Fred Warner and Capt. Fred
Warner and Chief Engineer Samuel Sutton. Once the vessel arrived in San Francisco it was placed on the Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
– Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
, transporting workers to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
. In 1925 the vessel was and extensively modified and renamed to become the commuter ferry SS City of Sacramento crossing San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
between San Francisco and Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
. In 1925, she was refitted and more passenger deck space was added, and in 1927 she came under the ownership of Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries following a series of mergers of the ferry companies operating on the Bay.
In 1927 Southern Pacific acquired Monticello Steamship Company, and its three ships, including City of Sacramento.
The opening of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
in 1937 put most of the ferry services on San Francisco Bay out of business, and in 1941 the City of Sacramento was sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company
Puget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
(PSNC) and moved to Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. There she operated between downtown Seattle and Bremerton
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, site of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
, one of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's main centres for building, maintaining, and repairing warships during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Puget Sound service
To meet the rising demand for ferry capacity on the Seattle-Bremerton route, the vessel was purchased by Puget Sound Navigation CompanyPuget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
(PSN) in 1941, but was not brought north to Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
until May 1944. The delay had been caused by the Navy's having requisitioned the ship to transport works to and from navy shipyards.
British Columbia service
In 1950, City of Sacramento was taken out of service. Following the sale of most of the PSN fleet to the Washington State Ferry systemWashington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
in 1951, PSN reorganized itself into an international company which included a Canadian division, Black Ball Line Ltd.
In 1952-53, PSN transferred the vessel to Canadian registry, and moved to the Yarrows shipyard at Esquimalt, British Columbia
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquimalt Harbour and Royal Roads, to the northwest by the...
, where the ship was underwent a substantial reconstruction. The steam engines were removed and were replaced with four V-16 General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
diesel-electric engines, each generating 1,750 horsepower. The new engineering plant drove the vessel at a service speed of 20 kn (39.2 km/h).
Passenger capacity of the reconstructed vessel was set at 1,000, with room for 100 automobiles on the six-lane car deck, which was 275 feet (84 m)long. The vessel was renamed Kahloke, and was placed on the run from Vancouver, BC across the Strait of Georgia
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
to Nanaimo, BC, completing the route five times per day.
Later years
From 1952 to 1962 she operated along with the MV Chinook II crossing the Strait of GeorgiaStrait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
between Nanaimo
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...
and Horseshoe Bay
Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Horseshoe Bay is a West Vancouver community of about 1,000 permanent residents. Situated right on the western tip of West Vancouver, at the entrance to Howe Sound, the village marks the western end of Highway 1 on the British Columbia mainland....
in West Vancouver
West Vancouver, British Columbia
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the municipality is northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Bay and the...
.
In November 1961, Black Ball Ferries was purchased by BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
, which had commenced operations in June 1960 as a division of the British Columbia Toll Highways and Bridges Authority, a Crown corporation of the British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
provincial government. In 1964, MV Kahloke was renamed MV Langdale Queen and moved to the Horseshoe Bay
Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Horseshoe Bay is a West Vancouver community of about 1,000 permanent residents. Situated right on the western tip of West Vancouver, at the entrance to Howe Sound, the village marks the western end of Highway 1 on the British Columbia mainland....
-Langdale
Langdale, British Columbia
Langdale is a small community on the Sunshine Coast of southern British Columbia. It is set in a verdant environment characteristic of many small BC communities. Its main feature is the BC Ferries terminal that links the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver via Horseshoe Bay, with connecting foot-passenger...
route, where she continued to operate until 1976.
After being retired by BC Ferries, new owners renamed her MV Lady Grace. Under a succession of further changes of ownership, storms and a semi-submersion at her berth damaged her beyond repair. In 1988 her superstructure was removed, and her hull found service as a barge. After apparently being abandoned sometime after 2004 on the Fraser River, the barge sank after being covered in heavy snowfall in December of 2008. The hull was raised and salvaged in the spring of 2009.
See also
- Jersey Central RailroadCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
- Ferries of San Francisco BayFerries of San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
- Puget Sound Navigation CompanyPuget Sound Navigation CompanyThe Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
- BC FerriesBC FerriesBritish Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...