S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Park

Back in the early years of the 1900s when the young province of British Columbia was growing in terms of immigration and trade, the Okanagan region was also seeing a growth in ranching and fruit orchards. The completion of the transcontinental railway line in 1885 had brought much needed connectivity to the region and linked it to rest of Canada and esp. to the other center of population, Ontario. As trade grew in Okanagan so did the demand for reliable means of transportation. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which built the transcontinental railway line saw more potential for filling up their main line by connecting the Okanagan centers of population with it. Most of these population centers were surrounding the Okanagan Lake. With this in mind CPR commissioned the sternwheeler SS Sicamous in 1914. It ran between Penticton and Okanagan Landing near present day Vernon. It had 5 decks, weighed 994 tons and could carry a max tonnage of 1787 tons. It was decommissioned in 1937 and now rests in Penticton where it is operated as a Museum and events facility.

Being a fan of history and technology I wanted to visit this and on one find Sunday morning in August of this year I did. I drove down to Penticton from Kelowna which is an hours drive. The SS Sicamous now rests near the south western edge of the Okanagan Lake, quietly facing the lake where it served for 23 years back in its glory days. As I walked over to the ship it looked glorious in the bright sunlight and blue skies. The bow (front) has the 4 decks visible with the Captain’s cabin at the top behind which stands the tall chimney. The stern (rear) has the big wheel which propels it. The ticket costs $10 for adults.

The first deck on entering has the main motive power section of the ship. There’s a boiler on the right and turbines on the left (stern) of the ship. I headed over to the turbine section first. Having a background of working in a steam driven power plant myself I was familiar with the equipment. The turbine had two sections, one high pressure and one low pressure. It works this way. The Boiler generates steam which then makes it way over to the high pressure section and then to the low pressure section. As the steam loses its pressure it turns the shaft which is connected to the sternwheel through mechanical linkages and these rotate the wheel which in turn pushes the water away propelling the ship forward. The working pressure of the boiler is 200 PSI which is around 14 kg/cm2.

Next I moved on to the upper deck. This contained three sections. The bow had a lounge with some tables and chairs to sit. The middle section was simply stunning in its beauty. As I walked to the grand staircase in the middle I was surprised by the opulence of it all. I did not expect this in a Sternwheeler in a lake in the interior of a region thousands of kms away in a neglected province. This staircase reminded me of the staircase scene from Titanic though this was on a much smaller scale. It connected the middle deck with the smaller upper deck. Behind this staircase lay the dining saloon which used to be the highlight of the whole vessel. CPR was known for its high standards and luxury. The cutlery and other items on display prove this. This saloon had a capacity to seat 50 to 70 patrons. The long hall had polished wooden floor, with pillars on the sides and many doors leading to the kitchen and other rooms. The ceiling had a row of fans with skylights on the top of the side walls. I could imagine people sitting here having their dinner in their best dresses with the staff moving around serving them. The saloon was beautiful. The third section was another lounge at the stern. This was ladies’ lounge and it was also beautiful with a semicircle of curtained windows enclosing a space with sofas and tables.

From here I walked around the sides of the ship taking in the views surrounding the vessel finally leading to the top deck where the steering wheel was located. This was just a small cabin with the wheel. Interesting things here were an old fire extinguisher and a pipe in which the Captain spoke to convey his messages to the crew below in the engine room. This ended my tour of the splendid ship and I made my way downwards and out of the ship. It was a good informative tour and I loved it.