For Those That Follow Canadian Pacific At Sea.
"Famed Empress To Join Atlantic Run-1949-1950 -Part #1
To Be Largest and Fastest In Service.
The "Empress of Scotland" (The 2nd), pre-war flagship of the Canadian
Pacific Steamships' Pacific Fleet, will enter the company's
Trans-Atlantic service next May(1950) after completion of a two-year
reconversion program in a Scottish shipyard, it was announced
recently(1949) by H.B. Beaumont, steamship passenger traffic manager.
Famed for her still unequalled Trans-Pacific speed record and for her
world-wide war service as one of Britain's hardest-working troopships,
the 26,500 ton luxury liner will be the largest and fastest vessel in
the St. Lawrence service.
She will ply between Liverpool-Greenock(Glasgow)-Quebec City, sailing
from Quebec every third Friday and from Liverpool, England every third
Tuesday. Special CPR "Boat Trains" will carry passengers from Montreal
to Quebec on the sailing, and arrival days.
The announcement that the "Empress of Scotland" would sail on her first
post-war voyage from Greenock on May 10, 1950 and arrive Quebec on May
16 was contained in the Canadian Pacific's list of summer sailings for
1950. This showed that Canadian Pacific Steamships will maintain a
weekly schedule between Canada and the United Kingdom next year, with
the "Empress of Canada"(2nd) and "Empress of France"(2nd)also making
round trips every third week between Montreal-Liverpool, but without
calling at Greenock.
Completely refitted for peacetie travel, the "Empress of Scotland" will
have her capacity reduced from pre-war total of 1,115 to 663 in order to
provide more spacious and luxurious accomodation. She will carry 458
first class passengers and 205 tourist class, all in outside cabins, and
suite accommodations will be available in combinations of bedrooms and
sitting rooms.
Recreation facilities provided on the ship will include a swimming pool,
spacious children's playrooms, a large games deck, enclosed promenade
deck, and an Empress Room for movies and dancing. The extensive
reconversion work was carried out at the Fairfield yards in Govan,
Scotland.
Completed in 1930, the Empress of Scotland(2nd), was then known as the
"Empress of Japan"(2nd)m made her record Pacific crossing in April,
1931-seven days, 20 hours and 16 minutes from Yokohama, Japan to Race
Rocks, near Victoria, and average of 22.27 Knots. The "Empress of
Japan", along with the "Empress of Canada" (the first), "Empress of
Asia" and "Empress of Russia" held down the
Vancouver-Victoria-Honolulu-Yokohama-Kobe-Hong Kong-Shanghai-Manila
run.(the "Asia" and "Russia" only called at Honolulu at certain times of
the year, while the "Canada" and "Japan" were year round).
The "Empress of Japan's" extraordinary war-service after renamed
"Empress of Scotland"(2nd) began November 26, 1939 and continued for the
next 8 1/2 years during which she steamed a total of 712,689 miles under
Admiralty and Ministry of Shipping orders. This took her three times
around the world, five times to Australia and New Zealand, 12 times to
Canada including Vancouver, Halifax, eight times to India, five times to
South Africa and Singapore and twice to Japan.
During the invasion of North Africa she made seven trips carrying 30,000
American troops to Casablanca. During that time, although she once
suffered heavy enemy air attacks off the west coast of Ireland, the
liner spent only 125 days in repair yards.
She carried a total of almost 300,000 persons, 92% of them troops, and
served over 20 million meals. Shortly afterwards the "Empress of
Scotland" entered her refit berth to start on the road back to peacetime
service.
Prior to the War, on the South Pacific passenger service-CP's Canadian
Australasian Line liners the "Aorangi" and the "Niagara held down the
Vancouver-Victoria-Honolulu-Fiji-Auckland-Sydney, Australia run.
To Be Continued-"Empress of Scotland" commences Winter Cruising-New
York-West Indies-South America; and out of United Kingdom to the
Carribean on cruises.
Don Scott-Coquitlam, B.C.
