Elvas Tower: SS CANTERBURY 1900 - Elvas Tower

SS CANTERBURY
Dover Calais Ferry
Southern Railway Company
1900

Chris Gerlach - Jeff Farquar (Master Chief)

SS ‘Canterbury’, a Southern Railway (SR) Many British railway companies ran ferry services to the continent. The SS Canterbury carried travellers journeying between London and Paris across the English Channel, sailing between Dover and Calais. She entered service for the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company in 1901, and continued to carry passengers across the Channel until she was sold in 1926.

History

Canterbury was built for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, in 1900. She was used on their Dover - Calais route. Her port of registry was London. In 1926, Canterbury was sold to W E Guinness and was renamed Arpha. She was converted to a yacht, with a GRT of 602 and a NRT of 233. Her port of registry was changed to Cowes, Isle of Wight. On 6 June 1930, she ran aground in Moon Sound (58°47′N 23°23′E). She was refloated on 10 June. In 1938, Guinness sold her to the Crete Shipping Co Ltd, London, who sold her to Sark Motorships Ltd later that year. Her port of registry was changed to Guernsey.

In 1939, Canterbury was requisitioned by the Royal Navy. She was used as an armed boarding vessel in the Mediterranean and Red Sea as part of the Contraband Control Service. For the duration of the war, Canterbury was shown on Lloyd's Register as still in the ownership of Sark Motorships Ltd. In 1946, Canterbury was sold to W J Brown. She was operated under the management of Worms & Co Ltd. Later that year she was sold to the Shell Co of Venezuela Ltd London, operating under the management of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd. She was renamed Coriano. In 1947, she was sold to the Caribbean Petroleum Co, Venezuela. Canterbury was sold in 1949 to the Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co, Maracaibo. She was used to carry passengers during the construction of a refinery. In 1955, Canterbury was sold to J M Perez Hernandez. She was scrapped by North American Smelting Co, Bordentown, New Jersey, arriving for scrapping on 28 October 1955

Class & type:

Passenger ferry (1901–26)
Steam yacht (1926–38)
Passenger ferry (1938–39)
Armed boarding vessel (1939–46)
Passenger ferry (1946–55)

Tonnage:

566 GRT (1901–26), 602 (1926–55)
144 NRT (1901–26), 233 (1926–55)

Length: 195 ft 4 in (59.54 m)
Beam: 28 ft (8.53 m)
Depth: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m) (1926–55)
Power: 2 × triple expansion steam engines
Prop: Twin screws
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h)

Owner:

South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)
Southern Railway (1923–26)
W E Guinness (1926–38)
Crete Shipping Co Ltd (1938)
Sark Motorships Ltd (1938–39)
Royal Navy (1939–46)
W J Brown (1946)
Shell Company of Venezuela (1946–47)
Caribbean Petroleum Co (1947–49)
Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co (1949–51)
J M Perez Hernandez (1951–55)

Operator:

South Eastern and Chatham Railway (1901–22)
Southern Railway (1923–26)
W E Guinness (1926–38)
Crete Shipping Co Ltd (1938)
Sark Motorships Ltd (1938–39)
Royal Navy (1939–46)
Worms & Co (1946)
Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd (1946–47)
Caribbean Petroleum Co (1947–49)
Shell Caribbean Petroleum Co (1949–51)
J M Perez Hernandez (1951–55)

Port of registry:

United Kingdom London (1901–26)
United Kingdom Cowes (1926–38)
United Kingdom Guernsey (1938–39)
United Kingdom Guernsey (1939–46)
United Kingdom London (1946–47)
Venezuela Maracaibo (1947–55)

Builder: W Denny, Dumbarton
Yard number: 640
Launched: 6 December 1900
Completed: January 1901
Out of service: October 1955
Identification:

UK Official Number 112803 (1900–39)
Code Letters MFCF (1937–46)

This model is free for use for any sim, you may convert it and repaint her as you wish however I would reqUEst a review copy of any alteration before you release and reserve the right to withold permission if the conversion does not meet minimum standards of quality. The original hull was a gift for use by Ron Piccard with his kind permission, and I have made extensive alterations for use for this beautiful ship. The textures are partly from work by John Fleming again with his kind permission for re use and others are from my own research into nautical history and marItiMe lore. This ship was designed to be able to serve the small ports and harbors of the west coast of Canada, and could navigate into shallow regions. she carried booms forward to load and unload freight, passengers could be loaded via gangways for and aft. Details of her construction, capacity and service follow.

I received generous help from many including Tim Muir, Barry Munro (Capt. Bazza), Jeff Farquar. and others in the community to whom I am forever grateful for technical advice, encouragement and support. Without them this and other work that I do would not have been possible.

Rights and Permissions and Credits:

This model is based on a hull by Ron Piccard, with extensive alterations by Jeff Farquar and myself, textures are from Naval sources and some originals by John Fleming. The model is available for reuse but not for commercial use of any kind without my permission, however if it is converted that may be allowed. The TSM source file is included in this release. Jeff also made the excellent anchor found on this model.

May God Preserve all who sail in ships such as her and those who face peril on the seas.

Chris Gerlach (CrisGer)
Elvas Tower
chrisgerlach9@yahoo.mail
January 2016