RUSSEL BROTHERS Ltd. Steelcraft winch boat and warping tug builders from Owen Sound, Ontario.

Russel Brothers Limited OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO Steelcraft Boat Builders

Pinawa

Pinawa - Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Pinawa [C.176649] registered at Owen Sound; built at Owen Sound in 1946. 27'3 x 7'5 x 3'; 4 g.t.; 3 n.t.; 30 hp. Owned by Manitoba Paper Co. Ltd., Winnipeg. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel tug Pinawa [C.176649] registered at Owen Sound. Built at Owen Sound in 1946. 27'; 4 g.t. Canadian List of Ships 1997: Owned by Abitibi-Price Inc., Toronto, Ontario. Transport Canada List 2003: Owned by Abitibi-Price Inc., Toronto, Ontario. Transport Canada List 2004: Registry closed-unknown date. n.b - the photos below confirm this boat as hull 617, which would also fit Pinawa and makes this name assignation quite likely.

Oct. 20, 2010: Christian Cassidy sends these photos from Winnipeg, MB
"The boat has been there as long as I can remember on the banks of the Red River near the Louise Bridge which is near the centre of the city, behind 310 Nairn Avenue, Winnipeg.The boat area is fenced separately and notched out of the 310 Nairn property so I am not sure who owns them. Photo sources: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christiansphotos/3666806789/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/christiansphotos/5095558061/
http://westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2011/04/those-louise-bridge-boats.html

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Photos by Christian Cassidy from Oct. 24, 2010. Click to enlarge to 1024 pixels wide. Those Louise Bridge Boats Most of this post was written in October 2010, it sort of got stuck in my draft folder (just in case you're wondering why the boats aren't under about five feet of water !). Those two rusting boats tucked away on the north east side of the Louise Bridge. I've passed them hundreds of time over the years and every time I've glanced out at them and wondered what their story was. This autumn I thought I would finally check them out. There are two boats, the most interesting is the covered one. It has a cabin with a big winch at the front and motor at the rear. On the engine casing there is a tag for "Russel Brothers Limited, Owen Sound Ontario". The second boat is similar to the first but open. The condition of the interior was pretty rough so I wasn't able to see anything that would identify it.

This boat was built in Owen Sound in 1946 and sold to Manitoba Power (presumably that's the Manitoba Power Commission). After that it appears in the Canadian List of Shipping on a few occasions: in 1956 as the steel tug 'Pinawa' owned by Manitoba Paper Co. Ltd; in 1970 again as the 'Pinawa'; in 1997 and 2003 as owned by Abitibi Price (who owned Pine Falls Paper Mill at the time). In 2004 the boat was no longer on the registry. That final ownership year of 2003 struck me as odd. I'm sure they've been there long before that time. Perhaps they were out of service before that and it just takes time to get struck from the registry ?

The next question is why there, at the foot of the Louise ? At one time Brown and Rutherford had a small fleet of boats that they used to bring lumber to their factory on the other side of the river but they were long gone by the time these boats would have come down to Winnipeg. Paddlewheel Queen goes through the Louise Bridge, 1969 (source) In the mid 1960s the site immediately east of the boats was the dock for the Paddlewheel Queen then, from the late 60s to late 80s, the River Rouge. The pilings under the Louise Bridge do collect a lot of debris after the spring melt. Maybe they were once used to help haul items that could have caused damage to the ship(s) and were left behind.
Access the FLICKR ALBUM HERE and see also CHRISTIAN'S BLOG.