The Canadian Pacific Line was a company under the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The Canadian Pacific Railway Company was formed in 1881, and the company soon entered into ship-owning. In the beginning limited to transportation along Lake superior and the Great Lakes.
The transatlantic passenger service however, was not started before in 1903, when CPR took over the ships and service of the Beaver Line. The division was managed as the "Canadian Pacific Ocean Services" (C.P.O.S.).
Their first general agent in Norway was Albert Raffel in Kristiania (Oslo). In Trondhjem (Trondheim) the company was represented by head agent Oluf Ruud.
This picture shows emigrants waiting outside the Canadian Pacific Line office waiting for the departure. The office was situated in Fjordgaten near the railway station and the harbor. From the office the emigrants would be escorted by the agents to the steamer, waiting just 2 minutes walk away, to take them to England. In England they would transfer to the transatlantic steamer for the ocean crossing. The head agent, Oluf Ruud was announcing in the newspapers with promises of good job opportunities in Canada.
The line's general agent was authorized by the Norwegian government to convey emigrants via England from Liverpool (or Bristol) to Quebec, St.John NB, Halifax, Montreal or Boston, and from there to the final destinations in America. The inland voyage naturally by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The police department in Kristiania was informed on Oct. 13th 1903 that the Beaver Line had changed name to Canadian Pacific Railway Co's Atlantic Line.
Their main transatlantic routes were:
Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal (summer)
Liverpool - St John, NB (winter)
 Route traversed in Liverpool by C.P.O.S. motor charabancs. It shows the Empress of France on the Mersey. Routes from Lime St. Station & Hotel, Exchange Station Hotel and Central Station to Offices of C.P.O.S. down Water Street. Riverside Street & Princes Stage for C.P.O.S. passengers
Support Norway Heritage: Purchase a copy
In 1917 the CPR absorbed the Allan Line. The Allan Line ships were then integrated with the CPR fleet.
The Collision between the S/S Empress of Ireland and the S/S Storstad - An article by Marion Kelch, chairperson of the Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee. The Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence River the night of May 29, 1914, after colliding with the Norwegian collier S/S Storstad. The accident took 1012 lives of which 14 were Norwegians. The Empress of Ireland is the world's second worst sinking, in peacetime, after the Titanic until 1987 when over 3000 persons lost their lives when a ferry sank in the Philippines.
Canadian Pacific Line picture gallery
| Type | Name of ship  | Year Built | Construction Shipyard | Tonnage (burthen) |
|---|
| S/S | Alsatian | 1913 | William Beardmore & Co. | 18,481 gross | | S/S | Corinthian | 1900 | Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. | 7,333 gross | | S/S | Corsican | 1907 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 11,419 gross | | S/S | Duchess of Atholl | 1928 | William Beardmore & Co. | 20,119 gross | | S/S | Duchess of Bedford | 1928 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 20,123 gross | | S/S | Duchess of York | 1928 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 20,021 gross | | S/S | Empress of Asia | 1912 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 16,909 gross | | S/S | Empress of Australia | 1913 | AG Vulcan | 21,833 gross | | S/S | Empress of Britain (1) | 1905 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 14,189 gross | | S/S | Empress of Britain (2) | 1930 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 42,348 gross | | S/S | Empress of Canada (1) | 1920 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 21,517 gross | | S/S | Empress of China (1) | 1891 | | 5,905 gross | | S/S | Empress of France (1) | 1913 | William Beardmore & Co. | 18,481 gross | | S/S | Empress of France (2) | 1928 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 20,123 gross | | S/S | Empress of India (1) | 1890 | | 5,905 gross | | S/S | Empress of India (2) | 1907 | J. C. Tecklenborg | 16,992 gross | | S/S | Empress of Ireland | 1906 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 14,191 gross | | S/S | Empress of Japan (1) | 1891 | | 5,905 gross | | S/S | Empress of Japan (2) | 1929 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 26,032 gross | | S/S | Empress of Russia | 1912 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 16,810 gross | | S/S | Empress of Scotland (1) | 1905 | AG Vulcan | 25,037 gross | | S/S | Empress of Scotland (2) | 1929 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 26,032 gross | | S/S | Grampian | 1907 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 10,955 gross | | S/S | Hesperian | 1907 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 10,955 gross | | S/S | Ionian | 1901 | Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. | 8,268 gross | | S/S | Lake Champlain | 1900 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 7,392 gross | | S/S | Lake Eire | 1899 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 7,550 gross | | S/S | Lake Manitoba | 1901 | C. S. Swan & Hunter | 9,674 gross | | S/S | Lake Michigan | 1901 | C. S. Swan & Hunter | 9,240 gross | | S/S | Marburn | 1900 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 10,576 gross | | S/S | Marglen | 1898 | Harland & Wolff | 10,322 gross | | S/S | Marloch | 1904 | Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. | 10,635 gross | | S/S | Marvale | 1907 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 11,419 gross | | S/S | Melita | 1913 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 13,967 gross | | S/S | Metagama | 1914 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 12,420 gross | | S/S | Milwaukee | 1896 | C. S. Swan & Hunter | 7,323 gross | | S/S | Minnedosa | 1917 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 13,972 gross | | S/S | Missanabie | 1914 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 12,469 gross | | S/S | Monmouth | 1900 | Raylton Dixon & Co. | 4,078 gross | | S/S | Montcalm (1) | 1897 | Palmer‘s Shipbuilding & Iron Co. Ltd. | 5,505 gross | | S/S | Montcalm (2) | 1920 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 16,418 gross | | S/S | Montclare | 1921 | John Brown & Co. Ltd. | 16,314 gross | | S/S | Monteagle | 1898 | Palmer‘s Shipbuilding & Iron Co. Ltd. | 5,498 gross | | S/S | Monterey | 1897 | Palmer‘s Shipbuilding & Iron Co. Ltd. | 5,455 gross | | S/S | Montezuma | 1899 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 7,345 gross | | S/S | Montfort | 1899 | Palmer‘s Shipbuilding & Iron Co. Ltd. | 5,519 gross | | S/S | Montlaurier | 1907 | J. C. Tecklenborg | 16,992 gross | | S/S | Montnairn | 1907 | J. C. Tecklenborg | 16,992 gross | | S/S | Montreal | 1900 | C. S. Swan & Hunter | 6,870 gross | | S/S | Montreal (2) | 1906 | Blohm & Voss | 8,766 gross | | S/S | Montrose (1) | 1897 | Raylton Dixon & Co. | 7,094 gross | | S/S | Montrose (2) | 1920 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 16,402 gross | | S/S | Montroyal | 1905 | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. | 14,189 gross | | S/S | Mount Royal | 1898 | C. S. Swan & Hunter | 7,044 gross | | S/S | Mount Temple | 1901 | Armstrong Whitworth & Co. | 8,790 gross | | S/S | Pomeranian | 1882 | Earle‘s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. | 4,364 gross | | S/S | Pretorian | 1900 | Furness, Withy & Co. | 7,654 gross | | S/S | Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm | 1907 | J. C. Tecklenborg | 16,992 gross | | S/S | Ruthenia | 1900 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 7,392 gross | | S/S | Sardinian | 1874 | Robert Steele & Co. | 4,399 gross | | S/S | Scandinavian | 1898 | Harland & Wolff | 12,099 gross | | S/S | Scotian | 1898 | Harland & Wolff | 10,322 gross | | S/S | Sicilian | 1899 | Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. | 7,328 gross | | S/S | Tunisian | 1900 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 10,576 gross | | S/S | Tyrolia | 1899 | Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. | 7,550 gross | | S/S | Victorian | 1904 | Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. | 10,635 gross | | S/S | Virginian | 1904 | Alexander Stephen & Sons | 10,757 gross |
|
Note:
You can click the icon to sort the table by different parameters.
Some companies may have had additional ships in their fleets to those mentioned above. They might not have been included if the ships were not engaged in the conveyance of emigrants. Some ships mentioned in the fleet lists may have been chartered from other companies, see the ship's description and history for more details. |
