Statistics:

M.V. Langdale Queen
Previous Names	S.S. Asbury Park (1903-25) S.S. City of Sacramento (1925-53) M.V. Kahloke (1953-63)
Place Built	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Year Built	1903
Year Retired from BC Ferries	1977
At Retirement:
Vehicle Capacity	80
Passenger Capacity	600
Length	299.7 ft.
Gross Tons	3,911
Horsepower	6,560

Special Notes:

• By the end of her ferry service, the Langdale Queen had become known as the "Grand Old Lady." (Bannerman, 71)

• The coal-powered steamship, Asbury Park, was built in Philadelphia in 1903 for use as an "excursion ship" connecting New York City and Sandy Hook, New Jersey. (Griffiths and Cadieux, 42)
  Gary and Patricia Bannerman write that, at the time of her construction, "no domestic ship could match her speed or comfort." (Bannerman, 71)

• In 1918/9, the Asbury Park was bought by the Monticello Steamship Company, based in San Francisco. When the Asbury Park was relocated to the west coast in 1919 via the Panama Canal, she was renovated and converted to oil power. In San Francisco, the Asbury Park (renamed City of Sacramento in 1925) first operated between San Francisco and Vallejo. In 1927, the Monticello Steamship Company was bought by the Southern Pacific. A year later, Southern Pacific and its competitor, Golden Gate Ferry Company were amalgamated and continued to operate ferries between San Francisco and other Bay cities (such as Berkeley, Richmond, Sausalito, Vallejo, and Oakland) until the end of the 30's with the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (1938) and the Bay Bridge (1940). (Bannerman, 71 ; Kline and Bayless, 250, 278 ; Griffiths and Cadieux, 42)

• The Puget Sound Navigation Company bought the City of Sacramento in 1941, but before she could be moved to Puget Sound the American government requisitioned her for the war service. Until the end of the war, she was used to ferry shipyard workers in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1944, the City of Sacramento was towed to Seattle and operated between Seattle and Bremerton until 1948. (Bannerman 71 ; Kline and Bayless, 278)

• Alex Peabody, president of Puget Sound Navigation Company, created the Black Ball Line in Canada in 1951 and eventually moved 5 ferries to the new subsidiary (the Bainbridge, Quillayute, City of Sacramento, Chinook and Smokwa). In 1952-3, the City of Sacramento underwent a major refit at Yarrows in Victoria. At this time she was also converted to diesel-electric power, and renamed Kahloke (not to be confused with the active BC Ferry, Kahloke). (Bannerman, 37, 71 ; Kline and Bayless, 278, 310)
  Black Ball operated the Kahloke on the new Horseshoe Bay - Departure Bay route with the Chinook II. (Griffiths and Cadieux, 22, 42)

• In 1961, the Kahloke joined B.C. Ferries with the rest of the Black Ball fleet. BC Ferries bought the company's ferries and terminals on September 1, 1961 for $6,690,000. When B.C. Ferries aquired the Kahloke in this deal, she was renamed the Langdale Queen and put on the Horseshoe Bay - Langdale route. (Griffiths and Cadieux, 22, 42)

• The Langdale Queen made her last sailing from Horseshoe Bay on July 23, 1976. She was subsequently sold for $50,000, and renamed Lady Grace. Plans to turn her into a restaurant never materialized and she was left sitting at a dock in North Vancouver. She sank at her berth, but was refloated and according to one source, had her superstructure removed by 1988 and her hull had been converted a barge. (Bannerman, 71 ; Link: Evergreen Fleet - The Forgotten Fleet)

Origin of the Names:

• Asbury Park - Asbury Park is a city in New Jersey, NJ. It was named after Francis Asbury who first brought Methodism to America. Source: http://asburypark.net/info/history.html

• City of Sacramento - As the name would indicate, the ferry was likely named after the actual city of Sacramento, located about 80 miles northeast of SanFrancisco and the capital of the state of California. "Sacramento" is the Spanish word for Holy Sacrament.

• Kahloke - Kahloke means "swan or other aquatic bird" in the Chinook language. (Clapp, 78)

• Langdale Queen - Named after Langdale, B.C. which is the B.C. Ferries terminal on the southern Sunshine Coast. According to VancouverIsland.com, Langdale was named after Robinson Henry Langdale who settled in the area in 1892. Source: http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=8

• Lady Grace - N/A

What happened to the Langdale Queen?

• According to the Evergreen Fleet website, the superstructure of the ferry was removed and the hull was converted into a barge. Source: http://www.evergreenfleet.com/malahat.html

• Other sources say she was destroyed in a fire. It is possible that both of these could be true.

• If you have any more information, please e-mail me.

Works Cited & Sources:

Bannerman, Gary and Patricia. The Ships of British Columbia. Surrey: Hancock House Publishers, 1985.

Clapp, Frank A. Ministry of Transportation and Highways - Inland and Coastal Ferries. Victoria: Queen's Printer for BC, 1981.

Griffiths, Garth, and H.L. Cadieux. Dogwood Fleet. Nanaimo: Cadieux and Griffiths, 1967.

Kline, M.S. and G.A. Bayless. Ferryboats - A Legend on Puget Sound. Seattle: Bayless Books, 1983.

Relevant Links:

Early Ships - by Kevin Stapleton - Photo of Langdale Queen and several other early BC Ferries.

The Forgotten Fleet - evergreenfleet.com - Several photos of the Langdale Queen and a short history.

BC Archives Photograph (By Call Number)

F-09385 - M.V. Kahloke.

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