SS Kyle

SS Kyle is a 220 feet (67 m) steam ship that is aground in the harbour of the Town of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. She ran ashore in February 1967. Intended to transport supplies and provide transportation from Carbonear to Labrador, she was also used to transport infantry to Canada during World War II. After her grounding on the shores of Riverhead, Harbour Grace, she has had several owners, from the Earle Brothers Freighting Company, Dominion Metals, and the Government of Newfoundland.[3] Plans to have the vessel moved to the town of Salmon Cove, Newfoundland, and turned into a museum were later aborted due to financial implications.[4]

SS Kyle banked on shores of Harbour Grace, June 2009.
History
Name: Kyle
Owner: Reid Newfoundland Company
Route: Carbonear to Labrador
Ordered: Reid Company of Newfoundland
Builder: Swan Hunter, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear[1]
Yard number: 906
Launched: 17 April 1913, by Mrs R. G. Reid, Wife of President of the Reid Company of Newfoundland
Completed: May 1913
Maiden voyage: 17 April 1913
Fate: Grounded in Harbour Grace since 4 February 1967, when she was forced to her final resting place by icebergs.[2]

Background

Kyle, part of the Alphabet Fleet, was named in accordance with fleet tradition of the Reid Newfoundland Company which stated that their ships must bear the name of a Scottish town. The ship was constructed in April 1913 by Swan Hunter, Wallsend, England. Though her primary use was the transportation of goods and civilians from Carbonear to Labrador, she also transported soldiers from Newfoundland to Canada during World War II, and was an icebreaker in the winter as she was equipped with a heavy front end designed for such purposes. She was known by Newfoundlanders as the "Bulldog of the North".[4] While she may not have been the largest boat in the Reid Company's fleet, she was the fastest, and played a role in ferrying passengers and cargo in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ship's statistics

Kyle is 220 feet (67 m) in length, 32 feet (9.8 m) wide with a depth of 18 feet (5.5 m), and a gross tonnage of 1,055 tonnes. Kyle contains six furnaces and had a speed of 22 miles per hour (19 knots).On 28 March 2014, local Harbour Grace citizen noticed the Chart Room went through the infamous Smoke Room, leaving the fate of Kyle to be determined.[5][4]

Ship's captains

The first captain of the ship was Captain Lorenzo Stevenson. Before her foundering, the last owner was Guy Earle.[6]

References
  1. "SS Kyle (1913)". www.tynebuiltships.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  2. "Home". Sskyle.com. 20 May 1913. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  3. "Kyle". HrGrace.ca. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  4. "SS Kyle". Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  5. "Railway Coastal Museum - The S.S. Kyle in a Storm". Railwaycoastalmuseum.ca. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  6. "Captain Guy Earle". Captain Guy Earle. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
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