ConstructionIn the 1890s, CPR purchased the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company (C&KSN), which had hitherto provided steam transportation services on the Arrow Lakes. Soon after the takeover,CPR commissioned a series of three new vessels to improve services on the lakes and expand traffic in the Slocan Valley during the prosperous years of the late 1800s. Kootenay was the first to be built and was a large, attractively designed riverboat almost identical to the earlier Nakusp, but slightly larger. Kootenay was also considered a sister ship to Aberdeen, which ran on Okanagan Lake.[3] Kootenay was built at Nakusp yard at Rosebery, near Slocan Lake, by Thomas Bulger and his workers. She was the largest steamer on the upper Columbia River until the launch of Bonnington in 1911 and had two passenger decks with large lounges and a dining saloon, a freight deck for fuel and cargo, and a wheelhouse.[1] Her engines came from the sternwheeler William Irving, which had been wrecked on the lower Fraser River in 1894. William Irving was considerably smaller than Kootenay, so the latter was underpowered and slow. However, she operated successfully for many years. She had an elaborate system of hog chains and cables to strengthen her wooden hull. Kootenay was launched in April, 1897 at Nakusp.[1]

Service yearsWith the addition of Kootenay, a large, modern vessel, to the Arrow Lakes service fleet, CPR was able to provide daily service to the surrounding communities. With the Nakusp, Kootenay traveled daily between Arrowhead and Trail. Other vessels were available for relief, freight, and to service the route from Trail south to Northport.[1]

ConstructionService years