Please note: This was previously posted under a different title, but for some reason, the image links kept breaking. I have reposted from scratch in the hopes that this will fix the problem.
Founded in 1898, Manchester Liners was a cargo and passenger shipping company founded in (you guessed it) Manchester, UK. They operated through both World Wars and only went out of operation in 1985: the Manchester Ship Canal apparently dictated the maximum draft of their vessels, and larger and larger container vessels operated by other companies put them out of business. After the First World War, coal carriers from the line became regular callers in Sydney, NS. Starting in 1935, the company started receiving new 5,600 ton cargo liners built in Glasgow - a total of seven of these ships were built at the Blytheswood yard, including Manchester City (their second ship of this name) in 1937.
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| From rhiw.com . |
If Wikipedia is to be believed, from 1939 to 1945 Manchester City served as a minelayer during the war as well as a naval auxiliary ship in the Far East. If this is true, she was repatriated by the company after the war and returned to hauling freight and passengers across the Atlantic such that in October 1947, Manchester City was inbound on the St. Lawrence from the UK when she ran aground in thick fog near Cap Saumon, PQ.
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| Manchester City aground on a steep rocky shore. |
On Tuesday October 21, 1947, the Lethbridge Herald carried a short piece on Page 3:
"CAP SAUMON, Que., Oct. 21. - CP - The stranded 5,600-ton freighter Manchester City was reported Monday to be taking water in No. 1 and 2 holds as her crushed bow rested on rocks about a mile from this north shore point on the lower St. Lawrence.The freighter which struck in a thick fog about mid-day Sunday was bound up-river for Montreal from Britain at the time. She was not thought to be in any immediate danger as a pumping ship and a tug stood by today and the arrival of the salvage tug, Foundation Franklin, sometime tomorrow was awaited."
Interestingly (to me at least), nearby on the same page, the Herald also had a short Canadian Press piece on the commissioning of HMCS CAYUGA.
The twelve passengers on board were picked up by the passing Clarke Shipping North Pioneer, but the fifty crewmembers stayed on board. The ship had picked a challenging bit of shore to run aground on, and help wasn't likely to come from the shore side.
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| Manchester City aground at Cap Saumon, PQ. |
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| Foundation Traverse (the "pump ship" from the CP story above) and the Davie Shipyard tug Manoir alongside Manchester City on October 20, 1947. The ship's lifeboat davits appear to be empty, so I am assuming the two small boats belong to the Manchester City. The smoke coming from the latter's funnel suggests the boiler room is dry, and the ship is still producing steam and power. |
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| The tug Foundation Franklin has arrived and is inboard of Manoir. Franklin was apparently getting a little worn out in the late 1940s, and Foundation retired her in 1948 - she was scrapped by 1950. This may have been one of her last jobs for the company. |
I don't have any details on the salvage operation itself, other than it appeared to be successful. Judging from the photos below, the damage appears to have been limited to the very bow of the ship, and they may have left the ship on the rocks only long enough to ensure the ship would remain afloat long enough to reach port for repairs. I'm also making an assumption, from the presence of Davie's Manoir, that she was taken to the Davie yard at Levis, and installed in their Champlain Dry Dock.
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| Manchester City in the graving dock. Water is still leaking out of the ship through the damage caused by the grounding. |
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| This close-up shows the limit of the damage to the ship's forefoot - I'm assuming the ship's speed was reduced by the fog, thereby limiting the damage. |
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| If you look closely, two figures seen behind the ship provide a sense of scale to the damage. Water is still streaming out in this photo, which also shows the riveting of the hull plating. |
Manchester City returned to service, and according to Theshiplist.com, she was scrapped at Faslane in 1964.
My original labelling of the photos here is suspect, as the credit captions I wrote down when I scanned the images don't match the images themselves. That said, several images here were originally taken by Moderne Engr. Photographie Commerciale et Aerienne, Edifice Le Soleil, Quebec (presumably the aerial images), and Graetz Bros. Regt. Commercial Photographers. Several others were noted as being from postcards.
