Using standard SB scale for one of my projects turned into a pain since many vessels are so small that SB scale starts to be an issue. So I developed a new scale (4px to a foot, which means the longest vessel I do in this scale fits within 1920x1080) for myself, plus I wanted to get a little artsy.
The MV Princess of Vancouver was built by A. Stephen & Sons, Ltd. of Glasgow, Scotland in 1955 for the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. The vessel was built as a combination rail and auto ferry and was used on the Vancouver to Nanaimo route. The ferry served the Canadian Pacific until it was sold to the BC Highway Department in 1981. The ferry changed hands several times through the 80s but remained in service in British Columbia waters before being sold to Chinese interests in 1993. It is reported that the vessel is still in service in Hong Kong sailing as the Pearl of the South China Sea
Next up a small (one of the reasons for the new scale).
Originally built in 1938 as the
Governor Harry W. Nice for service on Chesapeake Bay, the ferry was later acquired in 1954 by the Washington State Dept. of Transportation, the vessel served on many routes across the state ferry system, until it was taken out of service and put in reserve mothballs in 1993. It remained in reserve until 1997 when it was finally sold off. Since then she has switched hands several times, and is currently moored at Ketron Island, where she is frequently aground at low tide.
Next up is the Steel Electric Class, originally as a class of six ferries built for the Southern Pacific Railroad's San Francisco Bay ferry services in 1927. After the construction of Golden Gate and Bay Bridges the ferries were no longer need and all six were sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1940. Two of the ferries, the Santa Rosa and Fresno, renamed Enetai and Willapa respectively were converted into single-ended boats, which made them faster and more suitable for use on the Seattle–Bremerton ferry route. These modifications meant that they were no longer technically part of the "Steel Electric" class. In 1951 the six boats were purchased by the state of Washington and became part of the Washington State Ferries fleet. In 1967 the Enetai and Willapa were sold since their earlier conversion to single ended operation made them unsuitable for most routes. The 4 remaining soldiered on through several refits, including major rebuilds in the 1980s, First the Klickitat in 1981 (which accounts for her final appearance being different from her sisters) and the remaining three in 1987. The class as a whole was retired in late 2007, after 80 years of almost continuous service. The four boats were towed to Mexico and scrapped in 2009. As a side note one Steel Electric survives today, the Enetai having been sold in 1967 found it's way into private hands and has been restored back into it's original appearance and renamed back to Santa Rosa and is currently moored in San Francisco.
M/V Klickitat
M/V Illahee
M/V Nisqually
M/V Quinault
It's been awhile but here are some additions that I completed a bit ago
The SS Princess Marguerite II, along with identical sister Princess Patricia were completed in 1949 by the Fairfield Company of Glasgow, Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Railways. The Marguerite carried the name and was a replacement of a previous vessel that was torpedoed and sank by U-83 during World War II. Designed for day service, including the Seattle-Victoria-Vancouver international triangle run during the summer months, they were fitted to accommodate 2,000 day passengers and were equipped with only very limited stateroom facilities. She would sail the in the configuration below from 1949 until 1968, when she overhauled to accommodate more vehicles.
From 1969 through the 1974 season she was painted in the paint scheme adopted by Canadian Pacific in 1968 known as multimark. In 1974 CP Steamships announced service would not return for spring/summer 1975 season.
In 1975, she was purchased by the provincial government of British Columbia and refurbished. Her second car deck was converted back to a passenger lounge and the interiors refreshed. In 1979 she was retired, and replaced with a standard BC Ferry, due to public outcry the Maggie was once again refitted and returned for the 1981 summer season and was continue this way until the BC government sold the operation to the Stena Line in 1988. However, the Stena would only operate the vessel for two seasons and on September 17, 1989 she would complete her final voyage in passenger service arriving in Seattle that evening to a sizable crowd that had assembled dockside.
In 1992 she was towed to Singapore to be converted to a gambling ship but this was never completed and after several failed attempts to return her to home waters she was towed to Alang, India and was scrapped sometime in 1997.
Her 1980s included the addition of additional safety equipment.