SS Princess Sophia - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

Princess Sophia was a steamship of 2,320 tons gross and 1,466 tons net register, built by Bow, McLachlan and Company at Paisley, Scotland. A strong, durable vessel, she was built of steel with a double hull. Sophia was capable of handling more than just the Inside Passage, as her use on the stormy west coast of Vancouver Island demonstrated. Sophia was equipped with wireless communications and full electric lighting. The ship was launched in November 1911 and completed in 1912. She was brought around Cape Horn by Captain Lindgren, who had also brought two other CPR coastal liners, SS Princess Adelaide and SS Princess May out from Scotland on the same route. As built, Sophia burned coal; however, the vessel was converted to oil fuel shortly after arrival in British Columbia. While not as luxurious as her fleet-mates serving the Pacific Northwest, Sophia was comfortable throughout, particularly in first class. She had a forward observation lounge panelled in maple, a social hall with a piano for first-class passengers, and a 112-seat dining room with large windows for observing the coastal scenery. At the time of her sinking, Captain Leonard Locke (1852–1918), commanded her, with Captain Jeremiah Shaw (1875–1918) as second in command.