Trillium (ferry)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada
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| Name: | Trillium |
| Owner: | City of Toronto |
| Operator: | Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division |
| Builder: | Polson Iron Works |
| In service: | 1910 |
| Out of service: | 1957 |
| Refit: | 1974 |
| Reinstated: | 1976 |
| Homeport: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | Gross:672.82 Net:463.42 |
| Length: | 150 feet (45.7 m) |
| Beam: | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Depth: | 8 feet (2.4 m) |
| Installed power: | Scotch boiler |
| Propulsion: | Side wheeler |
| Notes: | Polson Iron Works - Ship Builds, 1910 |
The Trillium is a side wheeler ferry operated by the City of Toronto, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of several ferries between its terminal at Bay Street and Queens Quay and three landing points on the Toronto Islands. It is the last sidewheel-propelled vessel on the Great Lakes.
The ship was built in 1910 by Polson Iron Works at a cost of CA$75,000. The ferry was built for and initially operated by the Toronto Ferry Company. It was launched on June 18, 1910, christened with a bottle of champagne by eight-year-old Phyllis Osler, granddaughter of politician Edmund Boyd Osler. The ferry entered service on July 1, 1910. Trillium's sister ship the Bluebell and other ferries The Primrose and Mayflower in the company's fleet were also named after flowers.
In 1926, the City of Toronto acquired the Trillium and the other ferries in the Toronto Ferry Company's fleet, and took over all ferry services. The ferry was remodelled by the Toronto Transit Commission, replacing worn woodwork and the main deck cabin, and removing the side gangways and officer daycabins.
The Trillium was retired in 1957 and sold for CA$4,500 to the Toronto Works Department. It was left to sink in a lagoon in the Toronto Islands, along with its sister vessel Bluebell. Unlike Bluebell, which was converted to a garbage scow, the Trillium was left to deteriorate. It was first proposed in 1965 to be put back in service. Partly due to the advocacy of historian Mike Filey and Toronto Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson, Metro Toronto approved its restoration in 1973. The restoration at a cost of CA$950,000 ($3.72 million in 2016 dollars), was chosen over building a new ferry which would have cost three to four million dollars.
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