A Steamboat Arrives by Rail: Newport's New River Excursion Queen
A $35,000 steamer, built in Portland and shipped knocked-down by rail, would run daily excursions from Newport to Box Canyon.
Official announcement is made that the Pend d'Oreille River Navigation Co. will have a new steamer for use on the Pend d'Oreille river the coming season. Reports have been in circulation for some time that such was the intention of the company, but the following information regarding the plans of the company is authentic and comes from an official source:
Construction work on the boat has been begun by the Willamette Iron Steel Works, of Portland, Oregon. The boat will be built in Portland, even to the pilot house, all doors and windows being fitted and everything but decks and siding will be put on there. She will then be taken down and shipped to Newport to be put together again and machinery installed. Six to eight weeks' work will complete the boat ready for service after her arrival in Newport.
In size the new boat will be similar to the Spokane, being 130 feet long by 26 feet wide, but in appearance it will be entirely different, being modeled after the boats in use on the Columbia and Willamette. It will take about six freight cars to transport the boat in knocked-down condition from Portland to Newport, and when completed she will cost about $35,000. She will be fitted with electric lights and every modern convenience for the comfort and pleasure of her passengers.
The new boat will be placed in the passenger and freight service, and will be so powerful and speedy that a round trip will be made each day from Newport to Box Canyon and return. It is the intention of the company to use the boat for excursion purposes during the summer. Trains will be run from Spokane over the Idaho Washington Northern Railroad, connecting at Newport with steamer, and the excursionists will be taken to Box Canyon and given an hour's time to view the beauties of the canyon. The exceedingly fast time that is possible over the new railroad will make these strictly daylight trips, returning the excursionists to Spokane before dark.
The navigation company is making every effort to give the people of the lower river the best possible service and to assist in the development of that section. The new boat will be a great accommodation to both residents and tourists, and the excursions will be of inestimable value in bringing to the public notice the natural resources of this section. The river trip is bound to become popular, and Newport and the lower river country are sure to reap incalculable benefit from the service to be given by the new boat. It is expected to have the boat in operation by the middle of May.
“It will take about six freight cars to transport the boat in knocked-down condition from Portland to Newport, and when completed she will cost about $35,000.”
The new steamer was built for a moment when the Pend d'Oreille was a working highway, not just a scenic river. Today the same waters draw kayakers and anglers, and tourism still depends on selling the canyon's beauty — though now without the boat.
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