The Operator sternwheeler

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River

Skeena River

The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...

 by Foley, Welch and Stewart

Foley, Welch and Stewart

Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th century American-Canadian railroad contracting company.They built miles of track for the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian Northern Railway, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and Pacific Great Eastern Railway...

 for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...

. The other four were the Conveyor

Conveyor (sternwheeler)

The Conveyor sternwheeler was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The other four were the Operator, the Skeena, the Distributor and the Omineca...

, the Skeena

Skeena (sternwheeler)

The Skeena sternwheeler was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from 1909 until 1911. She was built at Robertson's yard in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, in 1908. The other four were the...

, the Distributor and the Omineca. Three of these, the Conveyor, the Operator and the Distributor were built at Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 in 1908 by Alexander Watson Jr.

Skeena River

The Operator began her work on the Skeena River in 1909 under the command of Captain "Con" Myers. She and the other four Foley, Welch and Stewart sternwheelers had their work cut out for them. The construction of the railway from Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...

 to Hazelton

Hazelton, British Columbia

Hazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 293...

 was one of the most difficult sections of track that would ever be laid in North America. This 186 mile stretch would take nearly four years to build and would employ thousands of workers.

At the end of the season of navigation in 1911, the Operator and her sister ship Conveyor were finished on the Skeena, but would continue to work on the Grand Trunk Pacific from the other end of construction on the upper Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

.

Fraser River

The Operator and the Conveyor were both taken down to Victoria and dismantled and their machinery and equipment was put in boxcars and shipped by rail to Jasper, Alberta

Jasper, Alberta

Jasper is a specialized municipality in western Alberta, Canada. It is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park, located in the Canadian Rockies in the Athabasca River valley....

 and then to the end of steel at the eastern end of construction. Because the tracks hadn't reached the head of navigation yet, the boilers and other equipment had to be hauled by mule wagon the last 25 miles to the shipyard at Tête Jaune Cache. It was a difficult and dangerous operation, taking a full week, and one construction worker was killed. At Tête Jaune Cache, the machinery was put into new hulls and the two new ships were once again named Operator and Conveyor and both were put back under the command of their old captains. Both were launched on at Tête Jaune Cache on May 12, 1912.

The Operator was a large and powerful steamer, capable of carrying 200 passengers, 200 tons of freight, and could also handle a 100 ton barge.
In 1912, the Operator and the Conveyor began work on the upper Fraser but were confined to the area around Tête Jaune Cache as it was a season of very low water and river navigation for these large sternwwheelers was nearly impossible.
The Operator and the Conveyor worked regularly during the season of 1913 and then were berthed for the winter at Mile 142 on the downriver side of a new low-level bridge that had just been built, which had cut off navigation for sternwheelers to go further upriver. This bridge had come as an unpleasant surprise to the BC Express Company

Barnard's Express

Barnard's Express, later known as the British Columbia Express Company or BX, was a pioneer transportation company that served the Cariboo and Fraser Fort George regions in British Columbia, Canada from 1861 until 1921....

, which had been promised that the bridges along the upper Fraser would be built with lift-spans to allow sternwheelers access to travel underneath them. However, the low-level bridge made no difference to the two Foley, Welch and Stewart boats, who were finished on this section of the upper Fraser.

In 1914, their next task would be to work on the construction for the Pacific Great Eastern Railway which was being built from Fort George

Prince George, British Columbia

Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...

 south. Their new route would take them from Fort George

Prince George, British Columbia

Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...

 to Soda Creek

Soda Creek

Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lakein British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is located on the left bank of the Fraser River, one mile...

.
The Operator and the Conveyor worked this route from May to August 1914, serving the new work camps and hauling supplies and equipment for rail construction.

However, that August would bring the onset of the Great War and the halting of construction of the Pacific Great Eastern. The Conveyor and the Operator both ceased work immediately and were hauled out of the river and left to rot at Foley's Cache at Fort George.

See also

• Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British Columbia
  Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British Columbia
  Twelve paddlewheel steamboats plied the upper Fraser River in British Columbia from 1863 until 1921. They were used for a variety of purposes: working on railroad construction, delivering mail, promoting real estate in infant townsites and bringing settlers in to a new frontier. They served the...
  
  
• List of ships in British Columbia