Radium Cruiser

The Radium Cruiser was a Russel Brothers[1] tugboat operated on the Mackenzie River system for the "Radium Line".[2][3] She was constructed in Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1939, then disassembled and shipped by rail to Waterways, Alberta. Waterways is a river port, and was then the northern terminus of the North American railway grid. Waterways is on the Clearwater River, not far upstream from where the river empties into Lake Athabasca. The waters of Lake Athabasca flow into Great Slave Lake down the Slave River, and then down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean.

Launching the Radium Cruiser at Waterways, 1939.

A 16-mile series of large rapids at Fort Smith, NWT, on the Slave River, required a long portage. Most of the vessels of the Radium Line were reassembled at waterways, sailed to Fort Smith, then portaged overland to the lower river, and where they could navigate most of the tributaries of the Mackenzie River, and reach the Arctic Ocean without further portages. The Radium Cruiser, like the earlier Radium Queen, was intended to move cargo from the railhead to the Fort Smith portage, and to navigate the Athabasca River, Clearwater River, Peace River and Lake Athabasca and her tributaries.[3]

Ice prevents navigation of the Mackenzie River for almost eight months of the year.

Like her sister ship, Radium Express, she was smaller than the Radium King and Radium Queen, just 60 feet (18 m) long.[4]

In 2005 Atomic Energy of Canada published a study of the toxic legacy of the mining of radioactive ore at Port Radium.[5] According to the report all but one of the surviving vessels of the Radium line were found to be free of contamination, with the exception of the Radium Gilbert, but the disposition of the Radium Cruiser was not known.[6]

References
  1. Steve Briggs. (2018). "Russel Brothers Boats Archive". [Steve Briggs].
  2. B.T.R. (1948-09-09). "Freighting to the Northland". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. p. 13. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  3. "Adds Two New Vessels: Northern Transportation Increases Facilities". Montreal Gazette. 1939-04-12. p. 19. Retrieved 2012-12-03. The new "Radium Cruiser," slightly smaller and of similar type, will operate on the Athabasca from Waterways.
  4. The Far Eastern Review: Engineering, Finance, Commerce, Volume 35. G.B. Rea. 1939. Retrieved 2017-11-23. The two new vessels which will be only 60 feet in length will be christened Radium Express and Radium Cruiser. They will be added to the radium carrying fleet which now includes the Radium King and Radium Queen.
  5. "Status Report for the Historic Northern Transportation Route redacted colour" (PDF). Atomic Energy of Canada. December 2005. p. 86. Retrieved 2018-01-13. Ships were used along the NTR to move barges loaded with uranium ore and concentrates (among other materials and supplies). Some vessels also transported cargo on board. Fifteen Radium Series vessels used along the NTR were identified in SENES (1994). Three were determined to have been scrapped, and the disposition of one, the Radium Cruiser, was unknown. Radiological investigations were conducted on the other eleven vessels. Only one, the Radium Gilbert, showed any evidence of contamination.
  6. Peter C. Van Wyck (2010). Highway of the Atom. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-77358-087-9. Retrieved 2018-01-13. There is material leakage all along the sides of the Highway, as well as on the vessels and barges used to traverse it. The merchant fleet Radium line: the Radium King, the Radium Queen, the Radium Lad, the Radium Express, and of course, the Radium Gilbert ... and so on. The rest of the list: Cruiser, Prince, Gilbert, Charles, Scout, Yellowknife, Franklin, Dew, Prospector, Trader, Miner.
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