Russel Brothers Limited OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO Steelcraft Boat Builders
| Ancaster
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Famous as one of the two tugs on the reverse of the last Canadian paper dollar bill.
Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Ancaster [C.193615] registered at Ottawa; built at Owen Sound in 1951. Hull 900. 24� 8 x 7� 5 x 2� 9; 4 g.t.; 3 n.t.; 20 hp. Owned by E. B. Eddy Co., Hull, Qu�bec. Transport Canada List 2002: Built by Russel-Hipwell Engine Co., 1951. Owned by The Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum, Owen Sound, Ontario. Transport Canada List 2002: Built by Russel-Hipwell Engine Co., Owen Sound, Ont. Owned by The Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum, Owen Sound, Ontario. GAO Notes: Steel diesel workboat/warping tug Ancaster [C.193615] 25�; 4 gross tons. Built by Russel Bros. Now a museum piece at Owen Sound.
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The Ancaster returned to Owen Sound (largely because of Don Capel's efforts) one day short of 40 years after it was launched, and is now a permanent exhibit of the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum.
These rugged little winch boats (or logging tugs) were designed by Harry Warkentin of Russel Brothers Fort Frances c. 1928. They were built starting in the 1930's at Russel Brothers of Owen Sound, mainly for use in the lumber industry in Northern Ontario & Qu�bec.
They shared some of the features of their steam powered predecessors, the Alligators, in that they had heavy steel skids welded onto their flat bottoms, and a strong forward mounted winch to enable them to pull themselves overland if needed, to get to the next little bay.
The Ancaster was hull #900, one of approximately 330 produced. The welded hull number is usually found at the bow just behind the front roller. If there isn't one, look on the stern of the cabin and at the interior cabin walls and you might find a builders tag showing date, hull number and size. The tag is usually about 3" x 5".
Ancaster clippings from newspapers.com.
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Fri. May 7, 1982, Page 3 - The Ottawa Citizen: Dollar-bill tug gets a new lease on life By Craig Thompson Citizen staff writer A 5.5-tonne tugboat leapt off Canada's one-dollar bill Thursday and landed in Mooneys Bay with a splash that added $9,999 to its value. It was no miracle that brought the grey-metallic tug to life, just the energy of 15 Ottawa Hydro workers who spent the past two months with hammers and nails, sandpaper, blowtorches and wrenches restoring the Ancaster to the condition it was in before it sank to the bottom of the Ottawa River in 1979.
Hydro's Kent MacMillan, who supervised the restoration, said if the tug was to be sold today, it would be worth at least $10,000, but "it's difficult to put a price-tag on history." "Many people aren't aware that the boat on the back of the one-dollar bill really exists," he said. "People think an artist sat down and drew a picture." The picture on the back of the bill shows two boats marshalling a log boom on the Ottawa River. The boat to the right of centre just below the Parliament Buildings is the Ancaster.
Built in the late 1940s by Russel Bros., of Owen Sound, the Ancaster was owned by E. B. Eddy Forest Products until it met a watery death at the foot of the Chaudiere Falls. Then it was sold as scrap to Ottawa Hydro. "Hydro decided to restore it for its historic value and for the 150th anniversary of the Rideau Canal," MacMillan said.
Before work could start, the volunteer workers had to evict several families of raccoons to get at the mud and grease that covered the steel hull. Since employees volunteered their time, the cost to Hydro of the restoration was only $1,700. The hull was reinforced, the cabin and the two-cylinder engine were rebuilt, and a new deck, made of pressure-treated hemlock, was bolted into place. Then it was painted and waxed so it looked just as it did when it slid out of the shipyard more than 30 years ago. After the restoration, the Ancaster was pulled out of Hydro's Albion Road garage and taken to a crane waiting to lift it onto a flatbed truck that took it to Mooneys Bay. Thursday was the crucial day the day the Ancaster was set adrift to see if it could float.
"Kent and I have been like a couple of kids," said Hydro's Don Swift, who worked with MacMillan on the restoration. Mooneys Bay was calm as the flatbed truck backed into the water and set the eight-metre Ancaster adrift. And float it did. With MacMillan at the helm, the Ancaster took a few slow spins around the bay the tug's maximum speed is 10 kmh. Once the kinks are ironed out, the Ancaster will chug downriver to the National Arts Centre on May 17 where it will be on public display until May 23, when it joins the flotilla for the anniversary of the Rideau Canal. On the day of the flotilla, a large banner will be stretched from bow to stern. Reproduced on it will be the back of the one-dollar bill.
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Ancaster in Ottawa, c. 1982. John Pomeroy comments (March 11, 2019): "The white deck in the background is the Rideau Canoe Club at Mooney's Bay near Carleton University. So in the picture she's sitting at the public dock on the east side of bay. The cement structure mid-bay is the entrance to the locks heading North." source: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-MXZDG/
The Ancaster was launched April 3rd, 1951 on the Ottawa river and was employed by the E.B. Eddy company moving logs from river to factory in Ottawa. In 1979 it actually sank at the foot of Chaudiere Falls! Then, in 1982 Ontario Hydro raised and restored the tug (at a cost of $1700) to include it in the 150th anniversary of the Rideau Canal Floating Parade.
After the Canal Parade, the Owen Sound Historical Society (see brochure) began an impetus largely led by Don Capel, to bring the Ancaster back to Owen Sound. There were plans to include it (and it's Russel built compatriot from the dollar bill, the Missinaibi) in a permanent historical display in Hull. However, it sat ashore unused for a few years and was eventually given to Ottawa's National Capital Commission in 1985.
The Ancaster sits in the Ottawa Hydro yard c. 1985.
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More on the Dollar Bill
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By ROBERTA AVERY - Special to the Toronto Star Thu., June 26, 2008
source: https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2008/06/26/tales_of_sails_rails_at_owen_sound_museum.html
"Built by Russel Brothers of Owen Sound in 1951, the Ancaster had a tough life hauling logs on the Ottawa River before it sank at the foot of Chaudi�re Falls in 1979. There it sat, submerged for three years before being raised in 1982 by Ontario Hydro to join in the 150th anniversary of the Rideau Canal Floating Parade. Plans to include the Ancaster and Missinaibi in a permanent historical display in Hull never came about. For nearly a decade it sat ignored in dry dock until 1991 when it was brought back to Owen Sound and placed outside the museum."
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Tues, April 23, 1991
Finally, Don Capel's near decade-long quest ended, and one day short of 40 years after it was launched, the Ancaster returned to Owen Sound, where it remains outside the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum. On Nov. 3rd 1982, the then-chariman of Ont. Hydro, Lon Campbell, had written "Credit must be given to
(Owen Sound's) Mr. Harry Warkentin, the designer, and Russel Bros., the builders, because after 31 years the boat is now in good condition even though on more than one occasion it has been completely submerged. For many years it was in drydock, with little or no attention given to it."
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Ancaster's return to Owen Sound from Ottawa by Wayne West Float & Crane
and subsequent repainting in 1991. Photos courtesy Paul Capel.
Don Capel beside the Ancaster, Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum, April 22nd, 1991.
Photo courtesy Grey Bruce Image Archives. 
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RBF notes: on display Owen Sound, ON (Owen Sound, ON July 31, 2002)
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May 15th, 2006 Photos by Steve Briggs
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TUG
VANDALIZED - Apr. 10, 2008: Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum collections curator Mindy Gill - Sitowski holds the Ancaster's stern hatch cover, which was ripped off the historic tugboat by vandals last weekend. Some windows in the tug were also smashed. The boat was built by Russel Bros. in Owen Sound in 1951 and was featured on the $1 bill. Police are looking for help in solving the crime. |
cjarefk photo: Ancaster Tug Boat. Taken on May 18, 2009. Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum. ENLARGE to 1024 pixels wide
Tues July 13, 2010 Dave Miller, left, and Paul Lihou with Wiarton Window and Door install new windows in the 1951 tug Ancaster on display at the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum in preparation for Owen Sound Museums Heritage Days July 22-24. The Saliwonchyk family of Owen Sound donated the $2000 for the window replacement. Photo by Willy Waterton. ENLARGE to 1024 pixels wide
Ancaster (hull #900) in Owen Sound, August 2017. Photos courtesy Mike Cunningham.
Ancaster in Owen Sound, Feb. 13, 2018. Photos by Steve Briggs.
Ancaster, Owen Sound ON, Mar. 12, 2019. Photos by Mike Cunningham.
Ancaster plaque.
Ancaster Mar. 21, 2020, in Owen Sound.
For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8
(519) 371-3333  http://marinerail.com |
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