Ferries were integral part of war service
Security, safety of vessels and crews were of the utmost importance
In the three years (1911-14) between the loss of the SS Bruce and the beginning of the First World War, ferry services on the Cabot Strait were shared between three ships.
A replacement vessel, also named the Bruce, was soon under construction in Scotland. However, more than a year would pass before she was ready to take up her new duties.
In the meantime, the SS Glencoe and the SS Invermore, both originally designed to operate around the coast of Newfoundland, were pressed into service.
When the new Bruce arrived on the Cabot Strait in the fall of 1912, an ingenious new service was soon inaugurated. Passenger traffic and freight volumes had increased to the point where daily trains now ran between St. John’s and Port aux Basques. This in turn required daily service to North Sydney. The Invermore was seconded from the coastal service and now operated in tandem with the Bruce.
In 1915, less than one year after the outbreak of the First World War, the daily crossings were eliminated and service returned to three times per week. At this time the Invermore was reassigned to the coastal trade and the new Bruce was sold to the Russian government for use as an icebreaker.
The military, especially the navy, now had an important role to play in the operation of ferries on the Cabot Strait. Security and the safety of vessels and crews were now of the utmost importance. It was during this time that the first modern coastal defence installations were built around Sydney harbour and on the outskirts of Port aux Basques.
With the departure of the Invermore and the Bruce, the SS Kyle took over on the Cabot Strait. Scottish built in 1913 for the Labrador service, her hull was reinforced to operate in severe ice conditions. No amount of strengthening, however, could protect against the possibility of hitting a mine, or being struck by a torpedo.
For the next three years, in spite of ever present danger, the Kyle and her courageous crew carried men, materials and war supplies from the Dominion of Canada to the Dominion of Newfoundland. Although there were several close calls, her luck held, and she provided a vital service for the remainder of the war.
The tremendous amount of men and war supplies carried across Newfoundland by rail, however, had caused severe maintenance problems for the Reid Newfoundland Railway. As is often the case during wartime, scheduled maintenance on steam engines, boxcars and the roadbed had been postponed or delayed indefinitely.
Things came to a head by the early 1920s. Although Robert Reid had died in 1908, his three sons had continued the family business, though not with quite the same success as their illustrious father.
The Reid transportation empire in Newfoundland was losing millions of dollars, the travelling public and business leaders were growing increasingly contemptuous of the level of service and several important politicians were demanding radical changes.
In 1925, after 10 years steady service on the Cabot Strait, the sturdy Kyle was reassigned to the role for which she was originally designed — the Labrador coastal service. Her replacement was a brand new vessel, named after a majestic animal found throughout Newfoundland and Labrador: the SS Caribou.
The Caribou was a beauty. Built in Holland, she was 265 feet long and weighed in at 2,200 tons. With a reinforced bow and unusually thick hull plates, she was built to handle the type of severe ice conditions that she would encounter each spring.
With a capacity of 155 first-class and 255 second-class passengers, she set a new standard for comfort and convenience on the east coast.
Her social amenities included a social lounge (men and women) and a smoking room (men only).
She was the first vessel in the Newfoundland ferry service to have steam radiators in every cabin, as well as cold storage facilities for perishable cargo. She was also the first to have a piano on board.
She was acclaimed on both sides of the strait as the finest vessel to ever serve on the Cabot Strait. Eleven years would pass before another new ship would be added to the Newfoundland service.