Vol. 17 No. 4
April, 1987
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Stay Safe in 87
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Steamships' Role
Underplayed
in Silk Trade
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Dave Jones
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Transferring silk from steamship to train.
So much has been written about the silk trains that sped across the country
from the 1880s to the mid-1930s that their fame has reached near-mythological proportions.
There's a certain romance associated with a commodity that came from the Orient. The silk was so valuable that all
other traffic, including the most prestigious passenger trains, were moved onto sidings to allow its passage.
Those who worked the trains recall hair-raising journeys toward markets in New York, at speeds that
bordered on folly; while trackside observers remember train consists of a dozen or more tuscan-red
baggage cars, looking very much like any other freight train, even though the cars were specially mounted on
steel-wheeled passenger car trucks for their swifter operating capabilities.
But what is often overlooked, amid the nostalgia for the elite train operations, is the equally important role played
by the company's steamships in securing contracts. Although several railroads in the United States also ran special
silk trains, as did the Canadian National Railways, it was the integrated system of steamships and railway that gave
Canadian Pacific the competitive edge.
The first through trains from Vancouver to Montreal included bales of silk among their cargoes of tea, rice, china,
and curios, transported from the Orient in chartered vessels.
By 1913, when the Empress of Asia was establishing new records for speed on her run across the Pacific, a shipment of
silk was delivered to New York in just 17 days. An admirable record to be sure, but one that was surpassed in 1924
when the new Pacific greyhound, the Empress of Canada, sped across the ocean in eight days, 10 hours, and nine
minutes.
Quickly shuttled onto an awaiting train, her cargo reached New York only 13 days after leaving Yokohama harbour. For
the delivery of a commodity whose insurance rates were sometimes charged by the hour, this was truly a magnificent
performance.
Precious Cargo Gets Priority
A single bale of silk was valued at $800 in the 1920s, and shipments usually amounted to enormous sums for the time,
sometimes as high as $10 million or more.
While the tugs maneuvered the Empresses up against their berths at Vancouver's pier B-C, the captains
would bawl out instructions through megaphones to agents and stevedores waiting on the dock.
Long before the passengers had been disembarked, long electric conveyors were run through open hatches into the ships'
specially-protected silk rooms.
Steady streams of 90-kg bales, wrapped in strong brown paper began their procession under canvass
awnings down to the warehouses, where they were checked and sorted according to destination. Despite the chaotic
appearance of stevedores, railway officials, and customs officers all in simultaneous motion, there was an underlying
clockwork-like efficiency which enabled the awaiting trains to be loaded in an average of 15 minutes per
car or less.
One interesting outcome of the silk trade was that the Empress of Russia and the Empress of Asia remained as
coal-fired steamships, long after most passenger liners had converted to oil.
When Canadian Pacific considered the modification, Japanese mine owners in the Nagasaki area convinced their
government to intercede on their behalf.
Fearing the loss of the 45,000 tonnes a year in coal business the Empresses were responsible for, and the attendant
depressing effect on the local economy, they convinced the Japanese government to give Canadian Pacific preferential
treatment in the awarding of silk shipments form Kobe and Yokohama.
In return, the company agreed to continue burning Nagasaki coal, which, after all, was a good, clean, and cheap fuel,
with very little dust.
With the aid of hard-working stokers, the Empress of Asia and the Empress of Russia could maintain a
steady speed of 19 knots in moderate weather - and they remained as coal-burners until the end of their
days.
This CP Rail News article is copyright
1987 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their
permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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