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3 - A New Era

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Last year a new era was inaugurated in the steam navigation of the St. John River, and we saw in the DAVID WESTON, the first of a new class of boats which were destined to supersede the old craft in which our people had been forced to travel in other years.

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David Weston
1866
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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This year will see the river navigated by a fleet of steamers which will compare favorably with those on the Hudson, and, as a natural result, hundreds of tourists will visit our capital and gaze on the picturesque scenery of the noble St. John, who in former years would have been deterred from doing so by the imperfect accommodation the river steamers supplied. Two new steamers will be placed on the river in the spring, one of which the FAWN, owned by Messrs. Small and Hatheway, is already launched, and the other, owned by Mr. Lunt, will be launched next week. The FAWN is the same as the DAVID WESTON being 175 feet keel, and 180 over all. She is, however, four feet narrower than the WESTON, being only 23 feet beam. She will draw about four feet of water and will be driven by the engine of the ANNA AUGUSTA, and supplied with a new boiler. This engine is a very powerful one, and works horizontally and not through the deck as an ordinary beam engine. It is believed that the steamer will attain a very high rate of speed, and the beauty of her model and the power of the engine with which she is to be supplied would seem to warrant the belief. Mr. John Retallick is the builder, and the joiner work is being done by the employees of James Quinton, Esq., M.P.P.

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Fawn
1867
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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David Weston
1870
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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Mr. Lunt's new steamer is 30 feet longer than his other steamer, the OLIVE, and much larger than either the WESTON or the FAWN; in fact, she is quite gigantic in her proportions. ? Her length of keel is 190 feet ? length over all 196 ? breadth of beam 30 feet ? breadth over all 50 ½ feet ? depth of hold 8 feet; and she is expected to draw four feet of water. She is said to be built on the same model as the celebrated Hudson River steamer, MARY POWELL, and will be supplied with a beam engine of 11 feet stroke and 42 inches cylinder made by Messrs. Fleming and Humbert. Her hub is built of hacmatac and birch, and she is said to be very strong. Mr. Olive is the builder, and the joiner work is being done by Mr. G.V. Beattie. The new boat is expected to be very fast; she will be ready for the river early in the spring.

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Rothesay
1867

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Anna Augusta
1851
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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Source: The New Brunswick Reporter Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, January 25, 1867