Alo Japan All About Japan
KEEWATIN Decked! (The Last Edwardian Liner and Link to the TITANIC Era)
In Travel

KEEWATIN Decked! (The Last Edwardian Liner and Link to the TITANIC Era)



KEEWATIN Decked! (The Last Edwardian Liner and Link to the TITANIC Era)

This detailed history and top to bottom tour of one of maritime’s greatest treasures, the 1907-built SS KEEWATIN, now preserved at the Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario, covers her story from Scottish shipyard origins to the present day. The last surviving Canadian Pacific liner of a once vast fleet of liners great and small, she is also one of the few ships with an intact quadruple expansion coal fired engine and original interiors that are literally from the same era as LUSITANIA, MAURETANIA and TITANIC. She was saved from the scrappers by being featured in a popular book called “Farewell To Steam”, published the year she was sold for scrap but ice delayed her departure to the breakers and a man named RJ Petersen, after reading about her in that book, purchased the still existing ship from the breakers and brought her to his marina in Saugatuck, Michigan where she was lovingly preserved for decades. In recent years, the KEEWATIN has changed hands and since 2023, has been an integral part of the Great Lakes Museum, where she is open for tours each summer. There is nothing like her afloat as you will see in this detailed top-to-bottom tour hosted by Peter Knego, who also visited the ship three times in Michigan over the years. You will hear the voice of Diane Petersen, KEEWATIN’s former co-owner, who purchased “Farewell To Steam” for her husband RJ sixty years ago, leading to their salvation of the ship. Also featured with much gratitude is a library of vintage images supplied by “Know Your Ships” author and Great Lakes Ship Historian Roger Lelievre, who took me on our first visit to the ship in 1996. Music licensed from Artlist: Ty Simm “Something New”, Tomar Lane “On Ne Sait jamais”, Kie Schpigler “Scotland The Brave”, Muts Raynard “Ferris Wheel”, Pietro Deiro “Success Medley”, Kobe Lilian “Lost For WOrds”, Louis Adrien “On The Run”, Guy Mintus “”Hungarian Dance #5 Reimagined”, Jonathan Hadas “Anitra’s Dance”, Hadasa Atzman “The Swan”, Louis Adrien “Waltzing In Paris”, Serno “Little Rondo” and 2050 “Interpretation of a Dream” #edwardianliners #keewatin #greatlakesmuseum #quadrupleexpansionsteamengine #preservedliners #classicships #kingston #linktotitanic

28 Comments

  1. @deanwellman4744

    What an absatootly captivating video! It came up randomly and had me totally engrossed, it would make for an excellent period wedding venue and other celebratory events.
    Thank you for posting.

  2. @christophercrawford3636

    Not sure what you mean by "YouTube is not my friend these days!" However, your documentary shows what could have been done if Queen Mary had been saved by a sympathetic owner from the outset.

  3. @dk6723_2

    I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head re TITANIC – I know that my personal love for ocean liners was ignited by the tale of that ship, being, as she was, closely associated with Southampton very near my home town. She might be seen most accurately as a gateway ship, I suppose, through which people learn that liners, ships in general, or even maritime life in general, are among their previously-undiscovered passions. That leads me on nicely to your point about people seeing this ship on YouTube and being inspired to visit in person; I agree wholeheartedly with you! I had never heard of KEEWATIN, but she has me thoroughly charmed – and I'm only eighteen minutes in. What a beautiful old girl, maturing like a fine wine. 🙂

  5. @Phaaschh

    I never knew, until just now, of this beautiful ship's existence. Now I really want to go and see for myself! Something like this cannot be kept a secret.
    Many thanks

  6. @louisxxvdefrance6741

    I visited the Kee many times when she was resident at Douglas, Michigan. I loved her hull form and interiors. We got to see the engine room and part of the boilers that were cut away to lighten the ship, dating to when she ran aground in the Kalamazoo river while under tow many years earlier. Being a Michigander, it was a disappointment when she left for Canada, but she's were she belongs now. May she always be preserved.

  13. @old4134

    What a great video presentation, it has certainly piqued my interest and we’ll definitely be visiting her during this summer’s tourist season! Thanks so much for all your considerable effort!

  15. @genehunter1626

    Thank you for a great presentation. I trained as a "student apprentice" in ship design at Harland and Wolff, Belfast, and came to Canada in 1964 aboard Canadian Pacific's Empress of England. I have visited a lot of famous historical ships, but my visit to the Keewatin while still at Port MacNicol stands out as one of the most interesting and memorable.

  18. @gatewayz75

    How fascinating, what a network of the railways, this ship and even Canadian Pacific Air Lines, the dining room on the ship is stunning.

  19. @frglee

    Thanks for this fascinating video. I'd never heard of this ship or the museum before. Believe me, the next time I visit Ontario from Scotland, it's on the list of places to visit! I'd love to see the Keewatin.

    Conversely, I think you'd be fascinated by the world class Titanic museum on this side of the pond in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Not least to be able to visit the preserved and restored 'little sister-ship' of the RMS Titanic, the 'SS Nomadic' built alongside the Titanic at Belfast to become one of the two White Star line tenders at Cherbourg in France. She was in service right up until 1968 as a tender for the RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth, among other transatlantic liners.

  22. @greggrauscher34

    What a great video, combining 3 tours to give the most complete access possible! What a beautiful boat! I've been aboard the battleship Haida and the freighters Schoonmaker and Mather and there are several more museum ships I hope to visit. I must say that the Keewatin has moved higher on the list after watching this video. Much love and respect to the Petersen's, Zimmerman's and everybody at the Great Lakes Museum for saving the Keewatin from the scrappers and preserving her for future generations to enjoy! Also, Roger LeLievre is a great guy, such a wealth of knowledge and so helpful when it comes to the Know Your Ships books. I've never met him in person, but I've corresponded with him multiple times both over email and also on the phone, always involving shipping issues with my orders (not of his own doing) and he has been nothing but kind and helpful.

  23. @Kimberlaina

    I grew up about 10 miles away from where this ship was preserved in Michigan. It's part of the reason I became fascinated with ships. It was sad to see her leave. I want to go over to Kingston and pay her a visit! How cool it was to just drive by an Edwardian liner every now and then on our way to go out to dinner. My uncle used to dock his boat at the stern where you could see the propellers. The place where she was moored still looks empty to me. It's great to see that she is so well cared for and surrounded by fantastic exhibits in Canada.

    Very cool to see photos here of parts of the ship's history (and that of the Assiniboia) I had only heard about. Thanks for this one!

  24. @tomblack6972

    In 1954 I had the pleasure of traveling the K from east to west. One of my memories was of being on the top weather deck where there were air vents to the engine room near the funnel, and you could hear the scrape of a shovel down below as they fed coal to the boiler

  25. @carmium

    It's really gratifying to see this ship preserved and given a professional museum treatment. So many plans for planes, trains, and ships to get similar care fall far short when the cost of repairs and accommodations is calculated, and after getting the hot potato treatment, end up being scrapped – or just rusting away. It's just terrific to see such a huge project coming along so well!