SS Princess Helene was a passenger and cargo ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).[1]
William Denny and Brothers built Princess Helene in 1930 at Dumbarton, Scotland.[2] She was custom designed for CPR's Bay of Fundy service connecting the CPR's eastern mainline railway terminus at Saint John, New Brunswick with the port of Digby, Nova Scotia, which was served by a CPR subsidiary, the Dominion Atlantic Railway.
Replacing the older and smaller DAR steamer Empress, Princess Helene could carry 500 passengers and 50 automobiles as well as large amounts of freight. Special side-loading doors moved vehicles and freight to large wharf elevators at Digby and Saint John to cope with the tidal range in the Bay of Fundy. Princess Helene was part of a chain of CPR's transportation system that "spanned the world" and as such she was outfitted in the style of the company's "Duchess" ocean liners. She had 43 state rooms complemented by beautiful interior fittings that exceeded the usual standards of Canada's regional ferries. Crew uniforms were modeled on the Royal Canadian Navy and each time she passed the DAR's Digby Pines Hotel