The Portland daily press., 1896-11-21
ENGLISH STEAMER SEASON.
The First Arrival of the Winter Will
Be the Allan Liner Monaghan.

She is Expected to Reach Here on Mon
day-The Labrador of the Dominion
Line Has Sailed from Liverpool-Pre-
paratiOns for the Steamers Offices
Grand Trunk To Be Lively This
Winter.
The English steamer season when the
eastern end Of Commercial street wakes
up from Its six months of sleep and he
comes the busiest portion Of the city. day
and night, is fairly upon us, aud with
the work ON the Grand Trunk elevator
being pushed forward, the arrival and
departure of the hugh ocean steamers,
the loading and unloading of these
vessels, the switching about of freight
trains bringing grain, farm produce and
all manner of articles for shipment across
the pond AMI the heavy drays and jiggers
hauling freight to or from the great
steamer sheds all combine to make the
winter season around the Grand Trunk
one of great activity and ever varying in
terest.
The English steamer season In Port
land may be said TO really commence
when the clerks of the various steamboat
lines begin to come here and open the
winter Offices of the steam boat lines for
the winter. The first of these crews to
arrive are always those of the Allan
company. They are expected here today,
and will take up their official quarters
IN the old building just above the Grand
Trunk depot where the office of the Allan
line has been located for years. The
first A Han line steamer to come in here
will be the Monaghan, and she Is ex-
peoted to reach here on Monday.
The next steamer to get In here will
probably be the Dominion liner
La brador. This vessel sailed from Liver
pool for Portland on Thursday and may
be expected here about week after the
Mongolian 9 arrival
The exact schedule for the arrival and
departure of steamers during tie winter
has not as yet been arranged, but IL will
probably be made public rs soon as the
Besides the Dominion and Allan lines
there will sail into this port during the
winter the Elder Dempster line Of steam
ers and the Thompson Iins. This Will
give q service to and from Portland Of
three or four steamers a week, and as
may be judged the winter promises to be
most lively one along the Grand
Trunk.
The latest news Of the English steamer
lines Is that tho new Dominion liner,
Canada will not be seen here this
winter. There has been considerable talk
for some time past of placing the Canada
on the Warren line running from Liver
pool to Boston. According to the advioea
just received at the custom house, it has
been decided to do this and the big
steamer Scotsman will run to this port
in place of the Canada. The first trip OF
the Scotsman from this port will be
made january.
Until the new elevator is ready for SER
vice the small grain elevator with a
capacity of 140, 600 bushels will be used.
and it will be taxed to Its utmost
| capacity. Already IL has been through
| ly overhauled and repaired, and for
several d avs past has been working day
and night taking in grain from the cars
of grain which have arrived here in such
mum bers during the past week as to al.
nost blockade the Grand Trunk yard.
With all of these arrivals of English
steamers the force at the Custom House
will be kept very hard at work. There
are In all seven customs inspectors con.
stantly on duty in Portland and In the
winter these are reinforced by tbs
additional appointment Of three or foui
extra men. just how many extra men
will be appointed for the customs service
this winter Is not known.
One Of the things that always occasions
considerable discussion previous to the
opening of the steamer season Is who IL
to take charge OF the stevedore work fo,
the various steamboat lines. Probably
the men who will do this work have al.
ready been selected, but so far nothing
is known along shore as to who is to dc
| the work.
+ Meantime the work on the mammoth
elevator for the Grand Trunk is being
pushed along as fast as possible. 1t il
safe to say that Ii has taken a much
longer time to put in the foundation Of
the elevator than 1t was at first expected.
1t will probably take about three weeks
more for Contractor Ward to finish VI
this work. About three hundred more
spiles remain to be driven, and then ths
balance of the stone work will have tt
be- finished. Those who have In charge
the building of the super-structure think
that 1t will take about two months te
complete the elevator. Many car loads
of lumber have arrived to be used in this
work and large gang of carpenters are
now at work getting the frame work OF
the building ready to go up. a-
| Yesterday the wooden building which
has always been used as an office for tbs
steamship lines staff was moved by tht
aid offa locomotive and large gang Of