Polson Iron Works
Toronto ON
Most recent update: February 19, 2015.
Polson Iron Works began operations in 1878 as Wm. Polson & Sons, an engine builder in Cobourg, Ontario. It moved to Toronto in 1883 and was incorporated as Polson Iron Works Co. In 1886. The company expanded by building a new shipyard in Owen Sound in 1888, but this closed in 1893. The operations in Toronto continued with the construction of a large number of vessels and even more engines until finally closing in 1919. Visit the Polson web site here and see the site, which was at the southwest end of the Port Lands district, from the air on Google here.
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O/N | Name | Customer | Type | GT | Built | Notes | |
Built in Toronto | |||||||
92296 | Mayflower | wood tugboat | 4 | 1885 | registered 1886 | ||
85330 | Mocking Bird | E. Todd | wood yacht | 38 | 1886 | sank in Lake Winnipegosis 1901 | |
90570 | Conqueror | C. Robertson | wood tugboat | 25 | 1886 | broken-up 1904 | |
90577 | Vivid | F. B. Polson | wood yacht | 56 | 1886 | register closed 1910 | |
92439 | rescue | John Hanlan | wood yacht | 7 | 1886 | register closed 1913 | |
92729 | Devenish | John Fleming (1895) | wood yacht | 3 | 1886 | ||
12 | 94801 | Marion | J. C. Hays | wood sternwheeler | 15 | 1887 | assembled at Golden BC, broken up 1902 |
92438 | express | Josiah Bell (1895) | wood yacht | 4 | 1887 | ||
92445 | Cora | Oliver B. Sheppard (1895) | wood yacht | 4 | 1887 | ||
92448 | Gypsy | R. Power | wood yacht | 20 | 1887 | supply boat Muskoka Lakes 1897 | |
92449 | Electric | J. J. Wright | comp. yacht | 49 | 1887 | burned and sank 1927 | |
92726 | Spartan | E. B. Andros | wood yacht | 2 | 1887 | ||
92737 | Siesta | John McRae | wood yacht | 3 | 1888 | register closed 1930 | |
20 | 92734 | City of Chatham | Chatham Navigation | wood passenger | 341 | 1888 | stripped and abandoned 1921 |
94981 | Undine | Polson Iron Works | wood yacht | 17 | 1889 | register closed 1910 | |
94982 | Mizpah | Clark Brothers | wood ferry | 18 | 1889 | broken-up 1911 | |
Built in Owen Sound | |||||||
23 | 94879 | Manitoba | Canadian Pacific Railway | steel pass/freight | 2,616 | 1889 | scrapped 1950 |
24 | 94763 | Seguin | Parry Sound Lumber Company | Steel freighter | 818 | 1890 | later Mapleboro 1920, City of Montreal 1925, Arvida 1926, scrapped 1944 |
25 | 94885 | Ontario | Canadian Pacific Railway | steel pass/freight | 1,615 | 1890 | barge 1926, foundered in Lake Superior 1927 |
88538 | Naiad | William E. Sanford | comp. yacht | 29 | 1890 | burned 1967 | |
107366 | Annie C. Hill | J. Forsythe | wood yacht | 14 | 1890 | scrapped 1923 | |
95265 | Rosedale | Hagarty & Company | lengthening | 1,507 | 1891 | lengthening, lost 1919 | |
30 | 100412 | Constance | Minister of Fisheries | fisheries cruiser | 185 | 1891 | to RCN 1912, sold 1921, closed 1966 |
31 | 100413 | Curlew | Minister of Fisheries | fisheries cruiser | 158 | 1892 | to RCN 1912, sold 1922, closed 1937 |
32 | 103040 | Petrel | Minister of Fisheries | fisheries cruiser | 192 | 1892 | to RCN 1912, sold 1923, closed 1927 |
Built in Toronto | |||||||
116252 | Linnia | T. Croucher | wood tugboat | 5 | 1892 | scrapped 1906 | |
103665 | Rambler | J. S. Whiting et al | comp. tugboat | 26 | 1897 | assembled at Rat Portage, wrecked 1930 | |
107087 | Victoria | Pembroke Navigation Company | comp. passenger | 188 | 1897 | assembled at Pembroke ON, retired 1932 | |
107157 | Burpee | Isaac Burpee | steel sternwheeler | 9 | 1897 | ||
112176 | Espanola | Spanish River Pulp & Paper | steel tugboat | 7 | 1897 | closed 1927 | |
Knapp's Roller boat | Frederick Knapp | Steel freighter | nm | 1897 | buried in a landfill 1927 | ||
107364 | Wanda | Timothy Eaton | comp. yacht | 12 | 1898 | rebuilt 1905 as Temagami, scrapped 1926 | |
107159 | Tyrrell | Canadian Pacific Navigation | Comp. Sternwheeler | 678 | 1898 | assembled at Vancouver, abandoned 1913 | |
Sparrow | Yukon & Klondike Pioneers | comp. pass/freight | 49 | 1898 | assembled at Athabaska Landing, fate unknown | ||
38 | 107693 | Majestic | Richelieu River Navigation | steel pass/freight | 275 | 1899 | abandoned 1942 |
cutter | comp. yacht | 15 | 1899 | no trace | |||
75434 | cruiser | F. B. Polson et al | comp. yacht | 15 | 1899 | rebuild of older vessel | |
88632 | Advance | comp. freighter | 1031 | 1899 | rebuild of Sir S. L. Tilley | ||
107599 | Bobs | Parry Sound Lumber Company | steel tugboat | 38 | 1900 | wrecked 1928 | |
43 | 111567 | Islander | Muskoka Lakes Navigation | steel pass/freight | 165 | 1900 | assembled at Gravenhurst ON, scrapped 1958 |
111820 | Kootenay | G. G. Busby | steel sternwheeler | 8 | 1900 | assembled at Nelson BC, lost 1909 | |
111563 | Bobs | George Gooderham | steel yacht | 9 | 1900 | closed 1941 | |
111565 | Llano | Elmore Harris | wood yacht | 11 | 1900 | scrapped 1936 | |
Dept. of Public Works | steel pontoons | nm | 1901 | ||||
111577 | Ina | Wm. J. Gage | comp. yacht | 12 | 1901 | closed 1942 | |
150502 | P.W.D. No. 305 (King Edward) | Dept. of Public Works | steel dredge | 449 | 1901 | assembled at New Westminster BC | |
111803 | Algoma | The Sault Ferry Company | steel ferry | 157 | 1901 | later Vercheres, scrapped 1967 | |
Niobe | comp. gas yacht | 3 | 1901 | no trace | |||
112175 | Kate | H. MacDonald Mowat | comp. yacht | 22 | 1902 | closed 1969 | |
112179 | Inenew | Hudson's Bay Company | steel lighter | 109 | 1902 | scrapped 1930 | |
112186 | Sir Wilfred | Dept. of Public Works | steel dredge | 399 | 1902 | lost 1902, salvaged, P.W.D. 117, sank 1952 | |
Nakusp | Dept. of Public Works | sternwheel dredge | nm | 1902 | assembled at Arrow Lakes BC | ||
Juanita | E. Leadley | comp. yacht | 10 | 1902 | no trace | ||
133910 | M. & F. No. 7 ( J. Israel Tarte) | Dept. of Marine & Fisheries | steel | 873 | 1902 | later Glenbuckie, then Beaver Hercules, closed 1989 | |
116265 | Mildred | E. R. Wood | steel yacht | 39 | 1903 | suspended 2004 | |
116266 | Rambler | Mrs. Isabel McKinnon | steel yacht | 39 | 1903 | sold 1914 | |
116762 | Wawinet | Wm. MacKenzie | steel yacht | 68 | 1904 | sunk 1942 | |
116784 | St. George | City of North Vancouver | steel ferry | 544 | 1904 | frame and machinery, North Vancouver No. 2, burned 1939 | |
116862 | Alert | Upper Ottawa Improvement Co | steel tugboat | 53 | 1904 | assembled at Temiscamingue QC | |
63 | 116993 | Lurcher | Ministry of Marine & Fisheries | steel lightship | 396 | 1903 | later No. 14 1912, Lightship No. 14 1949, St. Yves 1957, foundered 1980 |
64 | 116994 | Anticosti | Ministry of Marine & Fisheries | steel lightship | 396 | 1904 | later No. 15 1912, Lightship No. 15 1949, deleted 1960 |
St . Charles | Roman Catholic Mission | steel mission vessel | 32 | 1904 | frame and machinery, wrecked in ice 1914 | ||
130717 | St. Marie | Roman Catholic Mission | steel mission vessel | 81 | 1904 | frame and machinery, assembled at Fort Smith in 1906, sold 1914, rebuilt as Northland Trader, sank 1938 | |
Ariadne | J. P. Northey | comp. yacht | 50 | 1905 | rebuild of older vessel | ||
121843 | Wanda II | T. Eaton | steel yacht | 51 | 1905 | burned 1916 | |
126411 | Keego | Temagami Steamboat & Hotel Co. | wood yacht | 23 | 1905 | ||
121849 | Blue Bell | Toronto Ferry Company | steel ferry | 752 | 1906 | hulked 1956 | |
70 | 117070 | Vigilant | Ministry of Marine & Fisheries | steel fisheries patrol | 396 | 1904 | barge 1927, scrapped 1956 |
122214 | City Dredge No. 2 | City of Toronto | steel dredge | 278 | 1906 | ||
122217 | Hercules | Dept. of Public Works | steel tugboat | 234 | 1906 | scrapped 1970 | |
125991 | Pikouagami | Quebec & Lake St. John Rwy. Co. | steel tugboat | 57 | 1906 | frame and machinery, assembled at Roberval QC | |
134607 | P.W.D. No. 201 | Dept of Public Works | steel dredge | 442 | 1906 | frame and machinery, assembled at Selkirk MB | |
75 | 121850 | Armour | Maganetawan River & Lakes SB Co. | steel passenger | 191 | 1906 | frame and machinery, assembled at Burk's Falls, burned 1928 |
134187 | P.W.D. No. 5 (Northumberland) | Dept. of Public Works | steel dredge | 797 | 1906 | ||
P.W.D. No. 103 | Dept. of Public Works | steel dump scow | 1907 | ||||
P.W.D. No. 104 | Dept. of Public Works | steel dump scow | 1907 | ||||
107424 | Morning Star | Sir Clifford Sifton | steel yacht | 72 | 1907 | sank 1947 | |
122480 | Loretta | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel tugboat | 75 | 1907 | broken-up 1960 | |
122564 | Bessie Butler | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel tugboat | 77 | 1907 | abandoned 1950 | |
125972 | Roberval | La Cie Le Nord | Steel freighter | 344 | 1907 | foundered near Oswego 1916 | |
83 | 125975 | Charles Lyon | Canadian Pacific Car & passenger | steel ferry | 1,658 | 1908 | split into two barges 1936, scrapped 1941 |
130896 | Dredge P.W.D. No. 301 | Dept. of Public Works | steel dredge | 538 | 1908 | frame and machinery, assembled at New Westminster BC | |
138413 | Ruby | Dept. of Public Works | comp. tugboat | 19 | 1908 | later Hecla 1916 | |
126270 | Erl King | Frank Simpson Contracting Co. | comp. tugboat | 46 | 1909 | later R.C. Co. No. 4, broken up 1958 | |
126835 | Ella Mary | Charles J. Gibson | steel ferry | 42 | 1910 | later Bigwin, under restoration | |
88 | 125978 | City Dredge No. 3 | City of Toronto | steel dredge | 412 | 1908 | |
130921 | H.C.M. No. 5 | Montreal Harbour Commission | steel dredge | 498 | 1910 | ||
90 | 134545 | Aylmer | Dept. of Public Works | comp. tugboat | 16 | 1910 | |
122295 | George V | City of Prince Albert | steel sternwheeler | 105 | 1911 | assembled at Prince Albert SA, wrecked 1916 | |
126671 | Shuniah | Great Lakes Dredging Co. | steel dredge | 759 | 1910 | closed 1992 | |
93 | Great Lakes Dredging Co. | steel pontoons | nm | 1910 | |||
94 | 126833 | Trillium | Toronto Ferry Co Ltd, Toronto | steel ferry | 673 | 1910 | |
City of Toronto | lifeboat | 1911 | |||||
96 | 131086 | Drill Boat No. 6 | John E. Russell | steel drill barge | 289 | 1912 | later McNco No. 6, sank 1972 |
97 | 130555 | Bonnington | Canadian Pacific Railway Co. | steel sternwheeler | 1700 | 1911 | assembled at Nakusp BC, launched April 1913, scrapped 1946 |
130325 | Buena Vista | Davis Dry Dock Co. | steel passenger | 144 | 1911 | frame and machinery, assembled at Kingston ON, Maisonneuve, retired 1934 | |
131134 | Batchawana | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel tugboat | 52 | 1912 | ||
100 | 134036 | transferred No. 5 | Canadian Pacific Railway Co. | barge | 681 | 1912 | assembled at Nelson BC |
101 | 130313 | G.R. Greary | City of Toronto | steel tugboat | 199 | 1912 | scrapped 1972 |
102 | St. Gabriel | Roman Catholic Church | steel sidewheel mission boat | 10 | 1912 | frame and machinery, assembled at Fort Resolution NWT, wrecked in ice 1920 | |
103 | St. Joseph | Roman Catholic Church | steel sidewheel mission boat | 11 | 1912 | frame and machinery, assembled at Fort Resolution NWT | |
104 | Anglican Church Mission | steel propeller mission boat | 1912 | frame and steam machinery | |||
105 | 130318 | Kwasind | Royal Canadian Yacht Club | steel yacht | 47 | 1912 | |
106 | 134258 | Sir Hector | Dept. of Public Works | steel tugboat | 134 | 1912 | frame and machinery, assembled at Selkirk MB, Vaughan, scrapped 1937 |
131137 | Fredericton | Dept. of Public Works | steel tugboat | 109 | 1913 | ||
133745 | Port Nelson | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel dredge | 1,123 | 1913 | wrecked 1945 | |
109 | St. Emelie | Roman Catholic Church | steel propeller mission boat | 19 | 1914 | frame and machinery, assembled at Fort Chipewyan NWT | |
134248 | Hudson Bay Terminals Lighter No. 1 | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel lighter | 268 | 1914 | foundered in Hudson's Bay 1933 | |
134249 | Hudson Bay Terminals Lighter No. 2 | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel lighter | 268 | 1914 | closed 1941 | |
134441 | Hudson Bay Terminals Lighter No. 3 | Dept. of Railways & Canals | steel lighter | 268 | 1914 | closed 1934 | |
134442 | Q.H.C. No. 51 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 236 | 1914 | later Rock Queen, closed 2000 | |
134443 | Q.H.C. No. 52 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 240 | 1914 | ||
134444 | Q.H.C. No. 53 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 240 | 1914 | closed 2003 | |
134445 | Q.H.C. No. 54 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 434 | 1914 | closed 2003 | |
134446 | Q.H.C. No. 55 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 434 | 1914 | later C.D. 155 | |
134447 | Q.H.C. No. 56 | Quebec Harbour Commission | steel dump scow | 434 | 1914 | closed 2003 | |
119 | 134547 | Grenville | Dept. of Marine & Fisheries | Steel Buoy tender | 497 | 1915 | wrecked in ice and scrapped 1969 |
134451 | Cyclone | Canadian Stewart Co. | steel dredge | 911 | 1914 | ||
137895 | Tornado | Canadian Stewart Co. | steel dredge | 911 | 1914 | ||
122 | 134455 | Seventy Five | Canadian Stewart Co. | steel derrick scow | 405 | 1914 | sold 1918 |
Nelson | Dept. of Railway & Canals | steel sternwheel tugboat | nm | 1914 | assembled at Churchill MB, lost shortly after delivery | ||
151109 | C.S.B.D. & C. Co. Derrick No. 1 | C.S.Boon Dredging Co. | steel derrick scow | 70 | 1914 | ||
138623 | Komba (rebuilda) | Roman Catholic Church | steel mission vessel | 17 | 1915 | frame and machinery, assembled at Hay River NWT | |
126 | 137978 | Ontario No.2 | Ontario Car Ferry Co Ltd | steel train ferry | 5,568 | 1915 | scrapped 1952 |
127 | 137902 | Wanda III | T. Eaton | steel yacht | 60 | 1915 | later a museum vessel |
128 | Patricia | Hudsons Bay Co. | comp. tugboat | 1915 | no further trace | ||
129 | Hudsons Bay Co. | comp. lighter | 1915 | no further trace | |||
130 | Hudsons Bay Co. | comp. lighter | 1915 | no further trace | |||
131 | Hudsons Bay Co. | comp. lighter | 1915 | no further trace | |||
132 | Hudsons Bay Co. | comp. lighter | 1915 | no further trace | |||
133 | 142642 | Tento | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,316 | 1918 | later Toyo Maru No. 5 1928, torpedoed and lost 1944 |
134 | 142746 | Asp | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,234 | 1918 | later Francisca 1921, Capo Mele 1928, Etiopia 1936, bombed and lost off Tobruk 1942 |
135 | 140922 | Festubert | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | later Inverleigh 1947, scuttled 1971 |
136 | 140923 | Ypres | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | collision and sank 1940 |
137 | 140924 | Messines | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | later Lightship No. 3 1920, scrapped 1962 |
138 | 140925 | St. Eloi | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | later Lightship No. 20 1920, scrapped 1962 |
139 | 140926 | St. Julien | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | later Lightship No. 21 1920, sold as Centennial 1958 |
140 | 140927 | Vimy | Canadian Naval Service | steel minesweeper | 320 | 1917 | later Lightship No. 22 1920, scrapped 1958 |
141 | TR-15 | Royal Navy | steel minesweeper | 275 | 1918 | sold 1920 as Jacqueline, captured 1940, designated M-3630, M-3830, sunk by bombing 1943 but salvaged | |
142 | TR-16 | Royal Navy | steel minesweeper | 275 | 1918 | to Mexico as Salinas 1920, Acapulco | |
143 | TR-17 | Royal Navy | steel minesweeper | 275 | 1918 | later Jeanne 1920 | |
144 | TR-18 | Royal Navy | steel minesweeper | 275 | 1918 | later Marie Louise 1921 | |
145 | 141364 | War Hydra | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,251 | 1919 | later Baffin 1919, Franquette 1920, Capo Noli 1926, Marcantonio Bragadin 1935, Nina Bianchi 1939, in collision and lost 1940 |
146 | 143211 | War Taurus | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,240 | 1919 | later Cormount 1920, Femund 1024, Rendal 1928, Einvik 1934, sunk by gunfire 1941 |
147 | 143380 | War Timiskaming | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,085 | 1919 | later Oise 1919, Kotkas 1929, Farida 1941, Nidaros 1946, Kien Yuan 1948, in collision and sank 1949 |
148 | 141369 | Aquila/War Hamilton | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,251 | 1919 | later Belchers 1919, Koryu Maru 1927, bombed and lost 1944 |
149 | 143824 | War Algoma | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,212 | 1919 | later Nina 1920, mined and lost off Genoa 1944 |
150 | 143934 | War Halton | The Shipping Controller | Steel freighter | 2,096 | 1919 | later Saint Tropez 1919, Latymer 1937, bombed and lost 1940 |