The 157 tonnes all-steel, 89.5 foot 1948 diesel 575 horsepower CN Tugboat #6 plied the waters between Kelowna and Penticton until 1973 when Canadian National discontinued its lake service. Back in the 1940s and 50s when the roads were rough and no Okanagan Lake Bridge , No. 6 was an essential part of the valley’s transportation system and critical to the fruit industry. No. 6 would push or tow barges loaded with railcars full of the fruit crops to Kelowna where they joined trains headed for west and east coast ports and thence to foreign.

In approximately 1974 the tug was sold to a private owner and by 1993 was bought by the City of Kelowna for $35,000.00 - urged on by the Okanagan Heritage Society. The tug had been idle since 1973 and restoration seemed imminent. Other ideas of use were to use it as an Ogopogo sighting station, outfitted with pictures and stories of the mythical lake monster. Unfortunately funding from the city was never secured and the museum industry turned its attention to other projects
On February 13, 2006 Kelowna City Council donated Tugboat #6 to the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society.

        
return to top

The Society successfully moved the tug to its permanent location June 16, 2007.  We could not have done this without the help of those listed below:

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS

     For more pictures of the CN Tug #6 DETAILS..

GENERAL INFORMATION
CN TUG #6