1. Vancouver Tug Boat Co. Ltd. scored a major tugboating feat in Vancouver Harbor recently as it floated the new Canadian National Railways bridge into place at 2nd Narrows in three sections. Shown above, the south tower, weighing 2,000 tons and measuring 200 feet high and 250 feet long, is being moved by Vantug.
2. The lift span, weighing 2,400 tons and 503 feet long, is the largest of its type in Canada and the fifth largest in the world. It is believed to be the first time that a lift span of such size has been floated into place by this method. The sections were assembled on ways by Canron Limited, about 4 1/2 miles from bridge site.
3. At the waiting pier supports, the span was gently eased into alignment with the matching structure at high tide. All of Vancouver Tug's skill and experience were needed to float the massive structure into the gap between the north and south tower spans, with only 2 or 3 inches of clearance at either end.
4. As the tide fell, ballast was pumped into the barges and the bridge section lowered onto the supports. The new bridge is scheduled to commence carrying railway trains this spring. Tugs, La Belle, Le Prince, La Fille, and La Lutte, were used for this operation together with the 260-foot VT 152 and 180-foot VT 52 barges.