Regulator (sternwheeler)

{{Infobox ship begin |display title=ital}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image= Steamboat Regulator ca 1892.jpg

|Ship caption= Regulator at the dock at the foot of Court Street, The Dalles, Oregon, circa 1892

}}

{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship name= Regulator

|Ship owner= Dalles, Portland, and Astoria Nav. Co.

|Ship operator=

|Ship registry=

|Ship route= Columbia River

|Ship ordered=

|Ship builder= Louis Paquet

|Ship original cost= $30,000

|Ship yard number=

|Ship way number=

|Ship laid down=

|Ship launched=

|Ship completed= 1891

|Ship christened=

|Ship acquired=

|Ship maiden voyage=

|Ship in service=

|Ship out of service= 1906

|Ship identification= U.S. 110935

|Ship fate= Destroyed by explosion and fire

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship type= Riverine all-purpose

|Ship tonnage=

|Ship displacement=

|Ship length= {{convert|152|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} over hull (exclusive of fantail)

|Ship beam= {{convert|28|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} over hull (exclusive of guards

|Ship height=

|Ship draught=

|Ship draft=

|Ship depth= {{convert|6.5|ft|0|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

|Ship decks= two (main and passenger)

|Ship deck clearance=

|Ship ramps=

|Ship ice class=

|Ship sail plan=

|Ship power= twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of {{convert|16|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} and stroke of {{convert|7|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}; 300 to 350 total indicated HP.

|Ship propulsion=stern-wheel

|Ship speed= Maximum reported: 18.5 miles per hour.

|Ship capacity=

|Ship crew=

|Ship notes=

}}

Regulator was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1891 which operated on the Columbia River until 1906, when it was destroyed by explosion which killed two of its crew, while on the ways undergoing an overhaul at St. Johns, Oregon.

Construction

=Plans for the new vessel=

Regulator was built by Louis Paquet, an experienced shipbuilder of Portland, Oregon.Also seen spelled "Pacquet". {{Citation

| title = Mr. Louis Pacquet has returned to Portland ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-07-16/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 2

| issue = 26

| date = Jul 16, 1891

| page =3 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}{{Citation

| title = Louis Paquet is Dead

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1920-12-25/ed-1/seq-6/

| newspaper = Morning Oregonian

| location = Portland, OR

| volume = 59

| issue = 18,748

| date = Dec 25, 1920

| page =6 col. 4

}}{{Citation

| title = The Dalles, Portland and Astoria Navigation Company

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn93051669/1898-01-01/ed-3/seq-13/

| newspaper = The Dalles Times-Mountaineer

| location = The Dalles, OR

| type = souvenir edition

| date = Jan 1, 1898

| page =19

| publisher = J.A. Douthit

}}

The boat was contracted for by the Dalles, Portland and Astoria Navigation Company, popularly known as the Regulator Line, or by its abbreviation, DP&AN. This company had been organized to provide steamboat service from The Dalles to the lower Columbia river, by a combination of steamboats and a newly built, state-funded portage railway around the main obstruction on the route, the Cascades Rapids.{{Citation

| title = A Little Inside History

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-09-23/ed-1/seq-2/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 85

| date = Sep 23, 1891

| page =2 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

The first annual meeting of DP&AN subscribers was held on Saturday, April 4, 1891, at 2:00 p.m. at the Board of Trade, in The Dalles, Oregon.{{Citation

| title = First Annual Meeting — Notice to the Subscribers of The Dalles, Portland, and Astoria Navigation Co.

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-03-05/ed-1/seq-2/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 1

| issue = 70

| date = Mar 5, 1891

| page =2 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

DP&AN had appointed a committee to examine the costs and other details of constructing a steamboat to run on the Columbia River between The Dalles and Cascade Locks, to make a connection with the portage railway around Cascades Rapids.{{Citation

| title = The committee appointed by The Dalles, Portland and Astoria Navigation Company to inquire ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-03-17/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 1

| issue = 80

| date = Mar 17, 1891

| page =3 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

In mid-March, 1891, the DP&AN committee returned to The Dalles, having made arrangements with four shipbuilders to submit, to the company’s first annual meeting, to be held on April 4, sealed bids for a steamboat that would be 160 feet long, 30 foot beam, and 7 foot depth of hold, capable of a speed of 17 to 18 knots. The bids were to give estimates of everything connected with the vessel except the furniture.

At the April 4 annual meeting, the committee reported that they had awarded the contract to build the vessel to Paquet & Smith, for the price of $25,000, with directions to construct a sternwheeler at any point between Cascades Locks and The Dalles, to be finished by August 1, 1891.{{Citation

| title = Local and Personal ... A meeting of the directors ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2003260222/1891-04-17/ed-1/seq-4/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 1

| issue = 18

| date = Apr 17, 1891

| page =4 col. 1 and col.2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} The boat was required to be capable of speed of 15 miles per hour. Hugh Glenn was appointed to be superintendent of the construction of the vessel.Smith was apparently B.F. Smith.{{Citation

| title = Local Brevities ... Mr. B.F. Smith of the form of Paquet & Smith, contractors ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-08-17/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 53

| date = Aug 17, 1891

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

=Construction at The Dalles=

File:Steamer Regulator ladies cabin.jpg

The new steamer, named Regulator, was built in The Dalles, Oregon, on bank of the Columbia River at the foot of Washington Street.{{Citation

| title = She's In the Swim — The "Regulator" Goes Down the Ways into the Peaceful Waters of the Columbia

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-06-25/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 9

| date = Jun 25, 1891

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} On Thursday, June 25, 1891, the still incomplete Regulator was launched. The ceremony began at 11:00 a.m. with an optimistic speech by B.S. Huntington. At exactly 3:00 p.m., Miss Bessie French broke a bottle of wine over the bow of the steamer, christening the vessel. Workman then knocked out the props under the hull, and the boat slid into the water.

The boat was driven by twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of {{convert|16|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} and stroke of {{convert|7|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}, producing 300 to 350 total indicated HP.

In mid-July, 1891, the hull was complete, the lower works were nearly done, and the upper cabin (called a "saloon") was shortly to be enclosed.{{Citation

| title = The New Boat

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-07-16/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 26

| date = Jul 16, 1891

| page =3 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} The engines were expected to arrive on the 17th or 18 July. All wood work on the vessel was expected to be complete on about August 1. The boiler was built by the Willamette Iron and Steel Works, in Portland.

By August 4, 1891 the boiler had been installed, and painting was expected to begin within a few days.{{Citation

| title = The steamer Regulator has been changed into position ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-08-04/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 42

| date = Aug 4, 1891

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

Dimensions and appearance

Regular’s hull was 152 feet long, exclusive of the extension over the stern, called a fantail, on which the sternwheel was mounted.{{cite book

| last1 = U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Statistics Bureau

| title = Annual List of Merchant Vessels

| type = for fiscal year ending June 30, 1893

| location = Washington, DC

| publisher = GPO

| date = 1894

| volume = 25

|page=345

| hdl = 2027/nnc1.cu05600073

}} The beam was 28 feet and depth of hold was 6.5 feet.

Regulator’s size was 434.18 gross and 334.88 net tons.{{Citation

| title = Chronicle Short Stops ... The following named vessels ..

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-08-12/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 2

| issue = 49

| date = Aug 12, 1891

| page =3 col. 4

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} The official merchant vessels registry number was 110935. Regulator had a cargo-carrying capacity of 240 tons. The maximum speed was 17 miles per hour. The pilot house was originally decorated with a pair of antlers donated by a merchant of The Dalles.{{Citation

| title = Local and Personal ... Mr. N. Harris, of Harris & Co., of this city ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2003260222/1891-08-28/ed-1/seq-4/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 1

| issue = 37

| date = Aug 29, 1891

| page =4 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

Operations

Regulator was intended to compete with, or "regulate" as was then the term, the perceived monopoly on riverine and railroad transport held in region of The Dalles by the Union Pacific Railway. When Regulator was still under construction, a local newspaper strongly endorsed patronage of the Regulator and recommended boycotts of any merchant who might continue to use the Union Pacific.{{Citation

| title = Ship by the Regulator

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-07-15/ed-1/seq-2/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 25

| date = Jul 15, 1891

| page =2 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

{{blockquote|

Not a pound of merchandise to or from Portland should be shipped by the Union Pacific road or boat. The freight rates will be dollars and dollars per ton less by the new line than by the railroad as at present operated, but the U. P. will undoubtedly meet the reduced rates and no doubt in many instances will give shippers better terms than the Regulator folks can.

But such terms should not be accepted. To a man our merchants should stand by the home company. No person who desires to live and do business in The Dalles can afford not to ship by the river. If a merchant continues to patronize the railroad after the home line is in operation, the fact should be made known and the patronage of the entire public be withdrawn from him until he comes into line and does his share toward building up the business of The Dalles.}}

=Trial trip=

The trial trip of the Regulator was run on September 10, 1891, with the boat departing from The Dalles at 9:34 a.m., proceeding downstream towards the Cascades, which it reached at 12:04, with landings en route at White Salmon, Stanley Point, Hood River, and Chenowith.{{Citation

| title = An Open River

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn93051669/1891-09-12/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Times-Mountaineer

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 32/10

| issue = 5

| date = Sep 12, 1891

| page =3 col. 4

| publisher = John Mitchell

}} The steamer travelled 18.5 miles in the first hour of the trip, while going into a 20-mile per hour head wind.{{Citation

| title = The Regulator All Right — The Trial Trip a Complete Success — Turned over to the Stockholders

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-09-11/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| date = Sep 11, 1891

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

A newspaper reporter opined that "it is perfectly safe to say she is god for 20 miles down stream anytime." Regulator covered the 45-mile distance between The Dalles and Cascade Locks in 2 hours and 26 minutes. Along the way people at residences and settlements came out to wave handkerchiefs as a salute to the steamer.

On board were sixty invited guests, mostly stockholders of the company and their wives, as well as the builder, Louis Pacquet, of Portland, Oregon. The company could not find enough waiters to hire for the occasion, so the first passengers were informed to bring a picnic basket dinner, and the company would provide coffee and tea free of charge.{{Citation

| title = Local Brevities ... We are requested to give notice to all who attend ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-09-09/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 2

| issue = 73

| date = Sep 9, 1891

| page =3 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} Regulator departed the Cascades at 1:24 p.m. and arrived back at The Dalles at the dock at the foot of Court Street at 4:50 p.m. On the morning of the next day, September 11, 1891, the directs of The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company held a meeting at the office of contractor Hugh Glenn, and formally accepted the vessel from the builders, Pacquet & Smith.

=Early competition with Union Pacific=

File:Steamboat Regulator ad 1891.jpg

As of September 19, 1891, Regulator was running for the Dalles, Portland, and Astoria Navigation Company on a route from the foot of Court Street at The Dalles for Cascade Locks, Oregon every morning at 7:00 a.m., and stopping at way points en route.{{Citation

| title = The Dalles, Portland and Astoria Navigation Company's Elegant Steamer Regulator ...

| type = advertisement

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1891-09-19/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 2

| issue = 81

| date = Sep 19, 1891

| page =3

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} S.L. Brooks was the steamer’s agent in The Dalles. Frederick H. "Fred" Sherman was the first captain of the Regulator.

The principal competitor of the Dalles, Portland and Astoria line was the Union Pacific Railroad, which, in addition to its rail line along the river, owned and operated steamboats on the Columbia River.{{Citation

| title = Reduction of Rates

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063952/1891-10-22/ed-1/seq-2/

| newspaper = Evening Capital Journal

| location = Salem, OR

| volume = 4

| issue = 195

| type = Dateline: Portland, Oregon

| date = Oct 22, 1891

| page =2 col. 4

| editor = Hofer Bros.

| publisher = Capital Journal Pub. Co.

}}

On October 21, 1891, Regulator was charging $1 per person for passenger fares from The Dalles to Portland. Union Pacific was charging $3.85 for passage on its steamers and trains up until then, but then dropped its rates precipitously to 50 cents, on the steamers only There were no cuts in the freight rates

Union Pacific also owned the portage railway around the Cascades Rapids, but the rates the railway could charge on the portage railway were sharply restricted by law. The D.P.&A.N., owners of the Regulator, were not expected to meet the reduced rates of the Union Pacific, due to having the pledges of numerous merchants of The Dalles to place their patronage with Regulator, no matter how low the UP rates might go.

Wrecked at Cascades

File:Steamer Regulator wrecked at Cascades 1898.jpg, July 12, 1898.]]

At about noon on July 12, 1898, Regulator was wrecked just downstream from the locks at the Cascades Rapids.{{Citation

| title = Wrecked at Cascades — Steamer Regulator Blown onto Rocks and Sunk

| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-1236F99D85B165C0%25402414484-1231FD05F04289B8%25405-125913E2089B0A70%2540Wrecked%2520At%2520Cascades%2520Steamer%2520Regulator%2520Blown%2520Onto%2520Rocks%2520and%2520Sunk.%2520Passengers%2520And%2520Freight%2520Saved%2520Beat&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0

| newspaper = Morning Oregonian

| location = Portland, OR

| date = Jul 13, 1898

| page =6

}} The wreck occurred when the Sarah Dixon at reached the locks, and was waiting for Regulator to enter, as the two vessels usually locked together. Regulator attempted to enter the lower lock, but could not do so because of the high winds.

Regulator backed down river to make another try, but in doing so, the boat was caught by a gust of wind and blown into the rapids on the south side of the river. The boat hit a rock, which punch a hole in the hull. Eventually the steamer was sunk up to the level of the stateroom windows. On board at the time were 160 passengers and a large amount of freight, including some teams of horses. The passengers and some of the freight were landed on the Oregon shore.

Salvage of Regulator required removal of its machinery, which had begun by July 19, 1898.{{Citation

| title = Wayside Gleanings ...The work of removing the machinery from the Steamer Regulator ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1898-07-19/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 11

| issue = 107

| date = Jul 19, 1898

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} Regulator was still stranded on August 6, 1898.{{Citation

| title = Items in Brief ... A novel plan has been adopted for adding buoyancy to the stranded steamer Regulator ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn93051669/1898-08-06/ed-1/seq-4/

| newspaper = The Dalles Times-Mountaineer

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 35/13

| issue = 37

| date = Aug 6, 1898

| page =4 col. 3

| publisher = J. Douthit

}} Reportedly the company had secured 50 empty oil drums, with the plan of shoving them into the sunken hull, displacing the water inside, and floating the steamer so it could be taken downriver to Portland for repair. However, work was still being done on the boat at the locks on September 1, when the DP&AN’s general agent, W.C. Allaway, went to the site to superintend the work.{{Citation

| title = Personal Mention ... Mr. Allaway, of the D.P.& A.N. Co. went to the Locks today ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1898-09-01/ed-1/seq-4/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 11

| issue = 146

| date = Sep 1, 1898

| page =4 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}}

On September 2, 1898, the Sarah Dixon was able to tow Regulator into the Cascade Locks, where, on the next day, the boat was laying as if in a drydock.{{Citation

| title = Wayside Gleanings ... Grave fears for the safety of the steamer Regulator ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1898-09-02/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 11

| issue = 147

| date = Sep 2, 1898

| page =3 col. 2

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} Temporary boat ways had been built under the steam as it lay alongside the shore.{{Citation

| title = According to the expectation of all concerned the Steamer Regulator was successfully launched ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2003260222/1898-09-03/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Weekly Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 8

| issue = 44

| date = Sep 3, 1898

| page = Part 2, p.3, col.4

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

| no-pp = yes}}

However, when launching the vessel, a piece of one of the temporary ship ways broke loose and punctured the hull, so that it flooded again once it entered the water, leaving the boat laying over on its side. Refloating it again was thought to take another 150 barrels.

It was thought that the hull might have to be replaced but the cabin structure was still in good condition and could be reused. The plan in early September was to place 200 empty oil drums into the hold, and thereby float the vessel either to The Dalles or Portland for more through repair.

Reconstruction

Eventually Regulator was returned to The Dalles, where it was rebuilt with a larger and heavier hull.{{Cite book | editor1-last = Newell | editor1-first = Gordon R. | title = H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest | publisher = Superior Pub. Co | date = 1966 | location = Seattle, WA |pages=5, 48, 116, 125, 606 | lccn =66025424 }} Originally the hull had been 152 feet long, and the gross tonnage was 434. After reconstruction, the hull was 157 feet long, and the gross tonnage was 508.

By February 1899 the reconstructed boat was ready for inspection by U.S. government steamboat inspectors from Portland.{{Citation

| title = Wayside Gleanings ... Inspectors Edwards and Fuller inspected the steamer Regulator ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042448/1899-02-03/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = The Dalles Daily Chronicle

| location = The Dalles

| volume = 11

| issue = 257

| date = Feb 3, 1899

| page =3 col. 1

| publisher = The Chronicle Pub. Co.

}} On the evening of Saturday, February 18, 1899, under 90 pounds steam pressure in the boiler, Regulator was taken on a trial run from The Dalles to Lyle, Oregon.{{Citation

| title = Saturday evening the D.P.&A.N. Co's. steamer Regulator was given a trial trip ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn93051669/1899-02-25/ed-1/seq-4/

| newspaper = The Dalles Times-Mountaineer

| location = The Dalles, OR

| volume = 35/13

| issue = 7

| date = Feb 25, 1899

| page =4 col. 2

| publisher = J. Douthit

}} The trial was satisfactory, and the steamer was ready to be placed into service as soon as painting and some minor improvements could be completed. As of March 3, 1899, Regulator was returned to regular service on runs between The Dalles and Portland.{{Citation

| title = The steamers Regulator and Dalles City ...

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1899-03-03/ed-1/seq-3/

| newspaper = Hood River Glacier

| location = Hood River, OR

| volume = 10

| issue = 41

| date = Mar 3, 1899

| page =3 col. 3

| publisher = S.F. Blythe

}}

Rescue of Dalles City

On January 10, 1905, the stern-wheel steamer Dalles City struck a rock near Stevenson, Washington. With a large hole in the hull, Dalles City was beached. Regulator took off 70 passengers from Dalles City and carried them on to their destination.

Destruction by fire

File:Steamer Regulator burned on ways 1906.jpg

On January 24, 1906, Regulator was on the ways of the St. Johns Shipbuilding Company, in St. Johns, Oregon, having been hauled out about two weeks before for annual maintenance work in preparation for going on the steamer’s usual summer run between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon.{{Citation

| title = Burned to Death in Oil Explosion

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1906-01-25/ed-1/seq-10/

| newspaper = Morning Oregonian

| location = Portland, OR

| volume = 45

| issue = 14,082

| date = Jan 25, 1906

| page =10 col. 1

}} At 1:20 p.m. there was an explosion, followed by a fire, which killed two crewman, injured a number more, and destroyed the vessel. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but appeared to originate with an oil tank on which the two men who were killed, engineer De Monte W. Wade and fireman Merrill B. Stayton, were working.

Wade and Stayton were in the process of connecting the right and left oil tanks, in preparation for which they had drilled holes in both tanks. Suddenly a huge explosion occurred in the forward part of the steamer, and the vessel took fire. Eighteen ship carpenters and labors were at work on the vessel at the time, as well as five dockhands under the supervision of Capt. E.C. Alden.

Chief Engineer F.F. Smith was also on board. All had to leap from the vessel on to the mud flat below the repair ways, and run for safety. One carpenter, Daniel Reid, had been standing near the exploding oil tank, and he was splattered with burning oil. Severely burned about the head, Reid was taken to Good Samitarian Hospital, where his prospects for recovery were reported to have been good.

Engineer Smith saved the life of a watchman, who had been asleep in a cabin on the upper deck, by breaking down the jammed door with a timber.

The explosion was so severe that the charred body of fireman Stayton was blown through the hull. According to one witness, a carpenter who had been just about to board the vessel when the explosion occurred:{{Blockquote|The inside of the steamer appeared to be a roaring furnace, and then at once the flames began to break out along the entire upper works}}

There were about six barrels of fuel oil in the forward oil tanks, which held a total of about 78 gallons.

The St. Johns fire company fought the fire until the city fireboat, the George H. Williams arrived, which, under Captain Whitcomb, took 28 minutes to proceed downriver to the fire scene from the time it received the alarm.

Wade was 27 years old and the sole support of his widowed mother. He was a member of the fraternal benefit society Woodmen of the World. Stayton had come from a family of steamboat men. His father built the sternwheeler Nestor and his brother was a steamboat captain.

=Salvage of components=

The engine and machinery from Regulator were installed in a new steamer, the Weown, launched in 1907.{{Citation

| title = Picnic to Fete Epic of River

| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-12ACA6FD4D4F6F0C%25402431630-12AA007FB2586DCC%254011-12AD5B3914497E1C%2540&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0

| newspaper = Morning Oregonian

| location = Portland, OR

| volume = 85

| issue = 26,417

| date = Jun 23, 1945

| page =12 col. 6

}}

Notes

{{Reflist|30em}}

References

=Printed books=

  • {{cite book | author1-last = Marshall | author1-first = Don | title = Oregon Shipwrecks | isbn = 0-8323-0430-1

| lccn = 84071477 | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Binford and Mort Publishing | date = 1984}}

  • {{Cite book | editor1-last = Newell | editor1-first = Gordon R. | title = H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest | publisher = Superior Pub. Co | date = 1966 | location = Seattle, WA | lccn =66025424 }}
  • {{cite book | author1-last = Timmen | author1-first = Fritz

| title = Blow for the Landing -- A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West | isbn = 0-87004-221-1 | lccn = 73150815 | location = Caldwell, ID | publisher = Caxton Printers | date = 1973}}

=On-line sources=

{{commons category|Regulator (sternwheeler)}}

  • {{cite web

| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu

| title = Historic Oregon Newspapers

| publisher = University of Oregon

}}