The BX sternwheeler was the first of two river steamers built for service on the upper Fraser River by the BC Express Company during the busy era of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway construction. The BX was built at Soda Creek in early 1910 by Alexander Watson Jr, of Victoria, who was one of British Columbia's foremost shipbuilders and the son of the man who had built the Charlotte. The BC Express Company also hired Captain Owen Forrester Browne to be the master of the BX as he was the most experienced upper Fraser River pilot.
Construction
Captain Browne worked with Alexander Watson throughout the design and construction phases of the BX. Watson purchased the BX's boiler, engines and other equipment from the Chicago Marine Ironworks Company, who were informed that the BX's construction site at Soda Creek was away from the railway at Ashcroft and therefore the equipment would have to be hauled by horse drawn freighters for that distance. Chicago Marine decided to build the boiler in sections, the heaviest piece was less than , so it was easily transported to the construction site. They also supplied two compound condensing engines for the BX which would use half the fuel of a single engine of similar power. These engines gave the BX an enormous advantage over the other sternwheelers that were on the river at this time, as it cut down on both the labor needed to load the wood and the cargo space required to carry it.It was later estimated that these engines saved the BX a sum equal to the amount of her construction, $54,531.33.
For the hull, Watson turned to local man, William Lyne, who was a portable sawmill operator.Lyne was instructed to find a good stand of fir and cut the necessary timbers and planks. Intending to build a steamer with the lightest draught possible, Watson built the rest of the BX out of first grade cedar, shipped up from Victoria. Construction began in February when Watson arrived with a crew of fifty carpenters, joiners and labourers and work was begun on the hull.
At the end of March, a near catastrophe occurred. The ice on the Fraser suddenly broke up and piled up at Soda Creek Canyon, a quarter mile from the BX's construction site. The river overflowed its banks and chunks of ice were deposited all over the site. The rushing water knocked the BX off its blocks and swept many of the tools and supplies out of the warehouse and down into the river. Luckily the workers had heard the ice breaking up in the canyon and had been able to scramble to higher ground and safety. When the floodwaters receded, Watson was able to inspect the BX and found that the only damage done was some twisted and broken timbers that were quickly replaced. The company swiftly shipped up the replacement tools and supplies from Ashcroft and work resumed once more.
When the BX was completed, she had three decks, with stateroom accommodation for 70 passengers and could also carry another 60 deck passengers. The staterooms featured steam heat, hot and cold running water, fine quality bedding and attractive wall and floor coverings. Her dining room could seat 50 and was lavishly furnished, right down to the plates, which were specially ordered from England and monogrammed in the BX Company's colors: red, yellow and white. Off the ladies cabin above the covered paddlewheel a bridal chamber was built, which contained, among other luxuries, a double brass bed and a silk eiderdown worth $150. Many dignitaries, including Premier Richard McBride would travel in the comfort of this sumptuous suite.
Maiden voyage
The BX was launched at Soda Creek on Friday May 13, 1910, without ceremony. Many people of a superstitious bent, especially the shipyard workers, criticized Watson and Browne for choosing to launch a ship on a Friday the 13th. The BC Express Company mollified the workers by explaining that it was the company's lucky day.
Watson and Browne were pleased with how the BX sat in the water, her draught was only at the bow and at her deepest part. Even fully loaded, with a hundred tons of freight, she only sat 30 inches into the water.