Brockville Ontario waterfront scene 1897

Dana Ashdown, Railway Steamships of Ontario, Boston Mills Press 1988

The William Armstrong of Ogdensburg is on the left. Built in 1876, The William Armstrong shuttled trains across the St. Lawrence River from  Brockville to Morristown, NY. Eight years before this picture was taken, the car ferry sunk off Morrisburg when some train cars were loaded incorrectly. Below, shown after the ferry had been raised. It was repaired and put back into service.

  In 1904 while pulling away from Ogdensburg, two cars came loose, causing the boat to sink again. 

http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/62341/data

Once again the ferry was raised but this time the ferry was  converted to a drill barge for a company in Trenton and scrapped in 1938.

 Back to the first image, both boats belonged to the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company. I went looking online for some better views of the steamboats.

 Above, Bohemian shooting the rapids, below Corsican docked in Toronto. The Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company was formed in 1845 by Quebec businessmen for service in the Richelieu river to Lake Champlain but soon expanded to the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario route. The company was absorbed into Canada Steamship Lines in 1913.