SS Train Ferry No. 1

TSS Train Ferry No. 1 was a freight vessel built for the British Army War Office in 1917.[1]

As Princess Iris
History
Name:
  • 1917-1940: TSS Train Ferry No. 1
  • 1940-1942: TSS Iris
  • 1942-1946: TSS Princess Iris
  • 1946-1956: TSS Essex Ferry
  • 1956-1957: TSS Essex Ferry II
Operator:
Port of registry:
Builder: Armstrong, Whitworth & Company Ltd, Low Walker
Yard number: 921
Launched: 3 August 1917
Out of service: 26 February 1957
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Tonnage: 2,683 gross register tons (GRT)
Length: 350.6 feet (106.9 m)
Beam: 58.7 feet (17.9 m)
Depth: 15.5 feet (4.7 m)

History

The ship was built by Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Low Walker Yard and launched in 1917. Along with her sister ships SS Train Ferry No. 2 and SS Train Ferry No. 3, they were the first vessels to offer regular transport between Britain and continental Europe for rail freight vehicles. They were ordered by the British Army to provide rail freight transport from the military Port Richborough to the continent to sustain the war effort. They had four sets of rails along the train deck and used a link span to load when in harbour.

After their use by the British Army ended in 1922, they were purchased by the Great Eastern Railway and moved to Harwich where the landing stage was re-erected[lower-roman 1] to provide a service to Zeebrugge in conjunction with the Belgian Government through a joint company, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company. The Great Eastern Railway was taken over by the London and North Eastern Railway company in 1923 with its interest in the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company. The new service was inaugurated on 24 April 1924 by the Duke of Kent.[2]

On 13 December 1924 she collided with two lighters in the river near Antwerp but the incident was without loss of life.[3]

In 1934, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company was liquidated and she was bought by the London and North Eastern Railway.

In 1940 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and renamed Iris. She assisted with the evacuation of the Channel Islands. In 1941 she was converted to a Landing Craft Carrier, and the twin funnels were incorporated into a single stack. In 1942 she was renamed again to Princess Iris.

In 1946 she returned to the London and North Eastern Railway and renamed Essex Ferry. She was in service with British Railways from 1948 until 1956 when she was withdrawn from service, renamed Essex Ferry II and then scrapped in 1957.

References
  1. The original Port Richborough portal frame is still in service, 2019
  1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
  2. "LNER Train Ferry". Hull Daily Mail. Kingston-upon-Hull. 25 April 1924. Retrieved 4 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Harwich Train Ferry No. 1". Chelmsford Chronicle. Chelmsford. 19 December 1924. Retrieved 4 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Bibliography
  • Anderson, Richard M. (1990). "Re: Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Atherton, D. (1990). "Re: Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 108–110. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Dittmar, Fred (1990). "Re: Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Heine, Paul J. (1990). "Re: Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107–108. ISSN 0043-0374.
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