TF Carrier

TF Carrier was a train ferry introduced by the Edinburgh & Northern Railway, later incorporated into the North British Railway, to cross the River Tay as part of its route between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

History
Name: TF Carrier
Owner:
Route:
  • Tayport-Broughty Ferry
  • Granton-Burntisland
  • Langston-Bembridge
Builder: Scott & Co of Greenock
Launched: 16 November 1858
In service: 1858
Out of service: 1888
Fate: Scrapped 1888
General characteristics
Class and type: Train Ferry
Displacement: 243 GRT
Length: 124 ft (38 m)
Beam: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) between paddles
Propulsion: 2 112HP oscillating cylinder steam engines

History

Scotland

Launched in 1858, the Carrier was the third and smallest vessel in a fleet of six train ferries introduced by Thomas Bouch, the engineer of the ENR/NBR, to carry the company's trains across the Forth and Tay estuaries. Bouch was not only responsible for their design but also that of the linkspans and associated equipment. The ferries carried goods wagons and, occasionally, empty passenger coaches. The passengers themselves crossed by conventional paddle steamers.

Built by Scott & Co of Greenock, Carrier was a 243GRT paddle steamer, 124ft long and 26ft 9ins wide between the paddles. She was powered by two oscillating cylinder steam engines, each developing 112HP. She had two tracks on her deck each capable of handling 7 wagons.

Initially allocated to the Tay crossing she was transferred to the Forth crossing along with her sister ship Robert Napier when Bouch's ill-fated Tay Bridge opened in June 1878. When that structure collapsed on 28 December 1879, Robert Napier returned to the Tay to re-establish the link but Carrier remained at Granton.[1]

Isle of Wight

By 1883 Carrier was surplus to requirements at Granton and was sold to the Isle of Wight Railway Co which wished to establish a ferry service between Langstone station on the LB&SCR's Hayling Island Branch and Bembridge on the island. The service commenced in 1885. The following year it was sold to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. However the Carrier was ill-suited to the exposed waters of the Solent and the service ceased in 1888 and the ship sold for scrap.[2]

References
  1. Ransome-Wallis, P (1968). Train Ferries of Western Europe. Shepperton: Ian Allan.
  2. White, H.P. (1982). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Vol. 2: Southern England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 147. ISBN 0-7153-8365-5.
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