The Clyde ferries

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Postby Mori » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:55 am

Herald

600 years of river ferries under threat as costs soar

Since King Robert III gave the royal nod over 600 years ago, they have been taking people to either bank.

But now the last operational ferries on the upper reaches of the Clyde are in jeopardy, their futures thrown into doubt by high maintenance costs, increasing need for public subsidies and environmental impact.

The Renfrew to Yoker ferries, which have survived the death of the shipyards, the construction of the Clyde Tunnel and Kingston Bridge and the decommissioning of other services at Govan, Partick, Whiteinch, Finnieston and Erskine, will now be the subject of a detailed study to determine their viability.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby HollowHorn » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:35 pm

I imagine that a ferry here would have to be fairly low to keep the costs down, it would therefor surely have to have either a swing or lift facility to allow vessels to progress to the upper reaches of the Clyde?
Should not a large part of a riverside regeneration project be directed at the river itself? There has been plenty of talk of river taxis, multi stop ferries & the like, but the the present method of addressing the river is to view it as a barrier to progress and throw yet another bridge across it. It does make me smile whenever I see the river teeming with all sorts of craft in those artists impression drawings produced for the developers. Thank god for the seaplane, long may she run.

The Lampits Ferry around 1910
Crossing the Clyde between the villages of Pettinain and Carnwath in Lanarkshire, the ferry worked from the mid 1820's till about 1914. She was chain driven via a wheel on the shore & was capable of ferrying passengers, horse & carts, sheep & cattle:
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Further modern works saw the end of an ancient form of transport on a local stretch of the Clyde.
The Lanarkshire County Council offered for sale the old Lampits ferry at Carstairs, now made redundant by the building of a new bridge over the river. The council emphasised that the old vessel was in good nick and would go to the buyer who had the best public use for it and not necessarily the highest bidder, something which, under current 'Best Value' regulations, would be entirely illegal!
Carluke Gazette


A wonderful account of the various methods of crossing the Clyde in Lanarkshire, beware though, its some 48 pages long:
Ferries, Floats, Fords & Bridges
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby Sharon » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:59 pm

Love the picture. It always amazes me when I see animals on ferries like that, or on boats. Were they more docile in the days of B&W as I would have thought keeping them on deck would have been a nightmare. Though I suppose attaching a cart might help keep kepp the horses feet on board.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby My Kitten » Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:36 pm

Anyone fancy a wee shot on the ferry? I've always fancied it (have a wee trip round Renfrew too?)
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby AlanM » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:43 pm

Sounds good, count me in

usual stuff about date/time suiting etc.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby Dugald » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:45 pm

Lots of interesting stuff about Clyde ferries here, and I must say I enjoyed them all ( except for the 48 pages of the "Ferries, Floats, Fords & Bridges"... that's a wee bit too busy!). In all that I read I'm surprised I didn't come across any mention of the Clyde tunnel. Yes, I know, the theme is "Clyde ferries", but the tunnel served the same purpose as the ferries: crossing the Clyde without using a bridge. I think I did use all of the Clyde Navigation Trust ferries at one time or another, but I never did get across by means of the tunnel; went there once just to use but it was closed.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby HollowHorn » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:27 pm

Hahaha, Dugald, I'm sure there are enough tunnel threads on here to satisfy even the most ferocious burrower :wink:
I have travelled extensively on the Erskine & old & new Renfrew / Yoker Ferries, I never did manage a trip on any of the other Ferries. I have though driven & walked through the Clyde Tunnel & walked through the one at Finnieston.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby Dugald » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:03 am

"Hahaha, Dugald, I'm sure there are enough tunnel threads on here to satisfy even the most ferocious burrower
I have travelled extensively on the Erskine & old & new Renfrew / Yoker Ferries, I never did manage a trip on any of the other Ferries. I have though driven & walked through the Clyde Tunnel & walked through the one at Finnieston
."

HH, I did search to see if anything had been written about the Finnieston tunnel before i posted and there was nothing about the tunnel; however, I now see that i had only searched this thread. If I'd searched all threads I'd have found, as you suggest, enough to satisfy even the most ferocious burrower ... 136 entries to be exact (a wee bit too many to read through). Anyway, I see you have crossed by the Finniesten tunnel... it's so old I'm sure it must have been leaking when you used it. I have driven and cycled through the Linthouse tunnel quite a few times, but never have i walked through it. I'm not sure if I'd want to walk through it! By the way, I still have the ticket for Erskine Ferry from the last time I used this ferry.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby glasgowken » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:37 am

My Kitten wrote:Anyone fancy a wee shot on the ferry? I've always fancied it (have a wee trip round Renfrew too?)


Have you never been on it kitten ? I must admit until last year, I hadn't used it for a good few years :oops:
A few pics from 2006.

(EDIT: I sized these to 750 pix wide, but on my screen there's still a bit chopped off the right side :( )

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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby HollowHorn » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:43 am

Dugald wrote:"HH, I did search to see if anything had been written about the Finnieston tunnel before i posted and there was nothing about the tunnel; however, I now see that i had only searched this thread. If I'd searched all threads I'd have found, as you suggest, enough to satisfy even the most ferocious burrower ... 136 entries to be exact (a wee bit too many to read through).

I was only jesting Dugald, you obviously got my point though ::):

Dugald wrote:Anyway, I see you have crossed by the Finniesten tunnel... it's so old I'm sure it must have been leaking when you used it.

Not so much leaking as oozing moisture, it was very damp, wooden floor, steel walls? And a great big pipe running along the right hand side (on the way to Finnieston) I think we came back by subway from Hillhead.

Dugald wrote: I have driven and cycled through the Linthouse tunnel quite a few times, but never have i walked through it. I'm not sure if I'd want to walk through it!

Interesting that you should call it the 'Linthouse' tunnel, most of us know it as the 'Clyde' tunnel :)

Dugald wrote: By the way, I still have the ticket for Erskine Ferry from the last time I used this ferry.

Please scan & post it, t'would make a nice addition to this thread, not to mention Glasgow Ken's transport fetishes :P
Last edited by HollowHorn on Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby glasgowken » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:46 am

That it would :P
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby My Kitten » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:14 am

glasgowken wrote:
My Kitten wrote:Anyone fancy a wee shot on the ferry? I've always fancied it (have a wee trip round Renfrew too?)


Have you never been on it kitten ? I must admit until last year, I hadn't used it for a good few years :oops:
A few pics from 2006.

(EDIT: I sized these to 750 pix wide, but on my screen there's still a bit chopped off the right side :( )


Never been on it in my life, I'm from the countryside :wink:

p.s. your pics are fine ya whinger :wink:
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby glasgowken » Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:45 am

I think you will love it, all those views for a quid :)
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby My Kitten » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:10 am

glasgowken wrote:I think you will love it, all those views for a quid :)


Is that a hot date for my diary then?
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Re: The Clyde ferries

Postby Dugald » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:28 pm

Dugald wrote:
By the way, I still have the ticket for Erskine Ferry from the last time I used this ferry.

HH wrote:
"Please scan & post it, t'would make a nice addition to this thread, not to mention Glasgow Ken's transport fetishes"

I would if I could HH, but I can't, since I don't have a scanner.

Glasgowken, I enjoyed your pictures of the Renfrew Ferry, but let me tell you, I'd never have guessed they were of the Renfrew Ferry. What, with its size, and the white-washed house on the north side, I'd have guessed it was a ferry somewhere up in the Highlands. The Renfrew Ferry with which I was familiar looked just like the old Erskine Ferry.
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