CHANNEL TRAIN FERRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1919, Page 6

CHANNEL TRAIN FERRY.

VALUE DURING WAR, | MUCH LABOR SAVED, Among the many engineering feats which have had their sltape in winning the war for the Allies, one o: ths most interesting has been the train ferry service between England and France, eaid a writer in the London Times in November last The scheme was approved by the Cabinet in January, 1917, and lias been in operation only about eight months, but during that time the ferry has carried across the channel 17,686 railway vug£ons of a capacity of 10 tous, or ti'eir equivalent in linear measureinents, and 227,VMi! tons of gross dead weight. Witfi the signing of the armistice the utility ol' the ferry will >n no ./ay be diminished. For some time it v/ili be rejailed to assist in carrying food and material for the army of occupation, and it vill be used to the removal of guns und ■ither material, as well as for transporting locomotives, tractors, etc., to the repair base, whicli is situated near the terminal at RichborougK It is hardly necessary to explain that a train ferry is a substitute ior a bridge or tunnel as a means of connecting two railway systems separated by watsr. The fust essential is that these railway systems should be of tho same gauge, in order chat the vehicles brought over ly the ferry may travel on either system. This essential is a stumbling block -jh the way o.' such a form or communication between England and Ireland. Fort-mately the difficulty did not arise in the case of tha English and French systems. FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES. The principal features of the train ferry are vessels of a special design provided with railway tracks on deck on which the vehicles stand during the voyage; adjustable bridges or aprons at each berth, by means of which the vehicles are run from the shore on board the vessel or vice versa; and.port facilities, railway connections and sidings at each terminal. The operations consist simply of shunting the loaded railway vehicles from the railway sidings at the port of departure across the adjustable bridge on to the rails on the deck of the vessel, which is moored in contact with the bridge, and the reverse process of shunting the vehicles oil at the port of arrival. 'The principal advantage of the system is that any breaking bull; or handling of cargo, such as ordinarily takes place is avoided, just as it would be if a bridge or tunnel were available. TYPE OF VESSEL IN USE. When the cross-Channel ferry was installed, two terminals were selected on the English side and tlirco on the French side—namely, Kichborougii, from which ferry vessels plied to either Calais or Dunkirk, and Southampton, from which they ran to Dieppe. Three vessels, identical in all respects, were provided, the principal dimensions of whicli are:— Length, 363 ft Gin; breadth, 61ft 6in; draught, 10ft; speed, 12 knots. Each vessel is provided with four lines of railway track, 4ft B£in gauge, the ordinary English standard gauge, on a total length sufficient to carry 54 ordinary 10ton waggons, or their equivalent of other stock, and a deekload of 850 tons. They Ore also fitted to carry motor-lorries on their own wheels. The vessels are twinscrew steamers, with a displacement of 3654 tons. In order to provide for differences of level due to the tides and tho movements of the vessel, special means of communication between the vessel and the shore had to be provided at each terminal. These took the form of a bridge hinged at one end, and suspended by a wire rope and counter-bal-ance weights near the outer end. By means of electrical machinery the bridge Is lifted or lowered as required. MILITARY LABOR USED. The construction of the berths, the erection of bridges, and the laying of railway connexions were carried out entirely by military labor on the English side, under the Director of Inland Waterways and Docks, and ou the French side under the Director-General of Transportation. A regular service lias been maintained without any difficulty or hindrance since the ferry was first established, and has proved of the greatest use for transferring such bulky articles as railway waggons, locomotives, tanks, guns, and machinery, as well as the ordinary class of cargoes carried in railway waggons, whicli, when taken over by the ferry, can be forwarded to their destination without tiie delay of unloading the ship and putting the cargo into other waggons. The service is, of course, liable to the interruption of log and bad weather to the same extent as other shipping, but in other respects it has been able to maintain its regularity. ASSISTANCE DURING OFFENSIVE. The service was of special utility in forwarding urgent replacements of guns, tanks, etc., during ths last German offensive, when the rapidity of transit proved invaluable. It would be hardly an exaggeration to say that this alone has more than justified the whole outlay. When to this is added the saving of crane power and, more especially, manpower, the advantages are still more apjxirent. It should also be borne in mind that in accordance with the general procedure weights have only been recorded in dead weight tons, but as the greater part of the cargoes have been of a bulky nature, the shipping space saved, as judged in measurement tons, is probably three or four times greater than is shown by the weight records—a point which every shipping man will understand. Richbnrough, by the way, is the port which lias been constructed entirely for | war purposes on the estuary of the River | Stour. close to Sandwich.