Alki–Manchester ferry

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Alki–Manchester ferry

Crosline.jpg

Motor ferry Crosline in Canadian service.
Waterway Puget Sound
Route Alki Point – Manchester, WA
Began operation 1925
Ended operation 1936
Travel time 25 minutes

The Alki–Manchester ferry was a ferry route in Washington State that from 1925 to 1936 ran between Alki Point and Manchester, Washington, across Puget Sound.

Manchester, Washington CDP in Washington, United States

Manchester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,413 at the 2010 census.

Puget Sound sound along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington

Puget Sound is a sound along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and two minor connections to the open Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Juan de Fuca—Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and Deception Pass and Swinomish Channel being the minor.

Contents

History

Ferry service on the Alki Beach–Manchester route was inaugurated on April 12, 1925, by Crosby Direct Line Ferry Co.. [1] [2] The Crosby Line intended to mount a challenge to the then dominant ferry companies on Puget Sound, which were the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSN) and Kitsap County Transportation Co. (KCTC). The Crosby line procured a ferry route certificate from the state of Washington, built a dock at each terminus, and placed the new wooden-hulled double-ended motor ferry Crosline (151 ft (46.02 m) long, 466 tons) on the route. [1]

Puget Sound Navigation Company

The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Charles E. Peabody in 1898. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia. Known colloquially as the Black Ball Line, the PSNC achieved a "virtual monopoly" on cross-sound traffic in the 1930s and competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway's steamships on several routes.

MV <i>Crosline</i>

The MV Crosline was a wooden, diesel ship launched in Seattle on June 22, 1925 for the Crosby Direct Line Ferry Company. It could carry 300 passengers and 65 cars.

A rate war ensued between the Crosby Line on one side, and PSN and KCTC on the other. The Alki–Manchester route was the shortest distance across the Sound, and this gave a competitive advantage to the Crosby Line, which forced sharp cuts in the rates of PSN and KCTC. [1]

Price war is "commercial competition characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors". One competitor will lower its price, then others will lower their prices to match. If one of them reduces their price again, a new round of reductions starts. In the short term, price wars are good for buyers, who can take advantage of lower prices. Often they are not good for the companies involved because the lower prices reduce profit margins and can threaten their survival.

Termination of service

The rate war ended in early 1926, when PSN bought the Crosby line. PSN continued the route until 1935 when the Alki dock washed out. Service on the route to Manchester was then shifted to Colman Dock as the Seattle starting point of the route. [1]

Colman Dock

Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is an important ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferry system, is still called "Colman Dock".

In May 1934, during the strike of the Ferryboatmen's union, the Alki–Manchester route was one of only three that maintained a regular schedule. [1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kline and Bayless, Ferryboats-A Legend on Puget Sound, at pages 134, 135, 211, and 374.
  2. ↑ Demoro, Evergreen Fleet, at page 126 and 129.

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References

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