Torpoint Ferry

Last updated

Torpoint Ferry
TorpointFerryNew.jpg
Waterway Hamoaze
Transit type Passenger and automobile ferry
Owner
  • Plymouth City Council
  • Cornwall Council
OperatorTamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee
Began operation1790
No. of vessels3
No. of terminals2
Website http://www.tamarcrossings.org.uk/

The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.

Contents

Current operations

The route is currently served by three ferries, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow and named after three rivers in the area: Tamar II, Lynher II and Plym II. Each ferry carries 73 cars and operates using its own set of slipways and parallel chains, with a vehicle weight limit of 18 tonnes (20 tons). The ferry boats are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on the chains; the chains then sink to the bottom to allow shipping movements in the river. An intensive service is provided, with service frequencies ranging from every 10 minutes (three ferries in service) at peak times, to half-hourly (one ferry in service) at night. Services operate 24 hours a day, every day (including throughout Christmas and all other holiday periods), with service frequency never falling below half-hourly.

The ferries, along with the nearby Tamar Bridge, are operated by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, which is jointly owned by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council.

Tolls are payable in the Torpoint to Devonport eastbound direction only, except for motorcyclists, who pay westbound only. The toll is £2.60 for cars and motorcycle riders are charged 40p; there is no additional charge for a pillion passenger. Frequent users can reduce the fare by half by purchasing top-ups online for a machine-readable windscreen-mounted digital payment tag, called TamarTag, which is also usable on the bridge. The toll increase of 50% in March 2010 was the first rise for nearly 15 years before a further increase in November 2019.

The ferry takes around 10 minutes as opposed to a 20-mile, 30-minute trip around the mainland; rush hour times differ.

Technical information

The fully loaded weight of each ferry is given as 1000 tonnes, powered by up to three 12-litre diesel engines with generators feeding the two electric motors each driving its chainwheel of nearly 2 m diameter. Normally one generator suffices; the extra two provide redundancy and extra power in bad weather or for extra speed. Each chain is 650 m long and weighs 23 t. There are eight guiding pulleys per chain and rubbing plates where the chains enter and leave the hull. The chains are replaced every three years. [1]

Unlike most chain ferries with the chain ends attached directly to the shores, the chains of the Torpoint ferries are attached with a system of falling weights and pulleys on each shore and for each ferry. This keeps a minimum tension of 3 tonnes force on each chain, but also a maximum tension of this amount, plus some friction, as long as the weights are free to fall and rise in their pits. [2]

History

A ferry route between Torpoint and Plymouth Dock (now called Devonport) was created by an Act of Parliament in 1790 and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe began to run ferries the following year. In 1826 the ferry operations were taken over by the Torpoint Steamboat Company, which built landing piers on both sides of the Tamar. The company also built the steam ferry Jemima which entered service in 1831. The steamer was unable to hold a course in the strong tidal flow of the Hamoaze, so it was soon withdrawn and the older ferryboats returned to service. [3]

The steamboat company approached James Meadows Rendel in 1832 and asked him to design a steam-powered floating bridge for the route. Two ferries were built in 1834 and 1835 and provided a continuous service, operating in alternate months. The tolls varied between 2d for a horse and 5s for a coach with four horses, with a double fare charged on Sundays. [3]

The original ferries were replaced by two new ferries built in 1871 and 1878. As a result of increasing traffic, the ferry company investigated twin ferry operations in 1905. Both the Admiralty and Devonport Corporation opposed this as the company would need to expand the landing beach in Devonport. An experimental two ferry service with the existing shore installations had to be abandoned due to the strain on the equipment. A supplementary steamer service was also introduced in 1902, with the Volta and Lady Beatrice linking Torpoint to two locations in Devonport on a triangular route. [3]

Former ferry Lynher in 2005 TorpointFerryLynher.jpg
Former ferry Lynher in 2005

Cornwall County Council acquired both the ferry and the steamers in 1922 for £42,000. The Volta was immediately sold for breaking and two new ferries were ordered, which entered service in 1925 and 1926. These were the first ferries on the route designed to carry motor vehicles and could carry 800 passengers and 16 cars. Land was acquired on both sides of the rivers to lay a second set of chains and expand the landing beaches. A third, reserve, ferry was ordered and modern shore facilities were also built and twin-ferry operation began in July 1932. These changes made the supplementary steamer redundant and the Lady Beatrice was sold. [3]

In July 1923 it was reported that an Asian elephant, named Julia, a part of the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie, had swum across the river after she had broken loose and "launched herself from the ferry". She was encouraged to swim by her trainer who finally managed to loop a chain around her neck and she arrived safely at the other side. [4]

Motor traffic using the route increased rapidly after World War II, and two new ferries with a capacity of 30 cars each were introduced by 1961. A third ferry entered service in 1966 and a marshaling area was built on the Torpoint foreshore, relieving congestion in the centre of Torpoint. The landing beaches were expanded further in 1972, allowing all three ferries to operate simultaneously. The three ferries were refitted in the 1980s and were stretched so that they could carry approximately 50 cars. [3] After the refit, they were named the Tamar, Lynher and Plym. These remained in service until 2005 when they were replaced by the current ferries. [5]

All three ferries, Lynher, Plymouth and Tamar, were sold in 2004 for recycling by the company Smedegaarden located at Esbjerg in Denmark. They had the vessels towed across the North Sea and recycled in 2005.

In April 2022, a campaign pressure group known as the Tamar Toll Action Group [6] was formed. Their stated goal is to seek an end to tolls on both Tamar crossings.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamoaze</span> Section of the River Tamar in southwest England

The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the English tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth</span> City and unitary authority in England

Plymouth is a port city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately 36 miles (58 km) southwest of Exeter and 193 miles (311 km) southwest of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Sound</span> Bay

Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamar Bridge</span> Suspension bridge in southwest England

The Tamar Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon in southwest England. It is 335 metres (1,099 ft) long, running adjacent the Royal Albert Bridge, and part of the A38, a main road between the two counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehouse, Plymouth</span> Human settlement in England

East Stonehouse was one of three towns that were amalgamated into modern-day Plymouth. West Stonehouse was a village that is within the current Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall. It was destroyed by the French in 1350. The terminology used in this article refers to the settlement of East Stonehouse which is on the Devon side of the mouth of the Tamar estuary, and will be referred to as Stonehouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Tamar</span> River in southwest England

The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Albert Bridge</span> Railway bridge spanning the River Tamar in southwest England

The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two 455-foot (138.7 m) lenticular iron trusses 100 feet (30.5 m) above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives it a total length of 2,187.5 feet (666.8 m). It carries the Cornish Main Line railway in and out of Cornwall. It is adjacent to the Tamar Bridge which opened in 1961 to carry the A38 road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devonport, Plymouth</span> District of Plymouth, Devon

Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one of the "Three Towns" ; these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency. Its elected Member of Parliament (MP) is Luke Pollard, who is a member of the Labour Party. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 14,788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torpoint</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Torpoint is a town and civil parish on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar. Torpoint had a population of 8,457 at the 2001 census, decreasing to 8,364 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards also exist. Their combined populations at the same census were 7,717.

The Rame Peninsula is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. It is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north-west. On a clear day, the Atlantic Ocean can be seen from advantageous points from Rame Head. The largest settlement is Torpoint, which is on the eastern coast, facing Devonport in Plymouth, Devon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Meadows Rendel (engineer)</span> British civil engineer

James Meadows Rendel FRS was a British civil engineer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall Railway</span> Former railway company in southwestern England

The Cornwall Railway was a 7 ft 14 in broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construction, and was eventually forced to sell its line to the dominant Great Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Cornwall</span>

The evolution of transport in Cornwall has been shaped by the county's strong maritime, mining and industrial traditions and much of the transport infrastructure reflects this heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railways in Plymouth</span> Overview of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England

The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth area, but today just six stations remain in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Plymouth</span> History of the city in Devon, England

The History of Plymouth in Devon, England, extends back to the Bronze Age, when the first settlement began at Mount Batten a peninsula in Plymouth Sound facing onto the English Channel. It continued as both a fishing and continental tin trading port through the late Iron Age into the Early Medieval period, until the more prosperous Saxon settlement of Sutton, later renamed Plymouth, surpassed it. With its natural harbour and open access to the Atlantic, the town found wealth and a national strategic importance during the establishment of British naval dominance in the colonisation of the New World. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers departed from Plymouth to establish the second English colony in America. During the English Civil War the town was besieged between 1642 and 1646 by the Royalists, but after the Restoration a Dockyard was established in the nearby town of Devonport. Throughout the Industrial Revolution Plymouth grew as a major mercantile shipping industry, including imports and passengers from the US, whilst Devonport grew as a naval base and ship construction town, building battleships for the Royal Navy – which later led to its partial destruction during World War II in a series of air-raids known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war was over, the city centre was completely rebuilt to a new plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A374 road</span> Road in England

The A374 is a main road in the United Kingdom, one of six A-roads making the border crossing between Devon and Cornwall. It is the most southerly of the A37x group of roads, starting and ending its journey with the A38 trunk road, from the outskirts of Plymouth in Devon to the Trerulefoot roundabout in Cornwall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltash Ferry</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Saltash Ferry was a ferry across the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon. It was replaced in 1961 by the Tamar Bridge.

MV <i>Western Belle</i>

The MV Western Belle is a twin screw passenger vessel. She is owned by Ullswater 'Steamers', who refitted her and launched her on Ullswater in the autumn of 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cremyll Ferry</span> Ferry route in England

The Cremyll Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the Hamoaze from Admirals Hard in Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devon to Cremyll in Cornwall. It is operated by Plymouth Boat Trips, and runs approximately every 30 minutes, with an 8-minute crossing time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortifications of Plymouth</span>

The fortifications of Plymouth in Devon are extensive due to its natural harbour, its commanding position on the Western Approaches and its role as the United Kingdom's largest naval base. The first medieval defences were built to defend Sutton Harbour on the eastern side of Plymouth Sound at the mouth of the River Plym, but by the 18th century, naval activity had begun to shift westward to Devonport at the mouth of the River Tamar. During the Victorian era, advances in military technology led to a huge programme of fortification encompassing the whole of Plymouth Sound together with the overland approaches. Many of these works remained in military use well into the 20th century.

References

  1. "Tamar Crossings Newsletter December 2022". 9 December 2022.
  2. "Ferry – Update LYNHER Refit May 2020". 15 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kittridge, Alan (2003). Steamers & Ferries of the River Tamar & Three Towns District. ISBN   0-906294-54-1.
  4. "The day an elephant swam up the River Tamar". 5 January 2020.
  5. Hall, Nick (November 2006). "Chained links". Ships Monthly . IPC Country & Leisure Media. pp. 17–21.
  6. Tamar Toll Action Group

50°22′31.20″N04°11′23.42″W / 50.3753333°N 4.1898389°W / 50.3753333; -4.1898389