Dover train ferry shunting

[Jim Martin]

The parallel shunting of the Dover train ferry by a pair of locomotives is quite well-known, but I was wondering: did this practice come in with the commissioning of the new linkspan in the late 1980s or had it also been used with the earlier linkspan and smaller ferries? I don't think I've ever seen any film of the old linkspan in use, so I don't know.

 

Jim

[DaveF]

Hi Jim,

 

Attached is a photo of 2 09s shunting by the train ferry at Dover in 1977. Idon't have photos of them on the link span but from memory they did work in tandem, at least when I saw them.

 

 

 

 

Dover 09022 and 09008 train ferry shunters April 77

 

David

[The Stationmaster]

I posted these on the old RMWeb and they are definitely post 1980s (by a bit over a decade!) but they show what happened with shunting in parallel at the ship end of things.

 

BTW I have somewhere seen a picture of an SE&CR Class C shunting the train ferry so I presume there are older pictures about if you can find them.

 

 

[jwealleans]

I think the photo Mike refers to is in Ransome-Wallis, Train Ferries of Western Europe - a highly recommended book which can be picked up very cheaply. There's another photo in there showing aferry heeled over to the maximum (IIRC) 5 degrees of list - looks alarming but apparently wasn't excessively so.

 

The Harwich ferry doesn't seem to have used this parallel shunting approach - I've more than one photo of a single loco on the linkspan with no reach wagons in use. One is a J19 as well, so not lightweights.

 

Did this technique evolve at Dover after they did away with the reach wagons?

[Simon Lee]

Hi,

 

I worked at Dover from 1981, first in the TOPS office which is the Portakabin in David Fords photograph, and then as Area Freight Assistant from 1991 until the ferry closed.

 

Shunting in parallel had always been done, when operations were explained to me it was the usual explanation that "it had always been done this way". I suspect it orignated with the loading of the Night Ferry sleepers,to avoid alarming the occupants by tilting the ship.

 

As Jonathon states a 5 degree list looks alarming but was well within safe working limits. On occasion 5 degrees was exceeded, usually caused by a loco or wagon problem meaning one side came off the ship faster than the other, this set off sirens, flashing lights, and turned the signal lights on the stern of the ship to red, though most impressive was the agitated dancing of the ships bosun,as the pumps sought to return the ship to an even keel. This problem was aleviated somewhat on the "Nord Pas Calais" as she is fitted with high capacity ballast pumps, and the new span was more forgiving in operation.

 

There were several differences in operations between us and Harwich,the one that readliy springs to

mind is that on SNCF/ALA ships the crews secured the wagons to the train deck whereas at Harwich it was done by shoreside staff, this manifested its self when the "Cambridge Ferry" turned up on a relief stint in 1985, the crew went on strike until they secured extra payment for chaining down the wagons.

 

Hope this is of interest.

 

Simon

[ajdown]

Some footage of a pair of 33's simultaneously unloading the ferry in a news report here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNGzUrjOjuo

[The Stationmaster]

Anything which might have happened at Dover to alarm occupants of 'The Night Ferry' was as nothing compared with the crashing, banging and shaking which took place at Dunkerque on my only trip on that fascinating train.

 

Diverting slightly it reminds me too of something which was said during the first week of Eurostar operation when as we approached the Gare Du Nord somebody sitting across the aisle said 'and to think that we got on this train at Waterloo' to which I replied 'yes, the last time I arrived in Paris it was in a train that I got on at Victoria' - that then took some explaining .

[Jim Martin]

Thanks for all the replies. This was something that occurred to me just the other day, while I was looking at a photo of the harbour at Dover with the old linkspan clearly visible and a lone class 09 (I suppose - I'd have said 08 but for the picture being of a Southern Region location) pottering about. To be honest, I hadn't realised that the old linkspan lasted as long as it did. I wonder whether the investment in the new facilities paid for itself, given their relatively short life.

 

Jim

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks for all the replies. This was something that occurred to me just the other day, while I was looking at a photo of the harbour at Dover with the old linkspan clearly visible and a lone class 09 (I suppose - I'd have said 08 but for the picture being of a Southern Region location) pottering about. To be honest, I hadn't realised that the old linkspan lasted as long as it did. I wonder whether the investment in the new facilities paid for itself, given their relatively short life.

 

Jim

 

The investment might well have paid off as I understand it can be used for road vehicles

[Simon Lee]

The investment might well have paid off as I understand it can be used for road vehicles

 

Sadly no, after the link closed in 1995, the berth remained for a couple of years, then the span was removed to make way for a second cruise ship berth. The span its self was dumped behind the Western Docks station and cut up a few years ago.

 

Regards

 

Simon

[Siberian Snooper]

I did the Night Ferry in November '78, but I couldn't see how it was shunted and after a couple of night caps on the boat, I slept through the Dunkirk end of the operation.