Train ferry

Main article: Merchant ship

A loaded train ferry approaching the dock in Detroit, Michigan, April 1943.

Aerial view of a classification yard and two docking train ferries in Detroit, April 1943. A third ferry slip can be seen at the bottom of the photograph.

A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries were originally referred to as "car ferries" until about the 1950s. The wharf (sometimes called a "slip") has a ramp, linkspan or "apron," balanced by weights, that connects the railway proper to the ship, allowing for the water level to rise and fall with the tides. For an example of a specialized slip to receive railcars see ferry slip.

While railway vehicles can be and are shipped on the decks or in the holds of ordinary ships, purpose-built train ferries are much quicker to load and unload, especially as several vehicles can be loaded or unloaded at once. A train ferry that is a barge is called a car float.

History

In 1833 the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway operated a wagon ferry on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland. In April 1836 the first railroad car ferry in the U.S., the Susquehanna entered service on the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland. The first 'modern' design of ferry, the Leviathan, was designed in 1849 by Thomas Grainger for the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway, Scotland, to cross the firth of Forth between Granton and Burntisland. It was intended as a temporary measure until the railway could build a bridge, but this was not opened until 1890, its construction delayed in part by repercussions from the catastrophic failure of Thomas Bouch's Tay Rail Bridge; Bouch designed the ferry loading mechanism.

Hazards

A Japanese train ferry Toya Maru sank by strong typhoon Marie on September 26, 1954. The exact number of casualties is unknown however it is said that 1,153 people were killed. Additionally, Seikan maru No.11, Kitami maru, Tokachi maru and Hidaka maru also sank on the day. These four ships were also train ferries however did not take on passengers at that time. Total 1,430 people seemed to be killed.

In those days, Japanese train ferries did not have rear sea-gate, because engineers believed that inrushing water could be evacuated expeditiously and would not pose a danger. However, when the wavelength of the sea has special relationship with the length of a ship, evacuation of inrushing water is interfered by the next inrushing water, causing rising water on the ship. After the accidents, all Japanese train ferries were retrofitted with rear sea-gates and weather forecast technology was greatly promoted.

The Norwegian train ferry Skagerak, built in 1965, sank in gale force winds on September 7, 1966 on a journey between Kristiansand, Norway and Hirtshals, Denmark, when the rear sea-gate was destroyed by heavy seas. One person subsequently died from their injuries, and six freight cars and a number of automobiles sank to the bottom with the ship.

A similar incident happened when the Canadian train ferry Patrick Morris sank on April 19, 1970 while assisting in a search and rescue operation for a sinking fishing trawler off the northeast coast of Cape Breton Island. The ferry was trying to maintain position to retrieve a body when her stern gates were overpowered by 30-foot (9 m) waves; she sank within 30 minutes taking several rail cars and 4 crew members to the bottom of the Cabot Strait. There were 47 survivors.

Train ferries rarely sank because of sea-hazards, although they have some weaknesses linked to the very nature of transporting trains "on rail" on a ship.

These weaknesses include:

• Trains are loaded at a rather high level, making the ship top-heavy.
• The train deck is difficult to compartmentalise, so that sloshing flood water can destabilise the ship.
• The sea doors where the trains go in and out are a weakness, even if placed at the rear of the ship.
• The train carriages need to be strongly secured lest they break away and roll around, particularly on long, open-water routes.

The Ann Arbor Railroad of Michigan developed a system of making cars fast that was adopted by many other lines. Screw jacks were placed on the corners of the railcar and the car was raised slightly to take its weight off of its wheels. Chains and turnbuckles were placed around the car frame and hooked onto the rails and tightened. Clamps were placed behind the wheels on the rails. Deckhands engaged in continual inspection and tightening of the gear during the crossing. This system effectively held the cars in place when the ship encountered rough weather.

Several train ferries -- the SS Milwaukee, SS Pere Marquette 18, and SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 -- were lost on the Great Lakes. These losses, though causes remain unconfirmed, were attributed to seas boarding the unprotected stern of the ship and swamping it in a severe storm. As a result, seagates were required on all new ships and required to be retrofitted on older vessels. In addition, two wooden crosslake railroad ferries were burned.

Some accidents occurred at the slip during loading, when stability was a major problem. Train ferries often list when heavy cars are loaded onto a track on one side while the other side is empty. Normal procedure was to load half of a track on one side, all of the track on the other side, and then the rest of the original track. If this procedure was not followed, results could be disastrous. In 1909, the SS Ann Arbor No. 4 capsized in her slip in Manistique, Michigan when a switching crew put eight cars of iron ore on her portside tracks. The crew got off without loss of life, but salvage operations were costly and time-consuming.

Examples

Argentina

Nine train ferries were in use between 1907 and 1990, when bridges were built over the rivers they crossed. They were the Lucía Carbó, the María Parera, the Mercedes Lacroze (these three ferries operating between the ports of Zárate and Ibicuy, crossing the Paraná river in the northeast of the Buenos Aires province); then in 1913 were added the Roque Saenz Peña and Javier Ramos Mejía paddlers at Posadas (crossing the Paraná river in the southwest of the Misiones province, in the north of the country) and then, in 1928, three other ferries were built: the Delfina Mitre, Dolores de Urquiza and Carmen Avellaneda, replacing the originals which worked the Zárate-Ibicuy crossing. The first two were sunk due to collisions with cargo ships. Two of the most modern are still serving as floating piers in the Zárate region, and some others were sold for conversion to flat barges or were scrapped. The two northern ferries still remain at Posadas, and one of them has a railway museum inside. All the eight old ferries were built by the J. A. Inglis Co. Ltd., in Pointhouse, Glasgow, Scotland for the Entre Rios Railways Co. in Argentina. The ninth ferry, the Tabare, was built in Argentina in 1966 by Astarsa (ASTilleros ARgentinos S.A.) at Rio Santiago Shipbuildings, near La Plata city, at the south of Buenos Aires area. It is still floating, but not operating, at the old docks of Buenos Aires.

Australia

• Grafton, New South Wales over Clarence River pending construction of bridge, 1920s to 1930s.

• The Port Lincoln division is isolated from the main system by desert and is very roundabout, and rolling stock is transferred as required by ship or by road low loaders.

Azerbaijan

• Baku - Krasnovodsk (Russian: Паромная переправа Баку — Туркменбаши), connecting Azerbaijan with Turkmenistan across the Caspian Sea since 1963. In May 2008 they decided to buy a new longer ferry.

Bangladesh

• from Balashi Ghat to Bahadurabad Ghat - 1000mm gauge.

Bolivia

• link from Peru - 1435mm and 1000mm gauges at each end.

Brazil

• See Paraguay

Bulgaria

• The Varna-Odesa (Ukraine) train ferry line served by 4 boats (13,000 t DWT each, carrying 108 loaded railroad cars) opened in 1978, bypasses a break of gauge. Later, the service was extended to include lines to Poti and Batumi, Georgia. Boats can carry trucks and passengers as well.

Canada

A railbarge is a variation of a train ferry that consists of barges pushed by a tug.

In use

• Prince Rupert, British Columbia - Whittier, Alaska (AquaTrain)
• Delta, British Columbia - Nanaimo, British Columbia (E and N Railway)
• Matane, Quebec - Baie Comeau, Quebec (COGEMA)

Former car floats

• various inland lakes of British Columbia (CN and CPR)
• Port Maitland, Ontario - Erie, Pennsylvania (TH&B Railway)
• Port Burwell, Ontario - Ashtabula, Ohio (CN)
• Cobourg, Ontario - Rochester, New York (Ontario Car Company)
• Sarnia, Ontario - Port Huron, Michigan - rail-barge - (CN, until the opening of the Paul Tellier Tunnel)
• Windsor, Ontario - Detroit, Michigan (Grand Trunk, CN, CPR, Michigan Central, Wabash, until 1980s)

Former train ferries

• Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick - Borden Carleton, Prince Edward Island (Canadian Government Railways, CN, CN Marine, Marine Atlantic), using the MV Abegweit and MV John Hamilton Gray. Service ended when rail service on Prince Edward Island was discontinued in 1989. See Prince Edward Island Railway for more information.)
• Mulgrave, Nova Scotia - Point Tupper, Nova Scotia (Intercolonial, CN, until the opening of the Canso Causeway in 1955)
• North Sydney, Nova Scotia - Port aux Basques, Newfoundland (CN, CN Marine). Service commenced in 1965 carrying standard-gauge rolling stock. A dual-gauge yard in Port aux Basques was used for classification and rolling stock had trucks exchanged with narrow gauge trucks. Service ended when the Newfoundland section of Canadian National Railway was closed in 1988. See Newfoundland Railway for more information.)

China

• Zhanjiang, Guangdong and Haikou, Hainan - connects mainland with island.
• Yantai in Shandong Province to Dalian in Liaoning Province — a short cut - (opening 2007).
• Yangtze River in Wuhan before construction of first river bridge.

Cuba

Note: all auto and rail ferry services have been suspended between the United States and Cuba due to the ongoing United States embargo against Cuba.

• Palm Beach - Havana, Cuba.
• Miami - Havana, Cuba
• New Orleans - Havana, Cuba

Denmark

In use

• Frederikshavn - Göteborg, Sweden, 1987 - , freight only
• Rødby - Puttgarden, Germany across Fehmarn Belt. 1963 - , serves 6 passenger trains/day, Vogelfluglinie. Agreement to be replaced by bridge signed 2008.
• Copenhagen - Hamburg. Night trains and freight trains go over the Great Belt Bridge instead from 1998.

Former

• Strib - Fredericia, 1872–1935, replaced by Little Belt Bridge
• Korsør - Nyborg, 1883–1997, replaced by Great Belt fixed link
• Oddesund Syd - Oddesund Nord, 1883–1938, replaced by Oddesund Bridge
• Masnedø - Orehoved, 1884–1937, replaced by Storstrøm Bridge
• Glyngøre - Nykøbing Mors, 1889–1977
• Helsingør - Helsingborg, Sweden, 1892–2000, since then car ferry only
• Copenhagen Frihavn - Malmö, Sweden, 1895–2000, replaced by Øresund bridge
• Gedser - Warnemünde, Germany, 1903–1995, replaced by car ferry Gedser - Rostock, Germany
• Faaborg - Mommark, 1922–1962, freight only
• Assens - Aarøsund, 1923–1950, freight only, narrow gauge (1000 mm)
• Svendborg - Rudkøbing, 1926–1962, freight only
• Hvalpsund - Sundsøre, 1927–1969, since then car ferry only
• Svendborg - Ærøskøbing, 1931–1994, freight only
• Gedser - Großenbrode Kai, Germany, 1951–1963, replaced by Rodby — Puttgarden Ferry
• Hirtshals - Kristiansand, Norway, 1960–1991, freight only
• Copenhagen Frihavn - Helsingborg, Sweden (Danlink) 1986–2000, freight only

Egypt

A ferry, though not necessarily a train ferry, links the 1435 mm gauge network of Egypt and the 1067 mm network of Sudan.

Finland

• Turku - Stockholm (see SeaRail)
• Turku - Travemuende

Germany

In use

• Mukran - Klaipėda, Lithuania, break-of-gauge, freight only (1986-)
• Mukran - Baltijsk, Russia, break-of-gauge, freight only (2007-)
• Mukran - Ust-Luga, Russia, break-of-gauge, freight only (start probably 2008)
• Puttgarden - Rødby, Denmark, passenger trains only (1963-)
• Rostock - Trelleborg, Sweden, freight only (1994-)
• Sassnitz/Mukran(changed in 1998 from Sassnitz to Mukran) - Trelleborg, Sweden, freight plus one daily passenger night-train. (1909-)

Former

Bonn–Oberkassel train ferry

• Bodensee (1869–1976)
• Elbe: Lauenburg – Hohnstorf (1864–1878)
• Elbe: Köhlbrand, Hamburg (???–1974)
• Rhine: Worms – Rosengarten (1870–1900)
• Rhine: Bingen – Rüdesheim am Rhein (1861–1900)
• Rhine: Bonn – Oberkassel (1870–1914)
• Rhine: Rheinhausen – Hochfeld (1866–1874)
• Rhine: Ruhrort – Homberg (1852–1912)
• Rhine: Spyck (near Emmerich) – Welle (near Kleve) (1865–1912)
• Grossenbrode - Fehmarnsund (1903–1963)
• Grossenbrode - Gedser (1951–1963)
• Travemuende - Turku (1975-2007), freight only
• Travemuende - Malmoe

Georgia

• Russia to Georgia, bypasses Abkhazia.

Iran

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and upheavals along the railway route through Armenia and Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia instituted a ferry service over the Caspian Sea.

Italy

• Calabria-Sicily and vice versa: between the ports of Villa San Giovanni in the Region of Calabria and Messina in the Region of Sicily — passenger and freight service.
• Mainland to Sardinia: between the ports of Civitavecchia and Golfo Aranci - freight service only.

Both services are operated by Bluvia that is a subsidiary company of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. At present the link between Mainland and Sicily has a regular and frequent activity, while the link between Mainland and Sardinia is less frequent and operated basically day by day on the basis of the actual traffic demand.

An unofficial web page about the Italian rail ferries can be found at this link.

Japan

In Japanese, a train ferry is called "鉄道連絡船 tetsudō renrakusen", which means literally "railway connection ship". Therefore these ships can not carry railcars necessarily. A ship line that is connected with railways in schedule and fare system is called "tetsudō renrakusen".

Japan Railways would have had train ferries to link up the four main islands before these were replaced by bridges and tunnels. Currently, only one passenger ferry line is operated, though the line does not handle railcars.

In use

• JR Miyajima Ferry

Miyajima Ferry connects Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima, both in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima. Miyajima pier is on Itsukushima island and there is no railway there. Miyajimaguchi pier is near Miyajimaguchi Station. The ferry is operated by West Japan Railway Company(JR West). Miyajima Ferry carries passengers and automobiles, but have never carried railcars.

Former train ferry

There were three ferry lines that can load trains. Through operations of passenger trains using train ferries were conducted between December 1948 and May 11, 1955. However the service was canceled when the disasters of Toya Maru (September 26, 1954, killed 1,153) and Shiun Maru (May 11, 1955, killed 168) occurred. The operator, Japanese National Railways (JNR) considered it was dangerous to allow passengers to stay in a car deck. These three lines were replaced by tunnels and bridges.

• Seikan Ferry

Seikan Ferry had connected Aomori Station and Hakodate Station, crossed over Tsugaru Strait, which means the ferry had connected Honshū and Hokkaidō. The line was opened on March 7, 1908 by two steamships but these could not load railcars. The first rail barge Shaun Maru started its operation on December, 1914. Shaun Maru was only used for carrying newly built cars that would be used in Hokkaidō, because in those days the railways in Hokkaidō employed Janney couplers but the railways in Honshū employed buffers and chain couplers. After the conversion of couplers in Honshū, a full-scale train ferry Shōhō Maru entered service on April, 1924. On March 13, 1988, Seikan Tunnel was opened and the ferry line was closed. The tunnel and the ferry line was operated simultaneously only on that day. Total 55 ferries (including one rail barge and 41 train ferries) were used.

• Ukō Ferry

Ukō Ferry had connected Uno station and Takamatsu station, crossed over Seto Inland Sea, which means the ferry had connected Honshū and Shikoku. The ferry line had started service on June 12, 1910, and started carrying railcars on October 10, 1921. On April 9, 1988, Great Seto Bridge was opened and the last train ferry was operated on the previous day. After that, only passenger ships were operated by Shikoku Railway Company(JR Shikoku) on the line but this line was also halted on March 21, 1990, and was formally abandoned on March 16, 1991. Total 26 ferries (including two hovercrafts, two high-speed ships, 17 train ferries) were used.

• Kammon Ferry

Kammon Ferry had connected Shimonoseki Station and Mojikō Station, crossed over Kanmon Straits, which means the ferry had connected Honshū and Kyūshū. The ferry line had started service on May 27, 1901. The first train ferries in Japan had started operation on October 1, 1911. Passenger ferries used piers at Mojikō station but train ferries used piers at Komorie station. Therefore strictly speaking, the train ferry line was called "Kanshin Ferry" and the passenger ferry was called "Kammon Ferry". After the completion of Kanmon Tunnel on July 1, 1942, the train ferry line was discontinued and the ferries were transfered to Ukō Ferry. However the passenger ferry line was operated until November 1, 1964 for the convenience of nearby residents.

Former passenger ferry

There were many passenger ferry lines that were classified as "tetsudō renrakusen". Most ferry lines were operated temporarily until a railway line or a bridge was completed.

Chihaku Ferry had connected Hokkaidō and south half of Sakhalin under Japanese administration, and Kanfu Ferry had connected Honshū and Korean Peninsula under Japanese administration.

Lithuania

• Klaipėda, 1520 mm - Mukran, Germany, 1435 mm (1986-)

Mexico

• Central Gulf Railroad, connecting the Port of Mobile and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. It is served by the Burlington Northern Railroad, Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern Railway, and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

New Zealand

• The North Island to the South Island - two ferries — operated by the Interisland Line between Wellington and Picton. The ferries are capable of carrying both rail and road vehicles on two separate decks (except the MV Kaitaki).

Nigeria

• A temporary ferry was used at the crossing of the Niger River due to delays finding foundations for a bridge.

• similarly at Makurdi

Norway

The Tinnsjø railway ferry, Norway.

• Historically the lake Tinnsjø railway ferry (1909  – 1991) linked Tinnosbanen and Rjukanbanen, transporting goods to and from Rjukan and the Norsk Hydro heavy water factory, as seen in the movie The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas.
• Hirtshals - Kristiansand, Norway, 1960–1991, freight only

Paraguay

• Link to Argentina - replaced by bridge c1985.

Encarnacion — Posadas

Peru

• Link to Bolivia via train barge across Lake Titicaca. Barge Manco Capac is equipped with dual gauge tracks for both Peruvian standard gauge and Bolivian meter gauge. There is a small amount of trackage at either end of the route from Puno in Peru or Guaqui in Bolivia that has dual gauge in use. Car loading and unloading are done at docks. British built Steamship Ollanta is not maintained for operations on Lake Titicaca at Puno anymore. Peru Rail, in charge of the vessel is trying to develop a tourist project soon.

Russia

Black Sea

• Port Kavkaz to Port Krym (Ukraine), across the Kerch Strait. Operated from 1953 to 1993. In 2004, service restored as a car ferry so far; possibility of carrying rail cars is studied as well.
• January 2008 - More train ferry routes

Pacific Ocean

• Vanino - Kholmsk, connecting Sakhalin Island with the mainland. (Since 1973).

Caspian Sea

• Baku, Azerbaijan to Turkmenbashi, Kazakhstan

The Caspian Shipping Company (Kaspar) has 7 train ferries and is building two more.

See Iran.

Baltic Sea

• Baltijsk to Sassnitz-Mukran (Germany), started in 2006.
• Baltijsk to Ust-Luga

Sri Lanka

A ferry though not necessarily a train ferry links India and Sri Lanka over a narrow and shallow stretch of water.

Sudan

A ferry, though not necessarily a train ferry, links the 1435 mm gauge network of Egypt and the 1067 mm network of Sudan, across the Nile River.

Another ferry used to operate between Juba, Sudan and Pakwach, Uganda, also along the Nile River.

Sweden

In use

• Ystad - Swinoujscie, Poland (1974 -)
• Gothenburg - Frederikshavn, Denmark (1987 -)
• Trelleborg - Rostock, Germany (1996 -)
• Trelleborg - Mukran, Germany, (1998-) operated by Scandlines
• Stockholm - Turku, Finland

All are for freight trains (and road vehicles) only, except that there is a nightly passenger train service between Malmö, Sweden and Berlin, Germany over Trelleborg — Mukran.

Former

• Helsingør, Denmark - Helsingborg (1892–2000)
• Copenhagen, Denmark — Helsingborg (1992? - 2000), freight only
• Copenhagen, Denmark - Malmö (1895–1986)
• Saßnitz, Germany - Trelleborg, (1909–1998)
• Trelleborg — Gdansk, Poland (1946)
• Trelleborg — Gdynia, Poland (1947–1950)
• Trelleborg — Odra Port, Poland (1950–1954)
• Trelleborg - Warnemünde, the GDR (1948–1953)
• Bergkvara - Mörbylånga, normal gauge 1435 mm between 1067 mm in Bergkvara and 891 mm in Mörbylånga (1953–1955)
• Kalmar - Färjestaden, narrow gauge 891 mm (1957–1962)
• Stockholm - Naantali, Finland (1967–1972)
• Malmö - Travemünde, Germany (from mid 80'ies till a few years ago)

Tanzania

See Uganda.

Turkey

• Bosphorus - train ferry connects the European railway network with main connections from Thessaloniki, Greece and Bucharest, Romania terminating at the Sirkeci Terminal to the Asian network terminating at the Haydarpaşa Terminal. This train ferry is for freight. Passengers use passenger ferries. The current Marmaray project, expected to be complete in 2009, will replace the ferry connection with an underwater railway tunnel running between the two sides.
• Black Sea - Ilyichevsk, Ukraine to Derince, Turkey bypasses a break of gauge
• Black Sea - Samsun, Turkey to Kavkaz, Russia (proposed 2008)

• Lake Van - Tatvan — Van. The Istanbul — Tehran and Damascus — Tehran passenger trains operate from each terminus to the ferry ports. Only the luggage van takes the ferry, the passengers have to switch trains at either end. The Lake Van Ferry is part of the planned Trans-Asian Railway, Istanbul — Singapore. A scheduled freight train runs from Istanbul to Kazakhstan. The Train Ferry was established to avoid an expensive railroad line along the mountainous southern shore and may be replaced when traffic increases sufficiently. There ferry route is 96km long while a rail alternative on the north side would be 250km long in mountainous terrain. There are two ferries of 16 coach capacity capable of making 3 trips per day each.

• M/F Erdeniz is a train ferry that carries wagons between Eregli and Zonguldak ports. The vessel operates every day except Sunday. The vessel is operated by Erdemir Logistics.

Uganda

• A train ferry on Lake Victoria links the 1000 mm gauge network of the Uganda Railway in Port Bell with the 1000 mm gauge network of Tanzania in Mwanza. In June 2008, the Ugandan budget allocated $US8.5m for an additional train ferry for Lake Victoria.

Ukraine

• Black Sea - see above

United Kingdom

• Harwich to Zeebrugge. Belgium - closed in 1987.
• The Night Ferry from Dover to Dunkerque, France. Closed 31 October 1980, - replaced by the Channel Tunnel. [1]

United States

In use

• The New York New Jersey Rail LLC (replacing the New York Cross Harbor Railroad), transferring freight cars between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York, run as needed. This car float still operates because rail cars with flammable and hazardous materials are not permitted in the former Pennsylvania Railroad, now Amtrak, tunnels under the East River, Manhattan and the Hudson River, and because the tunnel clearances of the tunnels are inadequate for most freight cars.
• The Alaska Railroad is connected to the rest of the North American rail system only via train ferries. The Alaska Railroad runs its own ferries from Whittier, Alaska to Seattle, Washington, and the Canadian National Railway operates its AquaTrain between Whittier and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
• Lake Michigan Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Kewaunee or Milwaukee, Wisconsin served by the Pere Marquette Railroad and successor Chesapeake and Ohio or Chessie System with the ships SS City of Midland 41 of 1940, SS Spartan and the SS Badger, both built in 1953. The Badger is now used as a automobile ferry between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan and represents one of the last large coal-burning passenger-carrying steamers in the world.
• Central Gulf Railroad, connecting the Port of Mobile and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. It is served by the Burlington Northern Railroad, Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern Railway, and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Former

• Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal used so-called carfloats.
• Lake Michigan Frankfort, Michigan to Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Marinette, Wisconsin or Manistique, Michigan was the Ann Arbor Railroad's Lake Michigan car ferry service that discontinued in the 1980s. Ann Arbor operated the Viking and Arthur K. Atkinson as the final ships on the fleet.
• Lake Michigan Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon or Grand Haven, Michigan was the Lake Michigan car ferry service of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad which was run by its subsidiary company Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company. Its fleet included five ships including the SS City of Milwaukee, built in 1931. [2]
• Straits of Mackinac: Mackinaw City, Michigan to St. Ignace, Michigan, performed by the SS Chief Wawatam (carferries.com) at the Straits of Mackinac connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
• Chesapeake Bay - Bay Coast Railroad from Norfolk, VA to Cape Charles, VA
• San Francisco Bay - The San Francisco Belt Railroad had slip at Pier 43 which allowed interchange with the Northwestern Pacific, the Western Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads.
• Suisun Bay - The Central Pacific Railroad built a ferry that operated between Benicia and Port Costa, California from 1879 to 1930.
• New York City - Havana, Cuba

Proposed ferries

The Trans-Asian Railway has proposed a few train ferries:

• between Sri Lanka and India
• across the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh
• Penang in Malaysia and Belawan in Sumatra, Indonesia

Portage railways

The opposite of a train ferry is a portage railway.

• A train ferry overcomes a lack of a land link.
• A portage railway overcomes a lack of a navigable stretch of a river.

For example, before the Panama Canal, the Panama Railway provided a link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

See also

• Car float
• Ferry slip (includes examples of rail ferry and barge slips)
• Linkspan
• List of road-rail bridges
• Special Hunslet locomotive for loading train ferries

External links

• Video of a train ferry ride between Germany and Denmark