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Post by lmtengs on Nov 24, 2011 19:55:10 GMT -8
Question about the "control towers" at some of the major terminals, what exactly are they used for? I know what they are used for in the aviation field, just wondering what they used for at the terminals. Like Mr. Mike Jr said, the towers are mainly used for the sorting of vehicles. If you've ever heard the announcements "Will the silver Chevy please turn around and go back to lane 38. You are in lane 40", you'd see what I mean. They also supervise operations, make sure people aren't going where they aren't supposed to ("Will the persons walking to the beach please return to the terminal immediately"), and they tell the ticket booth attendants when a lane is full and to start filling a new lane. They might also have some say in which berth a ferry uses? Not sure about that part. |
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Post by alaskanmohican on Nov 24, 2011 21:43:05 GMT -8
Like Mr. Mike Jr said, the towers are mainly used for the sorting of vehicles. If you've ever heard the announcements "Will the silver Chevy please turn around and go back to lane 38. You are in lane 40", you'd see what I mean. They also supervise operations, make sure people aren't going where they aren't supposed to ("Will the persons walking to the beach please return to the terminal immediately"), and they tell the ticket booth attendants when a lane is full and to start filling a new lane. They might also have some say in which berth a ferry uses? Not sure about that part. I see, I sort of figured that was the case. It always amazes me the human capability to forget. At AMHS we will typically write the lane number you are to go in on your window sticker. People will then drive into the lane next to the correct one, or go behind a vehicle that looks like it "should" be going to the same destination. Only then do they get out and look at the correct lane and go is that the lane I should be in? Or the best is when they are assigned to lane 5, park in lane 6, get out, point at the number 5 painted on the ground in lane 5 and ask; is that lane 5? |
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Nick
Voyager 
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,080 
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Post by Nick on Nov 25, 2011 6:45:22 GMT -8
Question about the "control towers" at some of the major terminals, what exactly are they used for? I know what they are used for in the aviation field, just wondering what they used for at the terminals. The control tower serves as the command and control center for the terminal. Each of the major terminals have one, and there will be between 1 and 3 operators at any given time. Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen will always have at least 2. Their job includes: - Ensure traffic goes to the right lane. This includes predicting traffic levels in advance to allow for reservations and assured loading tickets, so that they can keep lanes open in the right places in the terminal.
- Ensure the right traffic goes to the right boat. 9:00am at Swartz gets very busy with 4 boats loading at a time, so planning is critical to ensure there is no "cross-traffic".
- The tower is the liason between the vessels and terminal, so when a ship is ready to leave they receive clearance from the tower to do so, similar to an airport. Also, on arrival, the ramps don't touch the ship without the say-so from the tower.
- The ships contact the tower with ETAs prior to arrival, when the tower will inform the vessel of other ship traffic in the terminal area, as well as terminal operations that may impact the arrival of the ship. They will also inform the vessel on which berth to use.
- The tower coordinates all terminal operations, including snow removal, security issues or potential issues, vehicles in the wrong lane/section, as well as monitoring for fare evasion (watching cars entering the lot and verifying the number of paid passengers vs the number of people getting out of the car.).
The majority of a tower op's time is taken up with traffic management. At Swartz Bay the two permanent positions are split between route 1 and the SGI. A third will be there to fill in during busy periods on long weekends, summer season etc. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2011 20:06:25 GMT -8
At Tsawwassen, control tower staff also report marine weather to Environment Canada. It's available on the environment canada website under "lightstations reports".
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Also, I had read a business opportunity on the BC Ferries website (about a year ago) presenting a few options regarding the Tsawwassen's berth 1 future. I remember one option was renovating the structure and rebuilding some dolphins, while another option was a complete berth rebuild. Unfortunately, I didn't save this, so I can't put in a quote or any information of better value. Does anyone perhaps have an update on this project? I'm thinking it has been put off for at least 18 months as part of their cost cutting package, since berth 1 isn't really necessary when all other berths are in operation.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 9, 2012 19:05:40 GMT -8
A nice old view of Tsawwassen, thanks to Ferryman's aunt. I recieved a bit of a suprise from an Aunt of mine, who lives on Cape Cod, MA. She's a former BC Lower Mainlander, so she collected a few postcards from over the years.  |
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Jan 9, 2012 19:40:29 GMT -8
:)in the years since leaving Swartz Bay, and my uvic years, and my subsequent career in Delta, I have watched many changes here in Tsawwassen with all the terminal upgrades, and in my planning career saw monumental changes in transport and road patterns, and worked on monumental growth at Deltaport, growing from a single coal port facility to a major shipping container port for this part of North America, the posted postcard of Tsawwassen terminal is a facinating vision of the growth at that facility. the story of the rail connection here in Delta could be a facinating political escapade on it's own, with it's director getting liteyears more gravy than hahn ever did! ???mrdot.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 11, 2012 17:04:29 GMT -8
Tsawwassen Terminal from Roberts Bank Superport causeway - 27 December 1979  photo © JST Fujichrome79-19-24 - Nikon-VueScan] by Wett Coast, on Flickr[/size] There are three vessels in this picture. I will not identify them for now, letting our younger members tell us what they can see... |
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Post by Mike on Feb 11, 2012 17:12:37 GMT -8
[/size] There are three vessels in this picture. I will not identify them for now, letting our younger members tell us what they can see...[/quote] 20 is considered young right?  I see the Queen of Prince Rupert, the Queen of Vancouver or Victoria, and the Queen of Alberni. |
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Post by lmtengs on Feb 11, 2012 23:24:25 GMT -8
No, no, no, you have it all wrong, that's the Queen of Kelsey Bay on the right, Queen of Richmond in the middle, and I'm not sure I can identify the vessel on the left.
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Post by chinook2 on Feb 12, 2012 6:10:23 GMT -8
No, no, no, you have it all wrong, that's the Queen of Kelsey Bay on the right, Queen of Richmond in the middle, and I'm not sure I can identify the vessel on the left. Valdes Queen, on loan from MoT. Later renamed Klamydia. |
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 12, 2012 9:26:24 GMT -8
I have no record of the Queen of Richmond ever being stretched.
'Q of E', at age 20, yes, you count as being a 'younger member'. Your ID'ing of the vessels is correct, except that the convention is usually to go from left to right. I had written on the slide frame (the original for this scan) that the boat in the middle is the Vancouver (or possibly the Victoria).
The QPR was 'in service' at the time of this picture. It was taken during its layover between arriving from Prince Rupert that morning, and leaving for its return trip later that afternoon. I think that I was travelling north on that same sailing.
Question: Can you get any good views of Tsawwassen Terminal today from the Roberts Bank causeway? Or is pretty much everything locked up in rail yards and associated industrial development?
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Post by lmtengs on Feb 12, 2012 9:38:16 GMT -8
Question: Can you get any good views of Tsawwassen Terminal today from the Roberts Bank causeway? Or is pretty much everything locked up in rail yards and associated industrial development? Is that a photo-challenge pour moi? Next time I have the chance, I'll check. |
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 12, 2012 10:01:38 GMT -8
Is that a photo-challenge pour moi? Next time I have the chance, I'll check. Please do. I don't think we have seen anything taken from this vantage point other than my shot from 33 years ago. |
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Post by Kahloke on Feb 12, 2012 19:18:54 GMT -8
[/size] There are three vessels in this picture. I will not identify them for now, letting our younger members tell us what they can see...[/quote] Neat photo. Thanks for sharing it. I've taken a few Tsawwassen pics over the years, and realize I have not posted them, or if I did, they have long since been taken down or lost in the various photo-hosting moves I have made over the last few years. So, here are my Tsawwassen terminal pics: Tsawwassen holding area on a Friday night in June, 2000 - one of the V's, probably Saanich or Vancouver, is docked at Berth 5  before there was a Tsawwassen Quay  Tsawwassen in June, 2009, as seen from Fred Gingell Park. Queen of Alberni in Berth 3, Queen of New Westminster in Berth 4, Coastal Celebration in Berth 5  Tsawwassen Quay - Feb, 2010  The many toll booths at Tsawwassen - Feb, 2010  Coastal Celebration unloading at Berth 5 - Feb, 2010  A nearly empty Tsawwassen Terminal after loading Coastal Celebration in Berth 5 - Feb, 2010  Contrast the previous photo to a very full Tsawwassen terminal in August of 2010. Note the absence of vehicles in the SGI holding area. This was the day Queen of Nanaimo hit the dock at Village Bay and knocked out service for the rest of the day.  Departing Tsawwassen on Queen of New Westminster - Jan, 2011  |
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Post by chinook2 on Mar 5, 2012 10:26:46 GMT -8
Photo from a 1960s BCF tourism brochure, VICL Silver Eagle bus disembarking at TSA Berth 2.  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 8, 2012 20:14:33 GMT -8
A couple of banner-photo contest rejects.   |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 28, 2012 18:59:20 GMT -8
From a 1969 publication by the Vancouver Real Estate Board, “Through Lions Gate.” General photographs credit in the book is to Ted Czolowski. I purchased the book for $3 at a local Rotary Club book sale, just for the interesting “back in the day” photos. Tsawwassen terminal.  |
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 28, 2012 22:05:50 GMT -8
Tsawwassen terminal. This is an interesting photo in that it shows an un-stretched V-class at what was then Berth 1. Also notable is no sign of an overhead passenger walkway. (Perhaps, Mr. Horn, your original is a little clearer and you can confirm or refute these two details.) A few days ago someone here on the forum stated that the first passenger walkways on route 1 date to about the mid 1960's, and that the stretched V-class cafeterias are not the reason for the Vancouver Island end ramp access point being so far toward mid-ship, as opposed to the placement on the mainland end. This photo, which I would guess is from about 1966, shows that no walkway was in place at that time. The photo might be from a few years earlier, however. As far as I know the V-class cafeterias are the reason that, to this day, Vancouver Island passenger ramp access points are as far toward mid-ship. I would love to see some photographic evidence to confirm or refute this. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 29, 2012 7:05:39 GMT -8
Also notable is no sign of an overhead passenger walkway. (Perhaps, Mr. Horn, your original is a little clearer and you can confirm or refute these two details.) I checked the book photo again, and I can't see any passenger overhead walkway on the ship's starboard side. Port-side of the ship, forward of the bridge wing, is hard to see. So no conclusive view of passenger ganways. |
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 29, 2012 9:15:08 GMT -8
The overhead walkway was installed between the two berths. From the original photo can you say with confidence that this is a V-class & not a Sidney class? Further, you have a date for the book (1969?) but no date for the photo, I gather. The photo date presumably would be between 1962 & 68...
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Post by lmtengs on Apr 29, 2012 9:58:18 GMT -8
The overhead walkway was installed between the two berths. From the original photo can you say with confidence that this is a V-class & not a Sidney class? Further, you have a date for the book (1969?) but no date for the photo, I gather. The photo date presumably would be between 1962 & 68... It's a Sidney Class. It has windows on the after end of the upper passenger deck, a feature the V-Class doesn't have, and I don't believe ever has had. |
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 29, 2012 13:35:30 GMT -8
It's a Sidney Class. It has windows on the after end of the upper passenger deck, a feature the V-Class doesn't have, and I don't believe ever has had. Oh Mr. CV, you had better think that one through again. One of your own photos to help with this task...  Compare to this photo which originates from our WCCF Member PSCURR...  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2012 14:07:38 GMT -8
Here's a photo that clearly shows that the Vancouver once had aft windows in the upper lounge. They were, of course, removed during stretching. The Vancouver was strechted in '72.  a few more vintage shots from 1970-71, just in the process of scanning many of the images from that era. Edited to fix mangled IMG tag (missing '[')The photo that Flugel posted looks like a V class to me, as I recall the upper passenger deck on the Sidney class didn't extend out aft as much as in that pic. |
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 29, 2012 14:37:21 GMT -8
The other factoid is that all 7 of the Seven Sisters (and the Richmond, too  ) had five picture windows across the aft end of the sundeck lounge; the Sidney class had four. |
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Post by lmtengs on Apr 29, 2012 17:23:15 GMT -8
Well in that case, I can clearly identify five windows on the aft end of the upper passenger deck. V-class it is!  |
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I see the Queen of Prince Rupert, the Queen of Vancouver or Victoria, and the Queen of Alberni.
) had five picture windows across the aft end of the sundeck lounge; the Sidney class had four.