Retired inland ferries - photos & discussion

[mrdot]

:)yes, and the price was rite for this 'best half hr. ferry ride in the world' :)mrdot.

[WettCoast]

M/V Anscomb laid up @ Balfour ferry landing, Kootenay Lake, BC - c summer 2001. When the new M/V Osprey 2000 entered service in late August of 2000, it replaced this vessel, which had served as the primary vessel on the Kootenay Lake crossing for about 50 years.

photo © Mr. DOT by Wett Coast, on Flickr[/size]

[lmtengs]

What year was the Anscomb's superstructure rebuild/refit?

[mrdot]

:)note the old bc highways funnel, this remodeled superstructure was ontop of a virtually unchanged cardeck and hull which dated from the late 1940's. :)mrdot.

[WettCoast]

Another one from the summer of 2000, just before the Osprey 2000 went into service...

M/V Anscomb near Balfour, Kootenay Lake - c summer 2000 [photo © Mr. DOT] by Wett Coast, on Flickr[/size]

[Low Light Mike]

Aug 29, 2012 7:36:08 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

Regarding the Harrop ferry, crossing the west arm of Kootenay Lake, between Balfour and Nelson BC.

When reading through my copy of "Ships of Steel", the story of Allied Shipbuilders Ltd., I noticed that Allied built a Harrop ferry, in 1961 (Hull #123). Page 122 of this book shows a photo of a ferry at Harrop, but it's a much older and smaller ferry than the one that I rode last month.

So, is the current Harrop ferry the one that was built by Allied in 1961? I didn't see a builder's-plaque on board. So I consulted my copy of Frank Clapp's booklet.
- Mr. Clapp says that a 1-lane steel barge ferry started service in 1947. Then in 1962 (built in 1961) a new 2-lane ferry with longer ramps was put into service. This would be the ship pictured on page 122 of "Ships of Steel" and on page #29 of Mr. Clapp's booklet.
- Ok, so the ship that I rode on must have been a newer ship, built sometime in the 1980s, I guess.

I contacted Western Pacific Marine to ask about the current Harrop ferry, and here's the reply from them (many thanks for this)

Hull # 123 (built in 1961 by Allied) was the old Harrop Ferry, that the one in place now replaced.

That ferry was sold and stripped down in Nelson then transported to Arrow Lakes where it is used as a work barge.

The Present Harrop Ferry was until 1959 the Nelson Ferry beside the present bridge at Lakeside park to Jorgenson's landing.

After the bridge (at Nelson) was built, the ferry was moved to Castlegar where they had 2 ferry's crossing to Castlegar at Robson. When the Bridges went in there (Castlegar) and after a fight with people of Robson, the old Nelson was moved to Nakusp where it sat until 1992 when it was cut apart and moved to Kaslo and assembled as present Harrop ferry.

The other Castlegar Ferry is now the Arrow Park Ferry.

Ok, that was good to know: the current Harrop ferry is actually the old Nelson ferry, with some Castlegar/Robson service in between.
- the current Harrop ferry is older than the previous Harrop ferry.

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And, courtesy of Jim at Western Pacific Marine, here are a few photographs of the old ferries at Castlegar/Robson (not the ships mentioned above)

[Low Light Mike]

Link to a 1957 painting entitled "Last Day Of The Old Nelson Ferry"

(You really should click on this to see it - It is Beautiful !)
www.maltwood.uvic.ca/newmis/images/storage/U996/26/U996.26.7.jpg?cache=2011-12-15 22:23:13


As noted in a recent post in this thread, this old Nelson ferry is likely the same ship as the current Harrop ferry, with one side chopped-off.

[Low Light Mike]

Short video clip of MV Anscomb at Kootenay Bay (east side of lake).
- from Creston Museum collection

[Low Light Mike]

A tribute video to the MV Anscomb, that I found on YouTube.

[Low Light Mike]

The old aerial car ferry between Boston Bar and North Bend, BC.
- seen by me on Sept.13, 2013 where it is part of a roadside historical display in Boston Bar.

This video shows:
- a walk-about around the ferry car display
- a sampling of the photos on display at this location.

[timmyboy]

Oct 2, 2013 20:48:41 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

The old aerial car ferry between Boston Bar and North Bend, BC.
- seen by me on Sept.13, 2013 where it is part of a roadside historical display in Boston Bar.

This video shows:
- a walk-about around the ferry car display
- a sampling of the photos on display at this location.

I can actually say that i rode this tram ferry a time or two.  My aunt and uncle live in North Bend and we went up a few times before the bridge was in operation.  I dont remember much as I was pretty darn young but I remember it being a site to behold, with the ferry floating beneath those cables.

[Low Light Mike]

The former aerial car ferry at Boston Bar, BC.
- seen by me in September 2013:





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And some photos of photos that are part of the roadside display at Boston Bar:
- these are the same photos that I used in my video, shown in an above post.

[Low Light Mike]

History of the Boston Bar - North Bend aerial ferry, over the Fraser River.
- from the roadside display at Boston Bar, BC.

[WettCoast]

There was once a reaction ferry across the Skeena River at Cedarvale, which is about an hour's drive northeast of Terrace.  Around about 1979 a bridge went in across the Skeena a little further east at Kitwanga which put the Cedarvale ferry out of service permanently.  At any rate, in August of 1977 I took a photo (which you can see below) at this ferry.  You can see the aerial tram car in the photo.  I believe that for the last few years of its life, the aerial ferry was all that there was of the Cedarvale ferry. The reaction ferry was removed from service (or perhaps damaged in a flood?) in about 1976 (I will have to do some research to determine the actual dates).


View across Skeena River @ the site of the Cedarvale Ferry (note cable car).  In the distance you can see part of Seven Sisters Mountains - 20 August 1977
© WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[WettCoast]

It appears that the Cedarvale reaction ferry was damaged beyond repair by highwater/flooding circa 1975.  See this: www.gent-family.com/Terrace/cedarvale.html.  The aerial tram remained in service until the Kitwanga (Hwy 37) bridge was opened in 1979.

[WettCoast]

The following has been copied over from the thread 'GUESS WHERE': WCF's ferry Identification game!  The diligent members of this here WCFF correctly determined that this photo was taken aboard the M/V Anscomb on Kootenay Lake, BC, back in March of 1981.  They even pinned down that the ferry was heading south-east across to the west side of the lake and the terminal at Balfour.  I don't know, however, if they picked up on the dive clue that I gave them.

Here's a mystery BC ferry for people to dive into.  See if you can determine what vessel this is & where.  The date of the photo should be easier to get...


View from a BC ferry - details to come
© WCK/JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr