Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Jul 28, 2009 23:20:20 GMT -8
I wonder if they have perhaps purchased them for the airport ferry, and got a good enough deal that it was worth buying the second one for a relief boat or spare parts.
I can't see them using them on the Nicola's run, as the Nicola operates in somewhat open water, which as we all know the K class can't handle well.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jul 31, 2009 15:19:52 GMT -8
Alas, the terminal is empty... it's all over now but the crying.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Jul 31, 2009 19:45:13 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Jul 31, 2009 20:47:07 GMT -8
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Post by bcferryfan87 on Jul 31, 2009 21:54:07 GMT -8
I am glad I made a roundtrip last night on the boats; was very odd kinda feeling. First noticed what appeared to be new fencing on the Fort Langley side, then upon off loading at Albion, saw the "new" fencing again, and definitely knew it was new; guess it's to keep the people out of the area - or the uninformed from lining up for a ferry that now no longer runs.
Last night on way across, it was almost as if the ship took a little bit extra time to allow people to soak it in (I found this going in both directions).
It is sad in a way to see this part of marine history end. I always enjoyed the ships especially if coming from maple ridge later in the day, and i wasn't in a rush as such. Where it wasn't pleasant was one day like earlier this spring in May, sitting there waiting for the ferry in a 6 sailing wait or so, in very hot weather. Or when the portmann got closed a few years back due to a police incident, and those in Coq decided it was better to go the Albion to get across the fraser vs going patullo.
I will miss you, old friends (boats). Happy sailing, wherever you may go and thanks for the memories, and many safe crossings.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 31, 2009 22:08:15 GMT -8
I think they should still keep one boat running!!!
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Post by Scott on Jul 31, 2009 22:09:34 GMT -8
I took a few trips on Wednesday night. Talked with another photographer and one of the deckhands. Enjoyed the sunset. A tugboat was coming up the river so the captain took a long way around it. Trip ended up being at least 15 minutes. Noticed a lot of interaction between the crew and regular passengers (mostly in cars). It really is the end of an era and the end of relationships between people and two communities. Yes, the Golden Ears Bridge has replaced the ferry but it's a 6 lane highway between downtown Maple Ridge and downtown Langley. Albion and Fort Langley will likely feel the impact of no ferry.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jul 31, 2009 22:46:21 GMT -8
I think they should still keep one boat running!!! More people agree with you than you might think, but the ferries were, more than anything a victim of a political and social mindset that prevails in today's world. That being, that everything has to come with a price tag. The idea of a free ferry that connected small communities and offered personal service just couldn't possibly exist alongside notions of tolled bridges, megaprojects and freeways. As I've theorized before, in some senses, the bridge is actually doing more dividing up of communities that it is connecting. For a lot of people, it is miles away from where they want to go, for a price that is quite clearly not worth paying. And the notion that 6 million dollars was just too much of an expense for anyone to want to keep the ferries running is illogical in today's world where a few million dollars is pocket change to most governments and large corporations. If translink was too egocentric and stingy to want to foot the bill, the operation could easily have been transferred back to the ministry to fund. But alas, the powers that be simply cannot abide the idea of something that provides a service to the public for free: don't mention the fact that it was already funded by public dollars, so at some point we had all already paid for it anyway. They like to make us pay double if not more for any major public works or infrastructure project anyway, that's ultimately just how it works out. It took 30 years of public lobbying to bring the Albion ferry into existence... it lived long enough to pay off that debt. So perhaps it's fate was indeed sealed when we arrived at an era where it seems clear that even 30 years of publicly expressed concerns would not turn the ear of a governing party that openly ignores public concern and even shows outright contempt for it. No free service could survive in such a climate: not once the toll revenue starts rolling in from the Golden Ears Bridge.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 1, 2009 9:02:12 GMT -8
I think they should still keep one boat running!!! Karl, you are absolutely right! At least a tolled foot passenger service connecting with buses should remain. Better still, one of the two existing boats should continue in tolled service. This would be for at least a few years to see if the use levels justify its existence in the long term. It is not as if the new bridge is exactly close by.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Aug 1, 2009 22:11:41 GMT -8
I didn’t think I would feel much of anything at the Albion ferry’s last day yesterday. I had pretty much decided that the new bridge was the better option, and, while it was far enough away that the continuance of the ferry might be justified solely on the basis of continuing usage, public funds were too tight in these difficult times to justify paying dozens of full time people to provide a five minute transit link. The logic of the decision to end it was hard to argue with, at least on a financial basis.
I didn’t expect to find the public reaction to be what it was at the ending of the ferry service. The cars and motorcycles honking horns as they disembarked. The applause from passengers. The hugs, handshakes, and fervent good wishes to crew from many people who seemed to know them well. The reaction of the crew, who were obviously touched at the support from their customers. The lone sax player on the Fort Langley side, serenading the last sailings with slow jazz. The pilot, who made a low pass over one of the ferries, and then turned and saluted the other one.
The Kulleet, on the last passenger carrying ride to the Langley side, paused in the middle of her run and did doughnuts, giving people a few more minutes, for the very last time, on the river. Then she docked to more applause, more honking,and a female crewman exclaiming, “Thank you so much everyone. Fantastic.” The cars drove off, still honking up the road, and though people wanted to stay near the slip, we were shooed off. It was time to lock the shiny new gate, forever. Still, some lingered on the road just outside, taking in the end of what, for better and for worse, had been a part of the community for fifty two years.
I don’t think there were many ferry buffs for the final sailings. Not many people who were there for bridge tours, or to ruminate about the Kulleet’s technical stats. I suspect than many were there because the ferries had been a part of their community, and while the boats could be an inconvenience, they represented a link between places, a tie to the river, and maybe a link to a time when life was lived at a different, if not better, pace. And clearly, the crew had a place in the community.
After lingering for a fair while getting to know Mill Bay better, I headed off for lunch, and hopefully, to catch the ferry’s guests only cruise down the river. I walked out over the Golden Ears bridge, which, on the Langley side, rises from an ugly industrial area, where your view before you reach the water is of a vast gravel lot littered with piles of concrete rubble and gravel. Quite the contrast from the approach to the ferry dock through the historic town of Fort Langley, and the treelined road on McMillan Island. The bridge might be impressive to those who are into such things, but all I saw was the vast concrete and steel bulk and the huge trucks careening along at a pace to lift the cap off your head as they pass. It’s possible to drive over such things and not even be conscious of the river beneath you as you look for the exit to take you to whatever big box emporium that might be your destination. A great hulking edifice, splendidly efficient, without a single human being working on it’s entire length.
After I passed the midpoint, and waited a while with another fellow there for the same reason, the tiny but unmistakeable form of the Kulleet appeared around the bend upriver. Going slowly, even by her modest standards, she gradually grew near the giant artery that had rendered her and her sister redundant. I could imagine how gigantic the bridge would have looked to the people onboard as they approached, while from the bridge, the ferry never gained more than a very modest stature. As she disappeared from view under the span, a cloud of red and blue balloons were released, some of which I would imagine caught on the underside of the bridge and might be there still. The Kulleet just passed the bridge, and then turned back and headed slowly upriver, sounding a salute- or perhaps a protest- of a horn that seemed so impressive for such a small craft, and I watched for a while and wondered just what the invited crew, their families, and whoever else on board were feeling about the bridge that sealed the boat’s fate.
There’s no need to over- romanticize the end of the Albion ferry. Few would deny the need for the bridge just opened. People will pass much more easily, much of the time, between the north and south side of the river. Still, an important connection has been lost, deemed expendable even though it means a detour of several miles for some travellers. And clearly, to many of the people who turned up on the last day to show their respect to the people and the service that had so industriously served well for so many years, maybe it wasn’t just about getting from point ‘a’ to ‘b’ by the quickest method. It had something to do with community, and a time and a connection to the river that they were somewhat reluctant to see the end of.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 4, 2009 19:37:42 GMT -8
Youtube videos of final sailings:
- Here's a long video (starring the ferry-nerds):
- here's a moderate-length video (taken from shore, shows the ferries doing donuts):
- And here are a bunch of short videos:
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Aug 5, 2009 8:54:06 GMT -8
wow, so awesome, yet so sad!! Wish I could of been there for the last sailing. I dont know if I will ever go on the Golden Ears Bridge seeing it put the Albion Ferries out of service!
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Post by Dane on Aug 5, 2009 19:55:50 GMT -8
Where are the Albion ferries?
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Post by fargowolf on Aug 6, 2009 17:50:32 GMT -8
wow, so awesome, yet so sad!! Wish I could of been there for the last sailing. I dont know if I will ever go on the Golden Ears Bridge seeing it put the Albion Ferries out of service! Agreed. I wished I could have been there for the last sailings too. All I have now, are a few memories of riding them and the BC Ferry they chartered at times to maintain a two vessel service. I MAY go across the Golden Ears Bridge just for curiosity's sake. I don't know about anyone else on the board, but I feel like I've lost a friend. I'm very glad that I had several opportunities to rid the ferries.
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ProudCanuck
Chief Steward
Champ Car - Gone, but not forgotten!
Posts: 242
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Post by ProudCanuck on Aug 10, 2009 11:38:45 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Oct 8, 2009 8:43:55 GMT -8
The "Offer Pending" label on the Albion Ferries listings at www.harlowmarine.com have been removed. So I'm thinking the deals up north fell through? They're still looking for their $1.1 million per vessel.
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 4, 2009 20:01:26 GMT -8
I drove by the old Albion terminal today and snapped some shots. the tide was down though, so the boats were too low for any great pics.
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 30, 2009 7:08:10 GMT -8
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Post by NMcKay on Dec 1, 2009 18:57:23 GMT -8
that quiz is messed up...
I think i need a better one
The Ferries were operated by Fraser River Marine Transportation
The Kahloke was a rare sub, it would have been better to put the Vesuvius Queen
how about "Where did the name "albion" come from?"
and towards the end, the ferries relied entirely on Diesel fuel, and the Natural gas fueling system was removed
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Dec 3, 2009 0:27:11 GMT -8
that quiz is messed up... I think i need a better one The Ferries were operated by Fraser River Marine Transportation The Kahloke was a rare sub, it would have been better to put the Vesuvius Queen how about "Where did the name "albion" come from?" and towards the end, the ferries relied entirely on Diesel fuel, and the Natural gas fueling system was removed The Klitsa was actually up there a lot more than the Kahloke ever was, since the Kahloke had a fairly regular route of its own. My BC place names book simply says the name Albion was chosen for the post office south of Haney, because it was a name from the 'old country' of Britain.
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Post by lmtengs on Dec 3, 2009 7:08:08 GMT -8
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Jody
Chief Steward
Ferry Foamer
Posts: 152
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Post by Jody on Dec 31, 2009 23:22:50 GMT -8
I really wanted to make it up north this summer and catch a ride on these boats before the end came, and I'm quite sad that I didn't. For the time being, they are still tied up at the Albion terminal, I take it? If I get up there, I'll have to try and get some photos of the bones...
J
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Jan 1, 2010 0:21:42 GMT -8
The Vancouver Sun reported recently that, as Ferryman suggested back in October, a proposed sale of at least one of the vessels had fallen through. No action on either at this time.
I happen to have been at the Fort Langley dock twice in the past week, and both times people drove up and parked as if they were lining up for the ferry. The sign further back in Fort Langley isn't terribly prominent, and it wouldn't surprise me if some people never heard of the ferries' demise.
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Post by lmtengs on Jan 1, 2010 11:48:29 GMT -8
The Vancouver Sun reported recently that, as Ferryman suggested back in October, a proposed sale of at least one of the vessels had fallen through. No action on either at this time. The son of Graham Mowatt, one of the ex-Senior Captains of the ferries, goes to my school. I heard his father after school last November talking to another interested parent about the future of the ferries, and he told them that Translink was thinking about, wait everyone make sure you're sitting down, scrapping the Kulleet and Klatawa. And, no, I don't know why I didn't post this earlier...
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Post by landlocked on Jan 3, 2010 10:02:27 GMT -8
============ [first paragraph of post removed by moderator, because of legal concerns] ===========================
Would scrapping be an option? Certainly. How about another option? Sell them for a reasonable price. While the US is not an option there are certainly many parts of the world that could be providing the numbers crunch. But, now that Translink realizes that there aren't too many takers at $1.1 M, despite what they originally thought, they might come down to earth on the price.
There may well have been interest at BCFS, but not at the original asking price.
I wouldn't put too much stock in what Mr. Mowatt has to say...
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