ICEBREAKING RAIL FERRIES

In the days of sailing ships and horse-drawn carts, transport largely came to a halt when rivers and harbours were gripped by winter ice. This only changed with the advent of steam trains in the middle of the 19th century, and the necessity of following a timetable in all weathers. However, where the trains relied on ferries, they also needed to cope with ice.

The world’s first ferry to carry rail wagons was Susquehanna of 1838, which crossed her namesake river on the line from New York to Baltimore. However, her wooden hull and paddles were frequently damaged by ice and in hard winters she was laid up, with temporary tracks being laid across the frozen river.

Further north, the Great Western Railway of Canada transferred railcars from Windsor to Detroit. The early wooden ferries were not successful, and an iron-hulled paddle ferry, , was ordered from Barclay Curle & Co in Glasgow. The