Cable ferry

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Coin-operated cable ferry at Espevær in Bømlo, Norway
Chain-pulling engine of a small ferry on Berounka river near Prague, Czech Republic
Cable ferry between Ekerö and Adelsö, Sweden
Cable ferry in Vaxholm, Sweden

A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often used either rope or steel chains, with the latter resulting in the alternate name of chain ferry. Both of these were largely replaced by wire cable by the late 19th century.

Types[edit]

Winding mechanism on the Sackville Ferry in New South Wales, Australia

There are three types of cable ferry: the reaction ferry, which uses the power of the river to tack across the current; the powered cable ferry, which uses an engine or electric motors (e.g., the Canby Ferry in the U.S. State of Oregon) to wind itself across; and the fast-disappearing hand-operated type, such as the Stratford-upon-Avon chain ferry in the UK and the Saugatuck Chain Ferry in Saugatuck, Michigan, United States.

Powered cable ferries use powered cogs or drums on board the vessel to pull itself along by the cables. The cables or chains have a considerable amount of slack built into them, in order to sink below the surface as the ferry moves away, allowing other vessels to pass without becoming grounded, snared or trapped. Where a ferry carries both passengers and vehicles the car deck occupies the centre (helping to balance the vessel) and two passenger areas are at the sides, over the tunnels for the chains and the engines. As the ferry cannot steer, a ramp is built at both ends and there is usually a set of controls facing in either direction.

Cable ferries are common where there is little other water-borne traffic that could get snagged in the cable or chains, where the water may be too shallow for other options, or where the river current is too strong to permit the safe crossing of a ferry not attached to the shore. Alignment of the platform at each end of the journey is automatic and, especially for vehicle ferries, safer than a free-moving ferry might be in bad conditions.

A special type are electrically powered overhead-wire ferries like Straussee Ferry, which have an onboard propulsion unit and can float free, but are connected to the overhead wire for power supply, using an electrical cable that slides along the wire as the ferry moves.

Duplicated punts can be provided if capacity of one is not enough. Twin ferries allow one to operate while the other is being maintained.[1]

History[edit]

Simple cable ferry, Gee's Bend, Alabama, 1939

Cable ferries have probably been used to cross rivers and similar bodies of water since before recorded history. Examples of ferry routes using this technology date back to the 13th century (Hampton Ferry in England).

In the early 1900s a cable ferry designed by Canadian engineer William Pitt was installed on the Kennebecasis River near Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada.[2] There are now eight cable ferries along the Saint John River system in southern New Brunswick. In Canada a cable ferry is proposed to transport automobiles across the Ottawa River in Ontario. There are several in British Columbia: two on the Fraser, one at Lytton, one at Big Bar, three on Arrow Lakes. A suspended cable ferry worked until the 1980s in Boston Bar. A small seasonal reaction ferry carries cars across the Rivière des Prairies from Laval, Quebec (Sainte-Dorothée neighbourhood) to Île Bizard (part of Montreal).

Cable ferries were particularly prominent in early transportation in the Sacramento Delta of California. Dozens of cable ferries operated on the Columbia River in the US northwest, and most have been rendered obsolete by bridges. A suspended cable ferry for railway cars crossed the American River in Northern California.

Most of the road crossings of the Murray River in South Australia are cable ferries operated by the state government using diesel engines. The platforms at the ends can be moved up or down according to the water level. At one time, cable ferries were a primary means of automobile transportation in New South Wales in Australia. In Tasmania, for a century before 1934, the Risdon Punt at Hobart was the only fixed method of crossing the Derwent River within Hobart city limits.

In the fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, the Tai O Ferry (橫水渡) crossed the Tai O River before a bascule bridge was built.[3]

The largest and busiest cable ferry is the Torpoint Ferry in Plymouth, England. It was first converted to cable operation in 1831 and currently operates 3 ferries, carrying 8000 vehicles per day. [4][5]

Ownership[edit]

The earliest punts were privately owned by local landowners, and charged a toll. As governments started to build roads, they started to build and operate punts as required. Private punts might be bought out, or made to impose more standard tolls.[6]

List of cable ferry routes[edit]

Current cable ferry routes include:

Albania[edit]

Australia[edit]

The Mannum Ferry.

Austria[edit]

Belize[edit]

Canada[edit]

Lytton Ferry (Fraser River)
Needles Cable Ferry (Arrow Lakes)
Riverhurst Ferry

Chile[edit]

Croatia[edit]

  • Otočanka Ferry, across the Sava River (Otok Samoborski–Savski Marof) in Zagreb County, overhead cable
  • Medsave cable ferry
    Medsave Ferry, across the Sava River (Medsave–Zaprešić) in Zagreb County, overhead cable
  • Oborovo, across the Sava River (Oborovo–Vrbovo Posavsko) in Zagreb County, overhead cable
  • Martinska ves, across the Sava River (Dubrovčak Lijevi–Dubrovčak Desni) in Sisak-Moslavina County, overhead cable
  • Tišina, across the Sava River (Tišina Kaptolska–Tišina Erdedska) in Sisak-Moslavina County, overhead cable
  • Sunjanka, across the Sava River (Graduša Posavska–Lukavec Posavski) in Sisak-Moslavina County, overhead cable
  • Kratečko, across the Sava River (Kratečko–Sunjsko Selište) in Sisak-Moslavina County, overhead cable
  • Pitomača Jelkuš Ferry, across the Drava River, in Virovitica–Podravina County
  • Pitomača Križnica, across the Drava River, in Virovitica–Podravina County
  • Osijek Zoološki vrt, across the Drava River, Osijek-Baranja County

Czech Republic[edit]

  • Dolní Žleb Ferry, reactive ferry across the Elbe at Dolní Žleb near Děčín, lower cable
  • Vrané nad Vltavou – Strnady, reactive ferry across the Vltava before Prague, with overhead cable
  • Klecánky – Roztoky ferry over the Vltava under Prague, secured by overhead cable
  • Máslovice, Dol - Libčice ferry over the Vltava under Prague, secured by lower cable
  • Lužec nad Vltavou ferry over the Vltava, secured by overhead cable
  • Zlenice - Senohraby swimpool, ferry over the Sázava river, overhead security cable installed but usually unused
  • Oseček ferry, Elbe river, formerly secured by overhead cable, now without it
  • Kazín ferry, Berounka river, 1992–2007 propelled through lower chain, since 2015 unsecured boat
  • Nadryby ferry, Berounka river, secured by the overhead cable
  • Darová ferry, Berounka river, propelled through the overhead cable

Denmark[edit]

Estonia[edit]

Finland[edit]

Alassalmi cable ferry
Karhun cable ferry
Koivukanta ferry in winter and parallel ice road for lighter vehicles
Pikkarala ferry wintering on the shore of Oulujoki.

Åland[edit]

France[edit]

Gambia[edit]

Germany[edit]

The Pritzerbe Ferry
The Rathen Ferry

Hong Kong[edit]

Nam Sang Wai Ferry, Hong Kong

Hungary[edit]

Cable ferry crossing the river Tisza between Tiszatardos and Tiszalök, Hungary.

Ireland[edit]

Italy[edit]

Mozambique[edit]

Chain ferry being handcranked in Mozambique
  • Ferry across Shire River, 37 km south of Malawi's southernmost border

Netherlands[edit]

Hand-powered small cable ferry across Vlaardingervaart, Maasland, the Netherlands

There are more than 100 cable ferries in the Netherlands,[23] 11 of which use a floating cable with a single anchorage. The larger ones are usually powered by a diesel-powered screw propeller, the smaller ones often use the cable for propulsion. Most of the larger cable ferries angle themselves in the stream to gain part of their propulsion from the current, as a reaction ferry.

Some examples:

  • Cuijk ferry, across the Meuse at Cuijk
  • Genemuiden ferry, across the Zwarte Water at Genemuiden
  • Jonen ferry, across the Walengracht at Jonen, only taking foot passengers and cyclists, winched to the other bank by an electric motor on one of the banks.
  • Lexkesveer, across the Nederrijn near Wageningen, first mentioned in 1426
  • Oijen Ferry, across the Meuse at Oijen
  • Wijhe Ferry, across the IJssel at Wijhe
  • Wijk bij Duurstede ferry, across the Lek. This one uses a floating cable.

New Zealand[edit]

Norway[edit]

Poland[edit]

Ferry in Kazimierz Dolny-Janowiec (Poland – Vistula river)
Ferry in Gniew (Poland, Vistula river)
prom górnolinowy w Borusowej na rzece Wiśle

Slovakia[edit]

South Africa[edit]

Malgas Ferry on the Breede River, Western Cape, South Africa

South Korea[edit]

Spain[edit]

Sweden[edit]

The Swedish ferry Saga on the Hamburgsund route. The yellow colour is typical for car ferries in Sweden.
The Swedish ferry Vaxholmen with its destination, Vaxholm Castle, in the Stockholm Archipelago.

Switzerland[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

The Cowes Floating Bridge loading at East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom.

United States[edit]

Canby Ferry
White's Ferry on the Potomac River
Wheatland Ferry
Princeton Ferry (undergoing renovation)

Zambia[edit]

Zimbabwe[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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External links[edit]