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  • Channel ferries

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Discussion about railroad topics everywhere outside of Canada and the United States.

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 #1406242  by george matthews
 
All rail freight to the Continent now goes through the tunnel. There used to be through passenger carriages to Paris on the ferries but they were replaced by Eurostar.

Yes, the ferries still run and take cars and foot passengers but more traffic goes through the tunnel,.
 #1406334  by philipmartin
 
george matthews wrote:All rail freight to the Continent now goes through the tunnel. There used to be through passenger carriages to Paris on the ferries but they were replaced by Eurostar.

Yes, the ferries still run and take cars and foot passengers but more traffic goes through the tunnel,.
Thank you for bringing us up to date, George.
 #1406414  by ExCon90
 
Actually, the only through carriages that used the ferries were the London-Paris and -Brussels sleepers on the Night Ferry, via Dover and Dunkerque, which ceased operation even before the Channel Tunnel because of the obsolescence of the sleepers, their replacement being seen as uneconomic. Day trains such as the Golden Arrow terminated at Dover Marine or Folkestone Harbour; counterpart trains met the ferries at Calais Maritime and Boulogne Maritime, destined Paris Nord. It was almost an all-day affair with all that transferring.
 #1406417  by george matthews
 
ExCon90 wrote:Actually, the only through carriages that used the ferries were the London-Paris and -Brussels sleepers on the Night Ferry, via Dover and Dunkerque, which ceased operation even before the Channel Tunnel because of the obsolescence of the sleepers, their replacement being seen as uneconomic. Day trains such as the Golden Arrow terminated at Dover Marine or Folkestone Harbour; counterpart trains met the ferries at Calais Maritime and Boulogne Maritime, destined Paris Nord. It was almost an all-day affair with all that transferring.
Eurostar is much more convenient.
 #1406559  by ExCon90
 
My last Channel crossing was from Boulogne to Folkestone Harbour (including an emu boat train from there to Victoria), and while aboard the ship I and the other passengers were interviewed by a representative of the steamship operator (I'm not sure whether it was still Sealink then) who was making a market survey of how many passengers were planning to use Eurostar when it opened--I was certainly one of them.
 #1406581  by george matthews
 
ExCon90 wrote:My last Channel crossing was from Boulogne to Folkestone Harbour (including an emu boat train from there to Victoria), and while aboard the ship I and the other passengers were interviewed by a representative of the steamship operator (I'm not sure whether it was still Sealink then) who was making a market survey of how many passengers were planning to use Eurostar when it opened--I was certainly one of them.
It is more convenient to take the ferry from Dover if one has no vehicle. I am not sure whether Eurotunnel are still providing a bus service which one picked up at the railway station.
 #1406622  by johnthefireman
 
I travelled on the ferries before Eurostar was built, but since then I have always used the train. I regret that I never experienced the hovercraft, which no longer runs. There's a part of me that is yearning for the fresh sea air, so maybe some time when I'm not in a hurry I might give the ferry a try again. I do recall one crossing when the weather was so bad that we had to wait outside Dover for several hours before we could enter. That's where I discovered that I don't get seasick, unlike many other poor sods who were shouting Ralph and Hughie over the railings!
 #1406625  by philipmartin
 
In one of the British Transport Films a cargo of bulls is brought over from Ireland in bad weather, and the vet held up their rail transport for a day or two. Somebody said that they were sea sick.
 #1406631  by george matthews
 
philipmartin wrote:In one of the British Transport Films a cargo of bulls is brought over from Ireland in bad weather, and the vet held up their rail transport for a day or two. Somebody said that they were sea sick.
That's a different route altogether. I have been on most of the routes from England and Wales.
 #1406644  by johnthefireman
 
The mention of carrying bulls by rail reminds me that at some point we studied the South African Railway regulations for transporting livestock - marshalling of trains (gently!), priority of vehicles carrying livestock, rules about where and for how long they could be left in sidings, tickets and conditions of carriage for the chaps accompanying the livestock, availability of food and water, etc. Pretty much obsolete now, but interesting nevertheless.
 #1406720  by george matthews
 
johnthefireman wrote:I travelled on the ferries before Eurostar was built, but since then I have always used the train. I regret that I never experienced the hovercraft, which no longer runs. There's a part of me that is yearning for the fresh sea air, so maybe some time when I'm not in a hurry I might give the ferry a try again. I do recall one crossing when the weather was so bad that we had to wait outside Dover for several hours before we could enter. That's where I discovered that I don't get seasick, unlike many other poor sods who were shouting Ralph and Hughie over the railings!
I rather think I have used the Hovercraft at least once but several years ago. It was quicker than the boats but probably not as fast as the train and much more uncomfortable. I don't think I have ever been actually sea sick on a ferry, though possibly sometimes a bit uncomfortable. I was once seasick on a small boat when fishing off the coast of Mull - Ardnamurchan actually.
 #1407076  by george matthews
 
ExCon90 wrote:Actually, the only through carriages that used the ferries were the London-Paris and -Brussels sleepers on the Night Ferry, via Dover and Dunkerque, which ceased operation even before the Channel Tunnel because of the obsolescence of the sleepers, their replacement being seen as uneconomic. Day trains such as the Golden Arrow terminated at Dover Marine or Folkestone Harbour; counterpart trains met the ferries at Calais Maritime and Boulogne Maritime, destined Paris Nord. It was almost an all-day affair with all that transferring.
Note that there was rail freight in much greater numbers than the passenger service. That uses the tunnel, though not as much as was hoped for when the tunnel was first proposed.