|
The Railway Afloat
To the casual
observer it may seem rather odd that an organisation whose prime function was to
run railway services should devote
so much energy to what was really a subsidiary business - shipping.
The shipping
services of Britain’s railways companies were born out of a desire to continue
services beyond the end of the line. Around the coast, at harbours, docks and
piers the railway companies saw the advantages of coordinated rail and sea
traffic for passengers, cargo and mail. They built suitable ships, developed the
necessary port facilities and gradually ousted smaller and somewhat unreliable
companies that lacked the essential capital or influence to maintain continuity
of service. With their steamers forming principal links to the Continent,
Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Western Isles of Scotland and of course the
Isle of Wight as well as numerous estuarial ferry crossings, sea routes were
simply considered as obvious extensions of their railway services.
Operating these links was a fleet consisting of not only the
finest passenger mail boats for overnight and daytime services, but also of lake
steamers, general cargo vessels, train ferries, car ferries and even ships
dedicated for the carriage of cattle, not to mention tugs and dredgers – the mix of vessels really was quite
amazing.
A key factor in
the development of many routes was not just the quickest passage from A to B for
the passenger but also the prestigious, not to mention lucrative, mail contracts
often offered to operators of the fastest ships. Fiercely contested, these
contracts were arguably the sole reason so many steamers really were considered the best of
their kind in the world. The ‘Irish Mail’ service from London to Dublin via
Holyhead was a classic example of rivalry and bitterness between operators and
for over seven decades the Railway chased a contract they had initially expected
to win having invested heavily in ships and infrastructure. In 1883 they
actually won the contract for the sea section of the London – Dublin route,
placing the mail in Railway care for the entire journey, only to have it taken
away again and returned to the City of Dublin Steam Packet following disruption
in the House of Commons led by Irish MP's. It was not until 28th November
1920.that the Irish Mail was carried from Holyhead on a Railway steamer, a
development marked by the introduction of four new ships for their service, two
in operation, one on standby and one for relief duties.
Following the Railway Act
of 1921 the private railway companies were grouped, from the
largest to the smallest, as The London Midland and Scottish Railway (L.M.S.),
The London and North Eastern Railway (L.N.E.R.), The Great Western Railway (G.W.R.)
and The Southern Railway (S.R.).
By
the outbreak of World War II the railway fleet of seagoing ships totalled
130, with an aggregate gross tonnage of 176,145. Many of these vessels were
chartered to the Government and their Captains and crews readily volunteered for
war service. Some, such as Holyhead's Scotia, were lost by enemy action, whilst others refitted and
camouflaged out of all recognition played their own part on active war service.
The remainder of the railway ships continued to maintain services on their usual
routes with crews no less brave than those on ships in active war service.
One consequence of
the war was the Government takeover of the operation of the railways and their
ships, just as had happened during World War I. By
issue of an Order under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, 1939, on behalf of
the Minister of Transport, the activities of the railways were immediately
transferred from peacetime to wartime conditions with the Railway Executive Committee taking
control as agents for the Minister. Shortly
after the formation of the Ministry of War Transport in 1941 the two positions
of Chairman of the Railway Executive Committee and Controller of Railways at the
Ministry were amalgamated. This brought the Railway Executive Committee and the
Ministry of War Transport closer together, as the Controller of Railways being
the Chairman of the Railway Executive Committee was able to interpret the
Minister's policy through the Railway Executive Committee, and to place before
the Minister and his officers the views and advice of the Railway Managements.
By the end of the
war in 1945 it was evident that even greater amalgamation was required and under
the 1947 Transport Act the Railways, and most of Britain's other major transport operations,
became part of the state-owned British Transport Commission (BTC).
For many years the
railways had been known as 'British Railways' (BR),
but it was only after nationalisation on 1st January 1948
that the brand was was officially adopted by the Railway
Executive. The shipping services of the former
Big Four railway
companies were now operated on a regional basis, each region having its Marine
Superintendent, all being overseen by the Chief Officer (Marine) of the Railway
Executive. The post of Chief Officer (Marine) was transferred to the office of
the British Transport Commission's Traffic Advisor on the demise of the Railway
Executive.
At Holyhead there was a District Marine Manager. In 1958 this
was Capt R.A.H. Lord who had previously been Master on the local ships. He was
in full charge of the port of Holyhead and all reports from the local Masters
went to him. Capt John Bakewell recalls, "When Captain Lord was in
charge there was also a Staff Clerk, a Mr Bann, and later on Tommy Owen. When
HQ in London 'phoned Capt Lord with some explicit orders, a bell was pressed
which rang in the Chief Clerk's room and he would run scurrying to Lord's room
to put his ear to the earpiece to ensure they got the right message!"
Nationalisation
brought investment to a fleet in much need of replacement or refurbishment in
the aftermath of the war. An important department receiving a boost at this time
were the marine workshops located at various ports. New warehouses and cranes
were installed as new and larger ships replaced wartime losses. These resources were engaged on maintenance and
repair work not only on ships but also on port equipment including cranes and
vehicles. Most routine overhaul and repair work on the ships were undertaken by
in-house staff with the skill and expertise demanded to ensure the well being of
a fleet consisting of the finest ships of the day. Extensive marine workshops
were based at Holyhead which boasted two dry docks. Most, if not all, Irish
Sea, North Channel and St George’s Channel ships were dry docked in Holyhead as
were some visitors from the English Channel as demand dictated.
In an effort to create
greater efficiencies the Shipping and International Services Department was
established at the BTC in January 1957, but the regions
were still responsible for the operation of shipping.
During the 1960s
British Railways underwent a radical reorganisation. Upon the abolition of the
BTC its Chairman, Dr Richard Beeching, was appointed Chairman of the new British Railways Board (BRB) on 1st January 1963.
The report "The Reshaping
of British Railways" was published in later that year and in it the BRB presented a
plan for a new, more efficient, and smaller service to counteract what was seen
as an uneconomic operation.
The Shipping and
International Services Department survived the ending of the BTC and became part of the BRB's organisation with a general manager
and support staff reporting to a board member. The regions' responsibilities
were not altered by this reorganisation. As part of its new image, British
Railways was rebranded as British Rail. It decided that a new identity was
needed and in 1964/65 the new corporate image with its double arrow logo was
introduced.
One
factor to hinder British Rail in the 1960s was car ferry design and, coupled
with steam propulsion, this would eventually have a major effect on the lifespan
of many ships. Although BR was extremely forward thinking when it
came to building Britain’s first drive-on, drive-off vessels, it lagged behind
in the mid sixties as vessels with insufficient vehicle deck headroom for trucks
and bow doors were shunned. It is interesting to note that one full year before the
arrival of the Holyhead Ferry I the modern Thoresen vessels Viking I and
Viking II, (the latter becoming the Earl William in 1977) diesel powered and boasting bow and stern through loading, entered service at
Southampton on routes abandoned by British Railways one year earlier. And
further, just one year before the “Vikings” came Harwich’s steam powered Avalon, a pure passenger vessel capable only of accepting a few crane loaded
cars as it was not believed her route to the Hook of Holland would develop as a
car ferry service. Five years later she would be joined by the St George, a
modern diesel with both bow and stern doors.
The regions finally
lost the control of shipping on 1st January 1968 when the Shipping and
International Services Division was formed. The division was responsible for all
British Rail shipping services, railway owned ports and the development of
traffic and liaison with continental and Irish railway administrations. It had
its own committee which was chaired by a board member. The division's
organisation was established on the basis of a report by McKinsey and Company
Inc, being approved by the British Railways Board in July 1968 and formally
implemented on 1st August of that year. The full transfer of staff to the
division was completed on 11th August 1969.
British
Rail ownership of shipping services continued through the 1970s. On 1st January
1979 the Shipping and International Services Division ceased to exist and its
function, assets and staff were transferred to a new company wholly owned by the
Board named Sealink UK Ltd. The trade name of Sealink had been used for British
Railways' marine services, along with the shipping services of the continental
railways organisations since January 1970.
De-nationalised
In
July 1984, in what became known as the Sale of the Century, the British Government sold Sealink U.K.
Ltd for the extremely low price of £66 million. The purchasers were
Bermuda-based Sea Containers Ltd led by its charismatic President Mr James B.
Sherwood.
Restyled as Sealink British Ferries, a plethora of new plans and schemes were
announced by the new owners but sadly very few of these actually came to pass.
Another
sale saw the bulk of Sealink British Ferries' operations pass to Sweden's Stena
Line on 31 May 1990 for £259 million. This company was no stranger to UK ferry
operations having chartered many vessels to BR and Sealink over the years.
Under
the Stena Line flag, today's ferry operations at Holyhead, while very different
from that of its predecessors, are no less impressive. While the names of such
venerable ships as St Columba, Hibernia and Cambria are
long since gone, those of Stena Adventurer and Stena Explorer
continue the line on an operation built on the traditional and heritage of a
great seafaring past. |
