QueensferryPassage

QueensferryPassage

Welcome to this web site which contains details of the ferries that operated on the Firth of Forth. The route was called the Queensferry Passage. The ferries operated between North Queensferry and South Queensferry. The route going back as far as the 11th century in the times of Queen Margaret. This site however concentrates on the ferries which operated between 1934 & 1964. Many of the items displayed in this site were in the possession of the late Captain John Penny who was the Master of the Sir William Wallace. Capt. John Penny was employed on the ferries from 1946 and was a Master of the largest vessel in the fleet from 1956.

There were 4 vessels in the fleet:
	Robert the Bruce	(Built 1934)
	Queen Margaret	(Built 1934)
	Mary Queen Of Scots	(Built 1949)
	Sir William Wallace	(Built 1956)

Passenger Certificate		Pilotage Certificate
The Sir William Wallace was the newest and largest of the 4 ferries which operated on this route. Her Passenger Certificate shows the 277 tonnage vessel was authorised to carry 500 passengers and 6 crew.		The Captains required a Pilotage Certificate to allow them to be the Master of each of the ferries.

Compass & Lifeboats Certificates
The ships compasses were tested for accuracy as can be seen by this certificate.		The Passenger Certificate shows the Wallace was a "Class V" vessel and as such the lifeboats had to carry the equipment detailed on the list opposite. A 1954 certificate in connection with Launching the Lifeboat is also shown.

Specifications :-
`Ferry`	`Built`	`Length`	`Width`	`Tonnage`	`Engines`	`Passengers/Cars`
Robert The Bruce	1934	149 ft	28 ft	228	Paxman	500/28
Queen Margaret	1934	148 ft	28 ft	228	Paxman	500/28
Mary Queen of Scots	1949	150 ft	28 ft	230	Crossley Bros Ltd	500/35
Sir William Wallace	1956	161.5 ft	30 ft	277	Crossley Bros Ltd	500/40
The Robert The Bruce was the first all welded vessel as well as the first with diesel-electric paddles. All the ferries were built by William Denny & Brothers Ltd who also operated the Queensferry Passage. Maurice Denny championed the expansion of the ferry service in the 1930s, providing and operating two additional ferries on behalf of the London and North Eastern Railway that aimed to supplement the services of the adjacent railway bridge. Their success allowed for the addition of two more craft in the 1940s and 1950s. The ferries only had a draught of approximately 4 ft 6 inches which made them difficult to manoeuvre in high winds. Newspaper articles record how the ferries on occasions ran aground during gales. The number of times this occurred however was relatively few. Their service speed was 8 knots and the 6 crew consisted of a Captain, Mate, Engineer, Ticket Clerk and two Deckhands. Despite high winds, sea fog and the occasional breakdown the ferries ran at a 99.97% efficiency. The ferries were making 40,000 trips a year and carrying 900,000 vehicles. The Forth Road Bridge which replaced the ferries had 4 Million crossings in its first year and currently has 24 Million crossings. Construction of a further bridge accros the Forth is currently underway.

Engines

Details of the Paxman engines used on the Robert The Bruce & Queen Margaret have kindly been supplied by Richard Carr. A summary of the information available can be viewed at the links aside.

Time Table & Fares

The information booklet showing the Sailing Times and Charges makes interesting reading. Charges were very detailed, vehicles being charged based on the size of the engine or Horse Power. There was also charges for Horses, but Stallions were nearly 4 times more expensive to transport. Lorries were based on weight and a separate charge is noted for Hearses, extra being charged if carrying a corpse.

Tickets

On display are the tickets used for Juvenile & Adult fares. A ticket used for vehicles can also be viewed, note the date on the ticket 03-September-1964, the day before the ferries stopped running. It must have been one of the last tickets printed.

Sailings Schedule
This schedule shows the timings of the summer (1964) sailings, also how the sailings would be adjusted if one of the vessels required repair or if there was fog. The names of the captains are listed, which includes Captain Tom Penny, brother of Captain John Penny.

Uniform
	The uniform jacket worn by the Captains can be viewed here.

The Crews in 1956		Terms and Conditions 1956
	This document dated 02-April-1956 shows the 8 crews that operated the 4 vessels and their shift rota.		Details of Rates of Pay and Conditions of Service are contained in this document. It includes details of the issue of uniforms and working hours etc.

Annual Dinner
The Captains were invited to an annual dinner at the Hawes Inn at South Queensferry, the invitations for 1959 & 1960 are shown.

Sir William Wallace - Flag
The Ships Flag from the Sir William Wallace, actual length 12 feet.

The Ferries Last Day
The ferries last carried passengers on 04-September-1964. A revised time table & protocols had to befollowed on that day.			The closure of the Queensferry Passage and the opening of the Forth Road Bridge was a huge occasion for the men who worked on the ferries. To ensure their families were given an opportunity to view the formalities, passes were issued.

Ferries Fate
`The ferries last ran on the 04-September-1964, their fate after this was:-`
	Robert The Bruce	Scrapped at P & W McLellan at Boness in 1965.
	Mary Queen of Scots	Scrapped at T W Ward at Inverkeithing in 1965.
	Queen Margaret	Scrapped at T W Ward at Inverkeithing in 1965.
	Sir William Wallace	Scrapped 1970 in Ghent after carrying cargo on the river Ljsselmeer.

First Day Covers
	To celebrate the opening of the bridge First Day Covers were produced. These two were written by Captain John Penny to his son.

The 39 Steps The 39 Steps feature film based on the John Buchan novel has footage of the ferries. This excellent thriller staring Kenneth More was made in 1959 and has a sequence where the main character Hannay jumps from a train onto the Forth Bridge and escapes. In the background the ferries can be seen below the bridge, which ferries are in the film is difficult to tell, all 4 would be in service by then, I would guess they are either the Bruce or the Margaret.

Newspaper Articles	Newspaper archives plot the history of the ferries, articles from 1939 to 1955 are reproduced, these having been discovered with the help of "Google News".

Denny of Dumbarton
	The ferries were built by Denny, Dumbarton, booklets produced by the company covering the years 1951 - 1955 contains details of the Mary Queen of Scots and the 1956 - 1960 booklet, the Sir William Wallace.

Gallery
	A selection of miscellaneous photographs of the ferries and their crew can be viewed in the gallery section. (Any visitor to this site that has photographs of the ferries that could be used on this site please contact me using the e mail link below.)

Scale Models
	Two superb models of the Sir William Wallace have been built by Eddy Matthews, the models are to a scale of 1:43 & 1:32. A Gallery of the models can be viewed by using the link aside.

Videos
	Videos of the ferries have been found on the internet, links to these are included on a separate page.

North Queensferry Map
	Although this 1896 map is strictly not connected with the ferries covered by this web site, it may be of interest to some as it relates to North Queensferry.

Spot The Difference

The four vessels are very similar, if the names on the hull are not visible how can each be identified? The photographs opposite help but reference to the images in the Gallery section of this site will make identification easier. The clues to look out for are the last two ferries built have diagonal steps running from the paddle housing to the wheel house. The earlier vessels have vertical steps. The Sir William Wallace and the Mary Queen of Scots can then be identified as the Wallace is larger, this results in a longer gap between the paddle housing and the ramp.
I have yet to determine how the two earlier vessels, the Margaret & Bruce can be identified individually, perhaps as more photographs are unearthed it will become obvious. Of course if any visitor to this site knows how this can be achieved then please contact me via the e-mail link below.

If you wish to contact the creator of this site please e-mail: - dennis@queensferrypassage.co.uk

Please visit other sites owned by Dennis Penny :

www.QueensferryPassage.com
www.PennyPictures.co.uk
www.PennyPictures.com
www.PennyPictures.eu
www.DennisPenny.co.uk
www.DennisPenny.com