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Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.
The route is currently served by three ferries, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow and named after three rivers in the area: Tamar II, Lynher II and Plym II. Each ferry carries 73 cars and operates using its own set of slipways and parallel chains, with a vehicle weight limit of 18 tonnes (20 tons). The ferry boats are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on the chains; the chains then sink to the bottom to allow shipping movements in the river. An intensive service is provided, with service frequencies ranging from every 10 minutes (three ferries in service) at peak times, to half-hourly (one ferry in service) at night. Services operate 24 hours a day, every day (including throughout Christmas and all other holiday periods), with service frequency never falling below half-hourly.
The ferries, along with the nearby Tamar Bridge, are operated by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, which is jointly owned by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council.
Tolls are payable in the Torpoint to Devonport eastbound direction only, except for motorcyclists, who pay westbound only. The toll is £3 for cars and motorcycle riders are charged £1; there is no additional charge for a pillion passenger. Frequent users can reduce the fare by half by purchasing top-ups online for a machine-readable windscreen-mounted digital payment tag, called TamarTag, which is also usable on the bridge. The toll increase of 50% in March 2010 was the first rise for nearly 15 years before a further increase in November 2019.
The ferry takes around 10 minutes as opposed to a 20-mile, 30-minute trip around the mainland; rush hour times differ.
The fully loaded weight of each ferry is given as 1,000 tonnes, powered by up to three 12-litre diesel engines with generators feeding the two electric motors each driving its chainwheel of nearly 2 m diameter. Normally one generator suffices; the extra two provide redundancy and extra power in bad weather or for extra speed. Each chain is 650 m long and weighs 23 t. There are eight guiding pulleys per chain and rubbing plates where the chains enter and leave the hull. The chains are replaced every three years.
Unlike most chain ferries with the chain ends attached directly to the shores, the chains of the Torpoint ferries are attached with a system of falling weights and pulleys on each shore and for each ferry. This keeps a minimum tension of 3 tonnes force on each chain, but also a maximum tension of this amount, plus some friction, as long as the weights are free to fall and rise in their pits.
A ferry route between Torpoint and Plymouth Dock (now called Devonport) was created by an act of Parliament, the Plymouth Dock to Torpoint Ferry Act 1790 (30 Geo. 3. c. 61) and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe began to run ferries the following year. In 1826 the ferry operations were taken over by the Torpoint Steamboat Company, which built landing piers on both sides of the Tamar. The company also built the steam ferry Jemima which entered service in 1831. The steamer was unable to hold a course in the strong tidal flow of the Hamoaze, so it was soon withdrawn and the older ferryboats returned to service.
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Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.
The route is currently served by three ferries, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow and named after three rivers in the area: Tamar II, Lynher II and Plym II. Each ferry carries 73 cars and operates using its own set of slipways and parallel chains, with a vehicle weight limit of 18 tonnes (20 tons). The ferry boats are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on the chains; the chains then sink to the bottom to allow shipping movements in the river. An intensive service is provided, with service frequencies ranging from every 10 minutes (three ferries in service) at peak times, to half-hourly (one ferry in service) at night. Services operate 24 hours a day, every day (including throughout Christmas and all other holiday periods), with service frequency never falling below half-hourly.
The ferries, along with the nearby Tamar Bridge, are operated by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, which is jointly owned by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council.
Tolls are payable in the Torpoint to Devonport eastbound direction only, except for motorcyclists, who pay westbound only. The toll is £3 for cars and motorcycle riders are charged £1; there is no additional charge for a pillion passenger. Frequent users can reduce the fare by half by purchasing top-ups online for a machine-readable windscreen-mounted digital payment tag, called TamarTag, which is also usable on the bridge. The toll increase of 50% in March 2010 was the first rise for nearly 15 years before a further increase in November 2019.
The ferry takes around 10 minutes as opposed to a 20-mile, 30-minute trip around the mainland; rush hour times differ.
The fully loaded weight of each ferry is given as 1,000 tonnes, powered by up to three 12-litre diesel engines with generators feeding the two electric motors each driving its chainwheel of nearly 2 m diameter. Normally one generator suffices; the extra two provide redundancy and extra power in bad weather or for extra speed. Each chain is 650 m long and weighs 23 t. There are eight guiding pulleys per chain and rubbing plates where the chains enter and leave the hull. The chains are replaced every three years.
Unlike most chain ferries with the chain ends attached directly to the shores, the chains of the Torpoint ferries are attached with a system of falling weights and pulleys on each shore and for each ferry. This keeps a minimum tension of 3 tonnes force on each chain, but also a maximum tension of this amount, plus some friction, as long as the weights are free to fall and rise in their pits.
A ferry route between Torpoint and Plymouth Dock (now called Devonport) was created by an act of Parliament, the Plymouth Dock to Torpoint Ferry Act 1790 (30 Geo. 3. c. 61) and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe began to run ferries the following year. In 1826 the ferry operations were taken over by the Torpoint Steamboat Company, which built landing piers on both sides of the Tamar. The company also built the steam ferry Jemima which entered service in 1831. The steamer was unable to hold a course in the strong tidal flow of the Hamoaze, so it was soon withdrawn and the older ferryboats returned to service.