LARGE crowds of spectators gathered near the William Denny & Bros shipyard in Dumbarton in September 1953, to watch the launch of a new ferry for the Clyde coast service.
MV Arran, built to the order of British Railways, Scottish Region, was launched by Mrs Harrington, wife of Mr J.L. Harrington, chief officer (Marine and Administration) of the Railway Executive.
Mr Harrington said the Arran was more than just another new vessel. She was a novel ship, “and the embodiment of much ingenuity to cater not only for passengers and cargo but also for motor vehicles and containers”.
But the “beauty and grace of travel in yesteryear, however, did not take us far today”, he added. The Arran would cost as much as the combined price of five of the current Clyde fleet, all built between the wars. It was a great struggle to achieve anything near a balance of receipts and expenditure when 60 per cent of passengers on the Clyde demanded to be transported in the 12 summer weeks.
The Arran was capable of carrying 450 passengers; the accommodation included a large lounge and tea-room on the upper deck, and there was a smoke-room on the lower deck forward.
A key feature was an electrically-operated lift, which raised and lowered vehicle between pier and main deck levels.
At the ceremony Mr Edward Denny, chairman of the shipbuilders, referred to the “vexed question” of the Queensferry passage.
He said that as long as the idea of a Forth road bridge was kept in a state of perennial resurrection, there could be no question of great capital expense on the ferry service.
Denny’s, who operated the service in behalf of British Railways, said they were not prepared to spend large sums of money on assets whose value might be reduced to nothing in a few years. Their expansion plans could not go ahead unless the shadow of an early bridge receded.
As it turned out, construction work on the £19.5 million Forth Road Bridge began in 1958. The bridge was opened by the Queen on September 4, 1964.
Read more: Herald Diary
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