THE timing, in hindsight, could perhaps have been better.
The Renfrew chain ferry ran aground (pictured) between 3am and 4am on February 28, 1956. It was not refloated until midday, which meant that its hundreds of daily travellers had to cross the Clyde in other ways.
Some were taken by rowing-boats or a small motor-boat; others jumped on trams and buses at Renfrew Cross to catch the Linthouse ferry for Whiteinch.
Coincidentally, just a few hours after the ferry found itself high and dry, the Clyde Navigation Trust made public its belief that both the Renfrew and Erskine ferries should be replaced by a tunnel or a high-level bridge.
In a letter to the Minister for Transport, the trustees said that, in their view, the ferry system suffered from defects that made it unsuitable for modern traffic conditions at both locations.
They made the proposal after an exhaustive study of the financial returns of the ferries, and because of the delays and traffic difficulties at both crossing places.
And they offered to investigate, together with the Ministry and the relevant councils, the building of a bridge or tunnel.
Glasgow Corporation had been urged by its highways committee to support the trustees.
The Renfrew ferry linked Renfrew and Yoker and was greatly used by people from Ayrshire and Renfrewshire who wanted to reach Glasgow’s western parts without going through the heart of the city.
The Erskine ferry linked Old Kilpatrick with a road on the Renfrewshire side near Erskine hospital. It was also a connecting service between Loch Lomond, the Trossachs, Helensburgh, and Renfrewshire and Ayrshire.
A Clyde Navigation official, contacted by the Evening Times, said of the Renfrew ferry running aground: “It was accidentally beached.
“Everybody was very helpful in diverting traffic – the police, Glasgow Corporation Transport, and the bus companies”.
Read more: Herald Diary
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