Yard number 921 Fate Scrapped Length 107 m Beam 18 m | Out of service 26 February 1957 Launched 3 August 1917 Depth 4.72 m Builder Armstrong Whitworth | |
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Name 1917-1940 TSS Train Ferry No. 1
1940-1942 TSS Iris
1942-1946 TSS Princess Iris
1946-1956 TSS Essex Ferry
1956-1957 TSS Essex Ferry II Operator 1917-1924 British Army War Office
1924-1934 Great Eastern Railway as Great Eastern Train Ferry Company Limited
1934-1940 London and North Eastern Railway
1940-1946 Royal Navy
1948-1957 British Railways Tonnage 2,683 gross register tons (GRT) | ||
TSS Train Ferry No. 1 was a freight vessel built for the British Army War Office in 1917.
History
The ship was built by Armstrong, Whitworth & Company Ltd, Low Walker and launched in 1917. Along with her sister ships SS Train Ferry No. 2 and SS Train Ferry No. 3, they were the first vessels to offer regular transport between Britain and continental Europe for rail freight vehicles. They were ordered by the British Army to provide rail freight transport from Richborough harbour to the continent to sustain the war effort. They had four sets of rails along the train deck and used a link span to load when in harbour.
After their use by the British Army ended in 1922, they were purchased by the Great Eastern Railway and moved to Harwich where the landing stage was re-erected to provide a service to Zeebrugge in conjunction with the Belgian Government through a joint company, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company. The Great Eastern Railway was taken over by the London and North Eastern Railway company in 1923 with its interest in the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company. The new service was inaugurated on 24 April 1924 by Prince George, Duke of Kent.
On 13 December 1924 she collided with two lighters in the river near Antwerp but the incident was without loss of life.
In 1934, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company was liquidated and she was bought by the London and North Eastern Railway.
In 1940 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and renamed Iris. She assisted with the evacuation of the Channel Islands. In 1941 she was converted to a Landing Craft Carrier, and the twin funnels were incorporated into a single stack. In 1942 she was renamed again to Princess Iris.
In 1946 she returned to the London and North Eastern Railway and renamed Essex Ferry. She was in service with British Railways from 1948 until 1956 when she was withdrawn from service, renamed Essex Ferry II and then scrapped in 1957.