Sir William Wallace - Second build

[amdaylight]

Eddy,

Did they really park the cars in a jumble like that? I would have thought that they would have parked them so they would unload faster.

Andre

[Roderick Smith]

That one is unusual in being side loading/unloading: the cars have manoeuvred to the ends, but the semitrailer can't.
Virtually all car ferries which I have been on have had bow & stern loading, with unidirectional lanes.  Many have been narrow, so that the outermost lanes involve a wiggle.  They are loaded first, with cars which are then blocked in by trucks on the centre lanes.
I have been on some single-ended bow loaders: drive on; back off.
On some larger overnight ferries, despite having stern and bow ramps, I have driven to one end, U turned in the space, then driven out.  I suspect that that may have been caused by the layout of ramps linking multiple car decks.

AFAIK the only side loader which I have been on was a CalMac (MV Juno, not paddle) from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay.
I wrote in my pad that this was unusual: a stern ramp, a starboard ramp, no bow ramp.
At Wemyss Bay, loading was from the stern; the early vehicles on made a right-hand turn, ready for offloading.  The later vehicles stayed in lanes (cars right, trucks left) to turn before offloading.  At Rothesay, offloading was from the side.  The reverse operation applied for the return.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[djcf]

Eddy, really coming to life with the detail being added...I must admit that is my favourite part of model ship making, very rewarding   

Roderick, MV Juno's sister ship, Jupiter, still works the Dunoon/Gourock route at the moment, end loading at Gourock, Starboard side to at Dunoon. She is loaded at Gourock in such a way that any large vehicles /trucks/coaches have an easier disembarkation at Dunoon, being parked aft/or to the port side.
At Dunoon large vehicles are usually put on board first, then cars behind, unless, in high winds, high sided vehicles are put between port & starboard ramps for shelter

NB Wemyss Bay/Rothesay is now bow embarkation Wemyss Bay, Stern disembarkation Rothesay, new linkspan there.

regards
Clark

[Eddy Matthews]

From what I've seen, the loading was a little haphazard at the best of times on the Forth ferries. Firstly, they only had a very short time for turnaround - From docking to leaving was generally less than ten minutes, so no time to park vehicles neatly!

And then we get to the major issue with the model, the deck cargo of vehicles are all diecast, so they aren't light! Because of that they have to be spaced so that they keep the ship in trim fore and aft and side to side. Surprisingly, two similar sized models (of vehicles) can vary in weight enormously! You'd expect the largest vehicle (the cattle truck) to be the heaviest vehicle, but it isn't, some of the cars weigh more!!

So I have to have a certain amount of "poetic license" when it comes to vehicle positions...

Regards
Eddy

[Roderick Smith]

Thanks Clark.
Yes, the same principle (large vehicles to port) shows in my Juno photo.
I checked my Argentina train ferry photos www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2603.0
I had assumed that these ferries were dual rail & road, but apparently not so.
As at 1984, the road bridge had been opened.
There must have been separate ferries for road traffic in earlier years.
On looking at the photos, it seems that all loading and offloading was done at the one end: wagons and carriages would have been shunted on anyhow.  The bufferstops at the far end appear to be fixed, not movable.

On my first visit to Norway (Jan.76), I came from Narvik to Bodo by bus one afternoon.  This involved three fjord crossings by ferry (30 years later, two are bridges and only one remains as a ferry).  The crossings gave bus passengers a chance to buy snacks from the ferry kiosk without adding time to the schedule.  On one of the crossings (a short one), a truck was left to last to offload, but was to one side.  The ferry listed as the first few vehicles got off, and the truck slid sideways onto the wall.  It couldn't get off.  With difficulty, the bus got off, making the list worse.  We left and didn't see how the problem was solved.

I have watched rail ferries loading in NZ and in Italy: high-speed pumps fill/empty port or starboard ballast tanks to balance the weight of the rail vehicles being loaded/offloaded on the other side.

One of my early experiences was the Williamstown punt, across lower Yarra River.  It always had long queues, and loading/offloading was rapid.  However, strictly laned (drive on at the stern, drive off at the bow, three lanes each side).  On one occasion, I was stopped short behind a tiptruck.  I soon realised why.  A deck hatch was opened, and the truck tipped a load of coal into the bunker on the run, and so reduced delays for the queues.  I have a photo, but not scanned.  I enclose a standard 3/4 of the ferry in action.  It was to be withdrawn when West Gate Bridge was opened.  When the bridge collapsed during construction, delaying completion, the punt was withdrawn anyhow.  Vandals sank it at the mooring, and it was scrapped.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[scotfriend]

Hi Eddy,

i like the SWW more and more when i see the photos of her when she comes together with all these small parts.

The only thing i see is, if there is a third build you need a larger settee

regards Hans

PS. my van is back from the paintshop and it looks goooooooooooooood

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks Hans,

I think the Forth ferries are ugly, but they definitely have a certain charm, and you have to admit they do look different!!

Regards
Eddy

P.S. I'm really looking forward to seeing how your van has turned out!

[scotfriend]

about the van...... GREAT