Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Life before road bridge: crossing the River Tay aboard Fifies
ALMOST 55 years ago the death knell rang on the Tay Ferries, or the Fifies as they were more affectionately known, which transported Dundonians across the Tay for 145 years.
Locals used the ferries to escape to the countryside of Fife, with crossings scheduled up to 11 times a day.
On August 18, 1966, the Scotscraig ferry made its final crossing as the Tay Road Bridge was officially opened.
Before the introduction of regulated, and scheduled, crossings many crossed the Tay in the early 1800s aboard sailing boats which were as unsafe as they were unpredictable.
In June 1878 there was a new way for locals to cross the Tay.
After seven years of construction Thomas Bouch’s Tay Rail Bridge was open and it was the longest bridge in the world.
The ferries kept crossing, meaning passengers had options on how they would travel for a quiet day in the countryside for the first time. It was one of those ferries that became the first on scene after the Tay Bridge disaster on the evening of December 28, 1879.
The Newport was the first ferry to be built at the Caledon shipyard for the crossing in 1909. It would be the first of four passenger boats to be constructed for the Tay Ferries at the yard and it would cement the relationship between the Dundee Harbour Trust and the Caledon Company.
The William High was next, being added to the fleet in 1924. She was named after the then Provost of Dundee and when he was later knighted in 1929 the ship also got an upgrade in title being renamed the Sir William High.
After leaving the Tay the Sir William High was sold to a Nigerian company in 1953. She steamed 400 miles up the Niger River, was renamed Ojukwo and ended her days as a ferry on the river.
In 1929 Sir William High’s sister boat the BL Nairn came into service and, after the introduction of the Abercraig in 1939 and the Scotscraig in 1951, the Nairn, named after the chairman of the Dundee Harbour Trust, became a relief boat for the crossing.
Despite not being used full time, the Abercraig, featuring a diesel engine and much larger space to fit more cars on board, and the Scotscraig, which was also built at the Caledon yard, were both fitted with German Voith-Schneider propellers which would allow greater manoeuvrability.
That manoeuvrability came at a cost as the propellers became known for their unreliability, so the BL Nairn was often called into service.
With traffic crossing the river increasing, especially heavy lorries, the trust faced a number of issues not only due to the size and design of the ships but also the suitability of the piers and approaches.
In August 1955 the Tay Road Bridge Joint Committee was formed. William Fairhurst was chosen as project engineer, and by 1960 his plans had been accepted.
By 1963 construction was under way and, despite heavy upheaval on land, the Fifies were already affected by the road bridge.
Crossings had to be halted at low tide as the bridge prevented the ships slipping down river far enough to avoid the sand-banks.
On one occasion the Abercraig suffered engine failure and was driven by wind against the temporary bridge in place. Some damage was suffered by both the boat and bridge, and passengers had to be led to safety along the temporary bridge in gales.
By the summer of 1966 the bridge was completed and so the last three remaining ferries, the BL Nairn, Abercraig and Scotscraig undertook their final voyages.
The Fifies were still in daily use up until the road bridge took over with the ferries leaving Dundee and Newport on the hour and half past the hour and the crossing itself taking approximately 20 minutes.
The final sailing between Newport and Dundee took place on August 18, 1966, at 6.30pm.
Earlier that same day the Tay