TRAIN FERRIES OF EUROPE TRAIN FERRIES OF THE AMERICAS,ASIA AND AFRICA TRAIN FERRIES OF EUROPE AND THE WORLD FLEET LIST 1850 TO PRESENT DAY

All By Steve Barron

BETWEEN them, these three books are probably the most detailed and definitive ever produced covering train ferries from their earliest days; the very first in 1837 crossing the Susquehanna River in Maryland, USA and 13 years later in 1850 the first purpose-built train ferry ‘Leviathan’ began crossing the Firth of Forth connecting Fife to Edinburgh. Both these early examples were later superseded by bridges and this fate has befallen many of the other routes described in the two main volumes. The first purpose-built train ferry was built in the UK and UK shipyards continued to supply them around the world for the next century.

Each of the two main volumes begins with an overall historical review summarizing the ships themselves, their capacity and the development of services. Later chapters cover each major operating region with many now long historic routes such as the USA to Cuba, across Lake Baikal as part of the early Trans-Siberian railway plus plans for the Cape to Cairo railways that were never finished, covered. Routes that still operate are covered in good detail as well, with details of all current operations including in the Baltic, between the USA and Mexico, China and in New Zealand.

The companion fleet list book is a geographically arranged list of train ferries in use from the earliest operation until the present day. As well as historic data, the list includes all 53 train ferries in use in 2020 plus 11 under construction.

Any one or all three of these books are highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the relatively undocumented world of train ferries. KF

Published by Ferry Publications www.ferrypubs.co.uk

Europe – 288 pages, hardback. £35 Americas – 192 pages, hardback. £25 Fleet List – 96 pages, softback. £18.00