The Fleets

Feeders part 1 | Feeders part 2 | Feeders part 3 | Feeders part 4 | Transmigration via Britain

Feeder Lines - Part 2

Great Western Group

Passenger services comprised the Fishguard & Rosslare Railway Company which amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1923. They became part of the British Transport Commission in 1948 and ceased shipping operations in 1967.

Fishguard & Rosslare Railway Company

The Fishguard & Rosslare Railway Company commenced passenger operations between Fishguard and Rosslare in 1906. The main objective was to provide a fast service for passengers wishing to board major liners at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland.

Funnel:
1896-1964 red funnel, black top.
1964 red funnel, black top, white letters FR on red.
1965 red funnel, black top with British Railways insignia on red

Fleet:

Vessel	Built	Years in Service	Tons
Fishguard		see St. Andrew (1)
Rosslare		see St. David (1)
St. Andrew (1)	1910	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1930 renamed Fishguard, 1933 scrapped.	2,528
St. Andrew (2)	1932	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1937 scrapped.	2,702
St. David (1)	1906	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1932 renamed Rosslare, 1933 scrapped.	2,529
St. David (2)	1932	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1944 sunk at Anzio while hospital ship.	2,700
St. David (3)	1947	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1969 Holyhead-Dublin, 1971 sold to Greece, renamed Holyhead.	3,352
St. George	1906	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1913 sold to Canadian Pacific, 1917 requisitioned, 1919 sold to Great Eastern Railway.	2,546
St. Patrick (1)	1906	Fishguard-Rosslare, 1929 caught fire at Fishguard and scrapped.	2,531
St. Patrick (2)	1930	Fishguard-Rosslare and Weymouth-Channel Islands, 1941 bombed and sunk near Fishguard.	1,911
St. Patrick (3)	1947	Weymouth-Channel Islands, 1963 Southampton-St Malo / Havre, 1965 Folkestone-Boulogne, 1972 sold to Greece, renamed Thermopylae.	3,482

Great Western Railway Company

The Great Western Railway Company (GWR) commenced Milford Haven / Fishguard - Waterford (Cork), Ireland, passenger service in 1872. Weymouth - Channel Islands and French ports services started in 1889. In 1948 GWR became part of the British Transport Commission and shipping services finally ceased in 1967.

Funnel:
1872 Buff, black top.
1873-1964 Red, black top.
1965 British Rail funnel.

Southern Railway Group

The Southern Railway Group was comprised of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company; the London, Chatham & Dover Railway Company; the London & South Western Railway Company; the South Eastern Railway; and the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company (joint fleet). These companies were all combined into the Southern Railway in 1923 and became part of the British Transport Commission in 1948. In 1979 the company became a part of Sealink UK Limited, and was acquired by Sea Containers Limited in 1984.

London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company

The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company started Brighton - Dieppe passenger steamer sailings in 1847 and then added Newhaven - Dieppe. Littlehampton - Honfleur services started in 1870 and was later changed to Littlehampton - Dieppe. Later sailings operated from Southampton. In 1923 the company became part of Southern Railway.

Funnel:
1847-1867 Black
1867-1922 White, black top
1923- Buff, black top

London, Chatham & Dover Railway Company

The London, Chatham & Dover Railway Company started passenger services between Dover and Calais in 1864 when they took over the fleet of Jenkins & Churchward. In 1899 the company amalgamated with the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company.

Funnel:
1854-1860 Black
1861-1899 White, later with very thin black top.

London & South Western Railway Company

The London & South Western Railway Company started sailings in 1843 as the South Western Steam Navigation Company and was renamed New South Western Steam Navigation Company in 1846. The ships were leased to the L & SWR Company in 1848 and were taken over in 1863. In 1923 the company became part of Southern Railway.

Funnel:
1843-1845 Black
1846-1848 Black with white band.
1848-1923 Powdery yellow.

South Eastern Railway Company

In 1854 the South Eastern Railway Company took over the fleet of the South Eastern & Continental SP Company and ran Folkestone / Dover-Boulogne / Ostend services. In 1899 the company merged it's fleet with the London, Chatham & Dover Railway to form the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company joint fleet.

Funnel:
1843-1853 Black
1854-1899 White, black top.

South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company

The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company was formed in 1899 by the merger of the fleets of the London, Dover & Chatham Railway and the South Eastern Railway. They ran services between Folkestone / Dover - Calais / Boulogne. In 1923 they became part of Southern Railway.

Funnel:
1899-1914 White, black top.
1914-1918 grey.
1918-1923 Black.

Southern Railway / British Transport Commission

The Southern Railway / British Transport Commission was created in 1923 by the merger of the London & South Western Railway; London, Brighton & South Coast Railway; and the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Companies. The Southern Railway took over all the fleets and routes of the constituent companies. In 1948 the company became part of the British Transport Commission and in 1979 the shipping interests were transferred to Sealink UK Limited.

Funnel:
1923-1965 Buff, black top.
1965- British rail funnel

Sealink and Stena Lines

The Sealink and Stena Lines took over the ships of the British Transport Commission in 1979, which were resold to Sea Containers Limited in 1984.

Compagnie de Chemins de Fer du Nord and Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF)

The Compagnie de Chemins de Fer du Nord and Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer Francais commenced cross Channel services in 1898 from Calais. In 1920 the service was taken over by Societe Anonyme de Gerance et d'Armement (SAGA). The SAGA services were absorbed in 1951 by SNCF (French State Railways). In 1967 they became partners with P&O (General Steam Navigation Company) which later took over management of the fleet.

Funnel:
1923-1948 Buff, black top.
1948-1987 red funnel, black top with italicised SNCF in white on red.

Fleet:

Vessel	Built	Years in Service	Tons
Cote d'Argent	1932	Calais-Dover, 1940 captured by Germany renamed Ostmark, 1945 bombed and sunk off Denmark.	3,047
Cote d'Azur (1)	1930	Calais-Dover, 1940 bombed and sunk Dunkirk, raised by Germans renamed Elsass 2, 1945 mined and sunk off Samso.	3,047
Cote d'Azur (2)	1951	Calais-Dover, 1973 sold to Monaco renamed Azur, then Marie F.	4,037
Le Nord	1898	Calais-Dover, 1920 wrecked off South Foreland.	2,004
Le Pas de Calais	1898	Calais-Dover, 1923 scrapped.	2,004
Leopard	1968	Southampton-Havre, 1986 sold to Cyprus renamed Countess M.	6,014

SNCF Fleet:

Vessel	Built	Years in Service	Tons
Champs Elysees	1984	Calais / Boulogne-Dover, 1992 renamed Stena Parisien, Newhaven-Dieppe, 1992 still in service.	9,069
Chantilly	1965	Calais-Dover, 1988 sold to Greece, renamed Olympia.	3,400
Chartres	1973	Calais / Dunkirk-Dover, 1992 still in service.	4,800
Cote d'Azur (3)	1981	Calais-Dover, 1992 still in service.	8,862
Nord Pas de Calais	1987	Dover-Zeebrugge / Dunkirk, 1992 still in service.	13,727
Stena Londoner		see Versailles.
Stena Parisien		see Champs Elysees.
Transcontainer 1	1969	Dunkirk-Dover / Harwich, 1985 Dieppe-Portsmouth, 1986 sold to Greece.	2,760
Valencay	1965	Newhaven-Dieppe, 1985 sold to Greece, renamed Eptanisos.	3,430
Versailles	1974	ex- Stena Nautica, 1986 chartered from Stena Line and renamed Versailles, Newhaven-Dieppe, 1992 renamed Stena Londoner, still in service.	6,737
Villandry	1964	Newhaven-Dieppe, 1985 sold to Greece, renamed Olympia then Delos.	3,444

Societe Anonyme de Navigation Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace (ALA)

The Societe Anonyme de Navigation Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace was founded in 1926 jointly by SAGA (see above) and London Midland & Scottish Railway to run a service from Tilbury to Dunkirk. In 1928 management was taken over by Southern Railway and the service switched to Folkestone. The Dunkirk-Folkestone route was closed in 1936 and the remaining ships sold. The Twickenham Ferry and St.Eloi were nominally transferred to the company which was entirely taken over by British Rail in 1977.

Funnel:
1927-1936 Black

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