The Duncan (1888) named after Col. Francis Duncan
There have been three series of ferry ships. The first two series were paddle steamers, they were later replaced by motor ships.
Paddle steamers
The first three ferry ships - the Gordon, Duncan and Hutton weighed 490 gross tonnes. They were 60 feet wide and 164 feet long.
They were capable of 8 knots and were licensed to carry 1,000 passengers with room for 15 to 20 vehicles.
Second series paddle steamers
In time these were replaced by four similar new paddle steamers. They were the Squires, Gordon, John Benn and the Will Crooks.
These new vessels weighed 625 tonnes. They were 166 feet in length and 44 feet wide.
By the time the old paddle steamers had finished their service they had travelled some 400,000 miles, carried 180 million passengers, and 55 million vehicles and cycles.
Read more about the paddle steamers
Motor ships
The paddle steamers were replaced by motor ships in 1963.
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