SS Train Ferry No. 2

Great Eastern Train Ferry Company

Industry	Rail freight transport, ferry service
Founded	1922
Fate	Dissolved in 1934
Successor	London and North Eastern Railway
Area served	Britain and mainland Europe

TSS Train Ferry No. 2 was a cargo vessel constructed in 1917 specifically for the British Army War Office.

History

Armstrong, Whitworth & Company Ltd, located in Low Walker, built the ship and launched her in 1917. Alongside her sister vessels, SS Train Ferry No. 1 and SS Train Ferry No. 3, she was among the pioneering ships to provide scheduled rail freight transport between Britain and mainland Europe. Commissioned by the British Army, these ferries facilitated the movement of rail freight from Richborough harbour to continental Europe to support wartime logistics. Their train decks featured four parallel rails, and loading was accomplished via a link span while docked.

On 1 February 1919, Train Ferry No. 2 participated in rescuing British and American troops from the American transport vessel USS Narrangansett, which had run aground at Bembridge Point on the Isle of Wight. In March 1922, she was dispatched to Ireland to accelerate the repatriation of surplus Army motor vehicles. During this period, she completed multiple crossings between Cork and Dublin to Liverpool before returning to Plymouth by December.

Following the conclusion of her military service in 1922, ownership transferred to the Great Eastern Railway.

In 1923, the London and North Eastern Railway assumed control of the Great Eastern Railway and consequently acquired its stake in the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company. The ferry service under this new management commenced operations on 24 April 1924, inaugurated by Prince George, Duke of Kent. In November 1928, severe weather conditions extended a voyage from Zeebrugge to Harwich from its typical duration of approximately seven and a half hours to an arduous 23 hours.

The Great Eastern Train Ferry Company was dissolved in 1934, with Train Ferry No. 2 subsequently purchased by the London and North Eastern Railway.

In 1940, the vessel was requisitioned by the Royal Navy. While engaged in the evacuation of British forces from France, she sustained artillery damage from shore batteries and sank on 13 June 1940 near Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Seine Maritime, positioned at 49°56′N 00°56′E.

Bibliography

• Anderson, Richard M. (1990). "Response to Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Atherton, D. (1990). "Response to Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 108–110. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Dittmar, Fred (1990). "Response to Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Heine, Paul J. (1990). "Response to Mystery Photo No. 97". Warship International. XXVII (2): 107–108. ISSN 0043-0374.