Car float
Encyclopedia
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
with rail tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat
Towboat
Not to be confused with the historic boat type with the same name, also called horse-drawn boat.A towboat is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. Towboats are characterized by a square bow with steel knees for pushing and powerful engines...
or towed by a tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
. As such, the car float is a specialised form of the train ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
.
Historical operations
East CoastBeginning in the 1870s, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) operated a carfloat across the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, just south of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, between Shepherds Landing on the east shore, and Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
on the west. The ferry operation ended in 1906. (See Capital Subdivision.)
The B&O operated a carfloat across the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
until the mid-1890s. It connected trains from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and points to the west. The operation was discontinued after the opening of the Baltimore Belt Line
Baltimore Belt Line
The Baltimore Belt Line was constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1890s to connect the railroad's newly constructed line to Philadelphia with the rest of the railroad at Baltimore, Maryland. It included the Howard Street Tunnel, the Mount Royal Station and the first mainline...
in 1895.
New York Harbor was especially rife with carfloat operations until the post-World War II expansion of trucking.
These carfloats operated between the Class 1 railroads termini on the west bank of Hudson River (New Jersey) and the numerous online and offline terminals located in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan. Class 1 railroads in the New York Harbor area providing carfloat services were:
- Baltimore & Ohio
- Central Railroad of New Jersey
- Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
- Erie
- Lehigh Valley
- Long Island
- New York Central
- New York New Haven & Hartford
- Pennsylvania
- Reading
as well as the offline Terminal railroads:
- Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal
- Bush Terminal
- Hoboken Manufacturers / Hoboken Shore
- Jay Street Connecting
- New York Dock
Carfloat service was also provided to many pier stations and waterfront warehouse facilities (that did not engage in carfloating service personally) by the above mentioned railroads.
At their peak, the railroads had 3,400 employees operating small fleets totalling 323 car floats, plus 1,094 other barges, towed by 150 tugboats between New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Abandoned float bridges are preserved as part of this history at:
- Gantry Plaza State ParkGantry Plaza State ParkGantry Plaza State Park is a state park on the East River in the Hunter's Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens.The park first opened in May 1998 and was expanded in July 2009...
in Long Island City, Queens; (former Long Island Railroad), - West 26th Street float bridge (former Baltimore & Ohio) and the only surviving wood Howe Truss float bridge in New York Harbor
- North River Pier 66a, and 69th Street Transfer Bridge (former New York Central)
Also, several other abandoned but unrestored float bridges exist in various locations around New York Harbor. A complete list can be read here:
Surviving Float Bridges of New York Harbor
The only remaining carfloat service currently in operation in New York Harbor is operated by New York New Jersey Rail. This company, operated by the bi-state government agency Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is the successor to the New York Cross Harbor Railroad
New York Cross Harbor Railroad
New York New Jersey Rail, LLC is a switching and terminal railroad that operates the only car float operation across New York Harbor between Jersey City, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York...
. Carfloat service operates between Bush Terminal
Bush Terminal
Bush Terminal now known as Industry City is a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the waterfront in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City...
in Brooklyn, New York and Greenville Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. It has been proposed that carfloat service be transferred from Bush Terminal 50th float bridge to 65th Street / Bay Ridge Yard float bridges.
Freight cars do not run in the East River Tunnels
East River Tunnels
The East River Tunnels are 4 single-track railroad tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The tracks carry Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak trains travelling to and from Penn...
nor the North River Tunnels (under the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
), in part due to inadequate tunnel clearances
Structure gauge
The structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is the minimum height and width of tunnels and bridges as well as the minimum height and width of the doors that allow a rail siding access into a warehouse...
of the New York Tunnel Extension.
West Coast
- Santa Fe: San Francisco
- Southern Pacific
- Union Pacific (?)
- Western Pacific (?)
Modern operations
AlaskaThe Alaska Railroad
Alaska Railroad
The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
provides the Alaska Rail Marine rail barge service from from downtown Seattle, Washington to Whittier
Whittier, Alaska
Whittier is a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of 2006, the population was 177. The city is also a port for the Alaska Marine Highway.-Geography:...
on the central Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n mainland. Additionally, CN Rail provides the Aqua Train rail barge service from Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to Whittier.
New York / New Jersey
New York Cross Harbor Railroad
New York New Jersey Rail, LLC is a switching and terminal railroad that operates the only car float operation across New York Harbor between Jersey City, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York...
. Car float service operates between Bush Terminal
Bush Terminal
Bush Terminal now known as Industry City is a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the waterfront in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City...
in Brooklyn, New York and Greenville Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. It has been proposed that carfloat service be transferred from Bush Terminal 50th float bridge to 65th Street / Bay Ridge Yard float bridges.
Virginia
Bay Coast Railroad
Bay Coast Railroad
The Bay Coast Railroad operates the former Eastern Shore Railroad line from Pocomoke City, Maryland, to Norfolk, Virginia. The Bay Coast Railroad interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway at both Norfolk, Virginia and Pocomoke City, Maryland.-History:...
currently operates a 2-barge car float connecting Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's Eastern Shore with the city of Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
across the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
.
See also
- Alaska Rail Marine
- Aqua Train
- Bay Ridge BranchBay Ridge BranchThe Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in the U.S. State of New York...
- Cross-Harbor Rail TunnelCross-Harbor Rail TunnelThe Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel is a proposed freight rail transport tunnel under Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey between northeastern New Jersey and Long Island, including southern and eastern New York City.-Background:Direct connections for rail freight between Long Island...
(proposed)
- Ferry slipFerry slipA ferry slip is a specialized docking facility that receives a ferryboat or train ferry. A similar structure called a barge slip receives a barge or car float that is used to carry wheeled vehicles across a body of water....
(includes examples of rail ferry and barge slips) - Linkspan
- New York tugboatsNew York tugboatsThe tugboat is one symbol of New York. Along with its morefamous icons of Lady Liberty, the Empire State Building, andthe Brooklyn Bridge, the sturdy little tugs, once all steam powered,working quietly in the harbor became a sight in the city....
- Train ferryTrain ferryA train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
External links
- Railroad ferry, Hudson River, New York, Andreas FeiningerAndreas FeiningerAndreas Bernhard Lyonel Feininger was a German American photographer, and writer on photographic technique, noted for his dynamic black-and-white scenes of Manhattan and studies of the structure of natural objects....
, 1940. Still Photograph Archive, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. - NYNJ Rail - official site
- Industrial & Offline Terminal Railroads of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan