travelled on these many times, awesome piece of engineering, british at btheir very best and sad to see them out of service, theres no better way to cross the channel
They wanted to do the Lake Ontario crossing but after all was in place, the thing was too wide to get through the locks on the St. Lawrence River! There was no way to get it there.
These craft are something else! I read somewhere that some outfit was going to refit two of the ships and put them back into service crossing Lake Ontario between Toronto and Rochester. That would be so cool but it seems like a long shot at best especially in this economy. I wonder how they'd get them across the pond?
How much time did this shave off a typical journey compared to ferry service? I'm guessing it cut the trip in half or more?
A normal ferry takes about 2 hours to cross the English Channel while the SR.N4 took about 30 minutes.
Unfortunately these hovercraft will not be put back into service on Lake Ontario. Some newspapers reported this story a few years ago, but it was just a canard.
Didn't they get a Catermeran to do Toronto to Rochester?
I wonder how financially viable the ferry service would be given the fact that you can drive round the lake easy enough.. although the queues for draconian US customs are a huge pain in the arse.
Considering the sign on the car deck. Was smoking allowed any where else on the hovercraft?
master4112 10 months ago
happy memories of going on the hovercraft when I was younger
lapalmyresam 1 year ago
sounds like a harrier
aronplas5 1 year ago
Every sinle car had to be tied !!? WOW !
TheChefKev 1 year ago
@TheChefKev its cause those things do 80mph if the cars shift the craft could capsize.
tech4pros 1 year ago
travelled on these many times, awesome piece of engineering, british at btheir very best and sad to see them out of service, theres no better way to cross the channel
1976carpman 2 years ago
They wanted to do the Lake Ontario crossing but after all was in place, the thing was too wide to get through the locks on the St. Lawrence River! There was no way to get it there.
BMacM65 2 years ago
it looks just like a plane inside
y291190 2 years ago
i used to work on the hovercraft from Dover Eastern Docks in 1998...loved this job!
wahoe79 2 years ago
These craft are something else! I read somewhere that some outfit was going to refit two of the ships and put them back into service crossing Lake Ontario between Toronto and Rochester. That would be so cool but it seems like a long shot at best especially in this economy. I wonder how they'd get them across the pond?
How much time did this shave off a typical journey compared to ferry service? I'm guessing it cut the trip in half or more?
bagelboi66 2 years ago
A normal ferry takes about 2 hours to cross the English Channel while the SR.N4 took about 30 minutes.
Unfortunately these hovercraft will not be put back into service on Lake Ontario. Some newspapers reported this story a few years ago, but it was just a canard.
Albion1983 2 years ago
depended, what type of ferry, the old boats, or the new catamarang,,,
MyPieProductions 2 years ago
@bagelboi66
Didn't they get a Catermeran to do Toronto to Rochester?
I wonder how financially viable the ferry service would be given the fact that you can drive round the lake easy enough.. although the queues for draconian US customs are a huge pain in the arse.
nixcails 1 year ago
Wish there were still hovercraft today, damnit. That would have been totally awesome...
Remousamavi 2 years ago 7
It was in July 1998.
Albion1983 4 years ago
when was this?
min47pgl 4 years ago