Railroad were more than land operations...some had marine equipment that was used to move passenger cars, freight cars, general cargo, cars and commuters. There were also passenger 'steamers' owned by railroads that carried passengers on the Great Lakes or between Massachusets and New York City as well. Let's begin with the Southern Pacific's two heavyweights...a ferry and a barge. The famous railroad ferry, the 'Solano', and its sister ferry 'Contra Costa', were the largest ferries of their kind in the world. Used to move passenger trains between Port Costa and Benicia, these trains included incoming cross-country trains that ran between San francisco and Chicago such as the 'Overland Limited'. Here we see the Overland onboard the Solano giving an idea of the size of the ferry.
The Southern Pacific also operated a huge barge that floated trains across the Mississippi River from the West Bank to the New Orleans side. Again, this Espee vessel was the largest of its kind used to move enitre trains and was used until the construction of the Huey P. Long Bridge.
The Maine Central Railroad operated a railroad ferry across the Kennebec River.
The Central Railroad of New Jersey operated automobile and passenger ferries between Manhattan and Jersey City, NJ. Here are views of the Liberty Street ferry terminal in Manhattan, the Jersey City ferry and railroad terminal and Jersey City, and the CNJ's ferry 'Westfield'.
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad operated passenger and automobile ferry service between Manhattan and Hoboken, NJ and had a large fleet of tugs and railroad car 'floats'.
Prior to the construction of the tunnels under the Hudson River and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, the Pennsylvania Railroad operated ferry service to New York via Jersey City.
The Erie Railroad not only operated ferries between Jersey City and Manhattan, but also had a fleet of tugs, barges, and car floats. Here is an Erie tug moving cargo barges while another in the background moves railroad car floats.
For more information on the ferries that crossed the Hudson River, click here:
