Steam & Excursion > SP Car Ferry Carrier

For decades before the completion of the Huey P. Long Bridge, the Southern Pacific ferried traffic across the Mississippi River by car ferry. The Carrier was built in October 1892, Hull #56 at T.S. Marvel Shipbuilding in Newburgh, New York for the Southern Pacific. What is missing in the history of this 1,749 gross ton, 280.3 foot long craft are the boiler and engine specifications, despite showing an indicated horsepower of 450 and a crew of 22.
As for the ML&T subletting, Southern Pacific used the Morgan, Louisiana & Texas from Sabine River, Texas to Avondale until 1927, after which the T&NO took control of all SP’s Texas and Louisiana railroad holdings. Should anyone have access to the boiler and engine specifications, those would be greatly appreciated.
Please credit the Detroit Photographic Co. and the Library of Congress for this 1905 era photo.
Be of good cheer,
—Mac
www.lowellamrine.com

---

How strange to think of a time when car ferries were the norm!
Bob

Only thing I have on the specs is it had two Corliss 30x84 engines.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/25 15:27 by train1275.

Thank you for that additional detail.
—Mac

train1275 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Only thing I have on the specs is it had two
> Corliss 30x84 engines.

What an interesting photo!  That boat was built with a sense of style seemingly out of character with its intended purpose as a car ferry; note the round wheelhouses with scalloped trim on the eaves, and the decorative railing posts on the main deck.  And note the size of the wheel, almost as big as the wheelhouse itself.  I also like the boats stored on the roof.

Interesting detail that it was equipped with Corliss engines (maybe they all were by this date for all I know, I just find Corliss engines fascinating).

I suppose the boxcars are equipped with end doors to facilitate grain loading, another interesting detail.

Andy

Are the boxcar end doors for grain loading or for loading long pieces of lumber?

joemagruder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are the boxcar end doors for grain loading or for
> loading long pieces of lumber?

Lumber, grain was loaded through the regular boxcar doors..

Thanks for the pic....

• per Google.  It s not common to see a twin cylinder applications in Marine use..usually three cylinder, or triple expansion setups are the norm.
• Bore and Stroke: It had two cylinders (one high pressure, one low pressure) with a 40-inch and 66-inch bore respectively, both with a 10-foot (120-inch) stroke. The dimensions you provided (30" x 84") do not match this specific famous engine, but they are in the same general range of massive industrial machinery from that era.
• Application: While the Centennial engine was primarily for stationary industrial power, Corliss-type valve gear was adapted for large marine engines, especially for paddlewheel steamboats on rivers and coastal service in the United States