MV ''Lochalsh'' was a side-loading turntable ferry, built in 1957 for the
Caledonian Steam Packet Company
The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over r ...
for the Kyle of Lochalsh - Skye crossing. Superseded by larger, drive-through vessels, she was renamed MV ''Scalpay'' and moved to
Scalpay where she served until 1977.
History
MV ''Lochalsh'' was built in 1957 for the
Kyle of Lochalsh
Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is loca ...
to
Kyleakin crossing, replacing an earlier vessel of that name.
[ She served there with other side-loaders until the arrival of the new drive-through vessels, and in 1970/71.
Renamed MV ''Scalpay'', ownership passed to ]David MacBrayne
David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson & Co. with three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne, it passed in 1878 to David ...
, although she was operated by the MacSween family. She remained in MacBrayne ownership, not transferring to Caledonian MacBrayne Holdings Ltd. in 1973.Lochaline
Lochaline ( gd, Loch Àlainn) is the main village in the Morvern area of Highland, Scotland. The coastal village is situated at the mouth of Loch Aline, on the northern shore of the Sound of Mull. A ferry operates regularly over to Fishnish on ...
until May 1978 when she was towed to Crinan, making her own way through the canal and a further tow to Shandon. In November 1979, she was sold to the Ardmaleish Boat Building Co. of Bute for spares for (ex-''Kyleakin''). She ended her days as a barge on the Ayrshire coast.[
]
Layout
''Lochalsh'' was similar in specification and profile to the later and . She had side ramps and could carry six cars but had no passenger lounge.[
For service at Scalpay, her ramps were remodelled with angled ends to suit the steeper slipways.][>
]
Service
''Lochalsh'' proved extremely reliable at Kyleakin, being joined by further side-loading vessels on the increasingly busy service until 1970. In anticipation of the arrival of two new drive-through ferries, her sister ''Kyleakin'' II spent the 1970 summer season at Scalpay, Outer Hebrides
Scalpay (; gd, Sgalpaigh or ''Sgalpaigh na Hearadh''; i.e. "Scalpay of Harris" to distinguish it from Scalpay off Skye) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Toponym
Mac an Tàilleir (2003) suggests the name derives from "ship isl ...
. This was so successful that ''Lochalsh'' (as ''Scalpay'') became the regular vessel there, remaining until replaced by ''Morvern'' on 12 January 1977.
''Scalpay'' was beached to await her fate. In July and August she provided service as the Corran Ferry across the narrows of Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...
, although troubled by breakdowns.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scalpay 1957
Caledonian MacBrayne
1957 ships