For the New York gangster Cornelius "Needles" Ferry, see White Hand Gang.
Needles Ferry
LocaleNeedles−Fauquier
WaterwayLower Arrow Lake
System length0.9 km (0.6 mi)
Lines1
Vessels1
Terminals2
OperatorWaterBridge Ferries Inc.
OwnerBC Ministry of Transportation
and Infrastructure
Websitewww2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/passenger-travel/water-travel/inland-ferries/needles-cable-ferry

The Needles Ferry is a cable ferry across Lower Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Linking Needles and Fauquier, the ferry, part of BC Highway 6, is by road about 135 kilometres (84 mi) southeast of Vernon and 57 kilometres (35 mi) southwest of Nakusp.

Timeline

1913: Farmers built the first vehicle ferry using Ford Model T parts.[1][self-published source?] Apart from a reference to a rudimentary raft in 1922,[2] no evidence exists of a service most years.[3]
1924: Government ferry launched, which comprised a log raft pushed by a launch.[4] This free service, had a one-car capacity.[5]
1928: Larger boat introduced.[5]
1931: Wooden hulled cable ferry installed,[4] having three-car capacity.[5] Crossings were hourly.[4]
1941: Upgraded to eight-car capacity.[5]
1952: Upgraded to 16-car capacity.[5]
1955: Service increased from 12 to 24 hours per day.[5]
1967: Replacement bridge confirmed, but never eventuated.[6]
1968: Both terminals rebuilt on submerging by the reservoir for the Keenleyside Dam.[7]
1969: Diesel-powered Needles with 28-car capacity introduced.[4]
1990: Needles relocated to Upper Arrow Lake Ferry route. Replaced by a 40-vehicle, 150-passenger cable ferry. At 1,500 m (5,000 feet) was longest haul cable in North America.[4]
2002: Service reduced to 17 hours per day.[8]
2004: Western Pacific Marine became the service contractor.[9]
c.2013: WaterBridge Ferries became the service provider.
2019: Ferry crew observed a submerged pickup truck just off the Needles ferry landing.[10]

Patronage

Patronage (1924–1947) (Double these numbers for single trips)
TypeYearPageRound
Trips		Motor
Vehicles		Horse-
drawn
rigs		PassengersFreight
(tons)		LivestockTotal
Vehicles
Power boat1924–25Q381,008 256 30 2,186682 36 286
1925–26Q381,8522,557 56 4,037 42 1002,613
1926–27P462,2641,604 44 6,004 46 961,648
1927–28U527,1381,530 40 5,162 39 411,570
1928–29S612,1552,442 38 5,972 89 862,480
1929–30T742,1552,366 79 5,899 68 872,445
Power cable1930–31G504,1024,79023111,354340 1725,021
1931–32M404,1175,24438511,836582 1595,629
1932–33Q364,0494,43836913,203503 1354,807
1933–34O324,6754,74051014,827784 2595,250
1934–35T375,4276,18170018,449719 6056,881
1935–36I445,6376,88266118,834820 2397,543
1936–37X525,9927,73382519,804998 3558,558
1937–38X556,8239,04691122,3051,292 2289,957
1938–39Z566,5809,18875820,6051,830 2629,946
1939–40P567,2209,34654121,3241,938 3109,887
1940–41O477,10910,23735918,4031,181 36010,596
1941–42T526,62810,89422920,0102,116 59011,123
1942–43O525,7648,31831614,3673,525 4418,634
1943–44Q524,9847,35922512,6791,730 4267,584
1944–45O514,9857,2847414,6991,814 2177,358
1945–46Q585,4268,62026414,0371,707 3308,884
1946–47P477,26211,9718827,0797,416 34512,059

. Extracted from the respective Ministry of Public Works annual reports.

Patronage (1947–1960) (Double these numbers for single trips)
TypeYearPageRound
Trips		Passenger
Autos		Passengers
(Drivers
excluded)		TrucksTrailers
& Semis		BusesMotor-
cycles		Horse-
drawn
rigs		Freight
(tons)		LivestockMisc.
Veh.		Total
Vehicles
Power
cable		1947–48N567,435 6,759 30,3004,4661,4261,625201462,750 16314,442
1948–49O609,95310,558 49,8036,427 3941,787291646,361 17019,359
1949–50Q7412,92815,311 60,1519,970 4331,73719716,798 14027,541
1950–51N7714,43716,854 60,04511,635 2081,45018746,179 17430,239
1951–52P8312,86812,758 52,32210,200 3721,53510454,614 9924,920
1952–53O8512,73813,662 50,0049,071 8522,06730635,317 13625,745
1953–54M9316,00919,216 60,77611,911 5441,99763184,560 8433,749
1954–55K9515,50617,828 55,00311,733 5582,03526254,891 11032,205
1955–56N8814,60116,783 48,37310,947 3791,6611126 67429,811
1956–57J10015,32618,103 52,66813,254 601919 431 6032,912
1957–58G5315,42820,400 56,90713,420 5287201012 71635,096
1958–59G3614,22618,863 53,04910,515 51587012 10430,775
1959–60F4115,22620,939 53,07711,450 56171810 8 8233,686

. Extracted from the respective Ministry of Public Works or Ministry of Highways annual reports.

Operation

The ferry operates under private contract with the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and is free of tolls, as are all inland ferries in British Columbia.[11]

Departures are every thirty minutes, from the first at 5 am until the last at 10 pm, with a crossing time of about five minutes. The ferry has capacity for 40 vehicles and 135 passengers.[12]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Marquardt, Riel (2006). The Backroad Chronicles: Adventure & History in British Columbia. Vol. I. Trafford Publishing. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-4120-5903-9.
  2. ^ "Daily News". www.library.ubc.ca. 29 Sep 1922. p. 5.
  3. ^ "Daily News, 1 Sep 1919". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3.
  4. ^ Clapp, Frank A. (1991). Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Lake and River Ferries. Ministry of Transportation and Highways. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-7726-1364-8.
  5. ^ Edgewood History Book Committee (1991). Just where is Edgewood?. E. G. Milne. p. 59.
  6. ^ "Nanaimo Daily News, 6 Jun 1967". www.newspapers.com. p. 14.
  7. ^ "Nelson Star, 30 Jan 2016". www.nelsonstar.com. 31 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Vancouver Sun, 9 Apr 2002". www.newspapers.com. p. 20. The Needles Ferry across Lower Arrow Lake….will also operate a maximum of 17 hours per day instead of the current 21.5 to 24 hours per day.
  9. ^ "RFP 12-06-2010". www.bcferries.com. p. 6 (4). Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  10. ^ "Nelson Star, 10 Dec 2019". www.trailtimes.ca. 10 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Inland Ferries". www.gov.bc.ca
  12. ^ "Needles Cable Ferry". www.gov.bc.ca

References