British Railways - Sealink - Page 6: Newhaven Sevices

This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the Weymouth, Southampton & Portsmouth services of British Railways, which was formed in 1948 with the ships from former LMS, LNER, SR and GWR fleets. British Railways was rebranded British Rail in 1965, and new corporate colours and logo were introduced. In 1968, an Act of Parliament separated the shipping interests of British Rail into a new division, for which the marketing name Sealink was adopted in 1970. In 1979, the ownership of of vessels was transferred to Sealink UK Ltd, in preparation for the privatisation of the railway fleet. In 1984, Sealink was acquired by Sea Containers Ltd, becoming Sealink British Ferries. After a lengthy battle, Stena Line completed a hostile takeover of Sealink in 1990, the company then being known as Sealink Stena Line until later absorption into the Stena Fleet.


Ships on This Page:-
Brighton - BR/Sealink: 1950-1967
Falaise - SR/BR/Sealink: 1947-1973
Senlac - Sealink: 1973-1984

British Railways Pages:-
British Railway Steamers - BR/Sealink Header Page
British Railways/Sealink - Page 5 - Weymouth/Southampton/Portsmouth Services
British Railways/Sealink - Page 6 - Newhaven Services - this page!
British Railways/Sealink - Page 7 - Dover/Folkestone Services
London Brighton & South Coast Railway - LBSC Newhaven-Dieppe Services
Southern Railway - Page 2 - Newhaven Services

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Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards - Home Page

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powered by FreeFind Table of Ship Histories Name Other names Built Brighton la Duchess de Bretagne 1950 British Railways - Sealink Page 6: Newhaven Services
Brighton (BR/Sealink: 1950-67)
The Brighton, was ordered by the Southern Railway in 1947. She was delivered to British Railways in April 1950 by Wm.Denny at Dumbarton on the Clyde. Her continuous contract speed was 24 knots, which she failed to meet over a 6 hour test on her trials, although easily managed more than this in service once run in, and was credited with being the fastest BR ship on the South Coast. Brighton carried 1450 passengers in two classes. Brighton ran on the Newhaven-Dieppe service until the of 1965, when she was used for summer extras only following the opening of a ro-ro berth at Newhaven. Brighton was withdrawn the following year, the last traditional ferry on the Newhaven route, as larger new car ferries entered service. She had served a remarkably incident-free 16 years on her designed route, with only rare appearances on other routes such as Folkestone-Boulogne. Surprisingly Brighton was sold for further UK operations in 1966, when Jersey Lines bought her for use as La Duchess de Bretagne. She received a stern ramp to load just 20 cars, initially running on excursions to the Channel Islands and St Malo from the resorts of Weymouth and Torquay. In 1968 La Duchess de Bretagne ran a very complex series of routes from Southampton, Plymouth, Torquay and St Malo. Jersey Lines failed in 1969, and La Duchess de Bretagne was sold for scrapping in Bruges later that year. Complete history of Brighton Valentine postcard K4505 of Brighton. ETW Dennis postcard of Brighton at Newhaven. A.Duncan photographic postcard of Brighton at Newhaven. Artigala postcard of Brighton at Dieppe. (Dressed overall - first visit?). Artaud postcard of Brighton at Dieppe. Estel postcard 55183 of Brighton leaving Dieppe. CAP postcard of Brighton at Dieppe. La Cigogne postcard of Brighton leaving Dieppe. Estel postcard 5175 of Brighton arriving at Dieppe. Estel postcard 5155 of Brighton leaving Dieppe. Note the new building since the card above. Falaise (Southern Railway: 1947) (British Railways: 1948-1974 - Newhaven: 1964-1973) 3710 gross tons - 310.5 feet long - 1450 passengers (later 500)
Falaise was delivered to the Southern Railway in June 1947, passing to British Railways (BR) six months later on 1st January 1948. She re-opened the Southampton St Malo route after a gap of ten years. In 1964 Falaise was converted to a car ferry on the Tyne, along with the Normannia. She returned to initiate car ferry services on the Newhaven-Dieppe route, and remained in this route, apart from short relief spells at Dover, until the 8th September 1972. After berthing trials in April, Falaise moved to Weymouth for services to the Channel Islands and Cherbourg in June 1973. Her career was cut short in August 1974, when she suffered machinery problems. Falaise was laid up at Holyhead then sold for scrap in Bilbao. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry on Southampton services. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry on Southampton services. Variation on the card above. Postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry. Postcard of Falaise as a passenger ferry. British Railways postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven after 1964. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon British Rail postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven after 1964. The white area of the hull was increased soon after rebuilding - compare with cards above. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon Photographic postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven Sealink postcard of Falaise as a car ferry at Newhaven. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon Senlac (Sealink: 1973-1984)
Senlac was built by Arsenal de la Marine National Francaise, Brest, in 1972. Her sisters were Hengist and Horsa. She worked between Newhaven-Dieppe, with occasional relief work at Dover. In 1984, ownership passed to Sealink British Ferries (owned by Sea Containers). The following year, they sold her to SNCF, remaining on Newhaven-Dieppe services. In 1987 Senlac was sold to Ventouris Sons, and she entered service as Apollo Express from Piraeus to Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini. She was renamed Apollo Express I in 1993. Following financial problems in 1995, Ventouris laid up Apollo Express I, and sold her to Agapitos Express Lines the following year as Express Apollon. Ownership passed to Minoan Flying Dolphins in 1999, entering service with Hellas Ferries from Piraeus to Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, Folegandros, Sikinos, Ios and Santorini. In 2005, Hellas Ferries became Hellenic Seaways, with smart new livery. She was withdrawn and laid in in Piraeus in January 2006.
Sealink postcard of Senlac in her distinctive Newhaven colours. Publisher: J.Arthur Dixon Postcard of Senlac leaving Newhaven. Postcard of Senlac arriving at Newhaven. Ferry Postcards - Cruise Ship Postcards - Ocean Liner Postcards Top of Page - Simplon Postcards Recent Updates - Simplon Postcards Home Page �1999-2014 Copyright Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards (all pages on web site) All Rights Reserved

Name	Other names	Built
Brighton	la Duchess de Bretagne	1950