The Ladner Ferry was a crossing of the south arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver, linking Ladner with Richmond. It operated from 1913 until 1959, when it was replaced by the George Massey Tunnel.

History In the early 1890s, the Union Steamship S.S Eliza Edwards provided a daily Vancouver-Steveston-Ladner's Landing run.The Daily Colonist: 20 Sep 1891 to 12 Feb 1892 The Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway proposal included a connecting ferry to LadnerThe Daily Colonist, 1 Jan 1894 that never eventuated. During 1898–1900, the three times weekly CP Navigation Victoria-New Westminster schedule included Lulu Island and Ladner.The Daily Colonist: 26 Jun 1898 to 17 Jul 1900 The 45-passenger Sonoma ran twice daily Ladner-Steveston during 1905–1909.The Delta Times: 9 Sep 1905 to 18 Sep 1909 The replacement vessel from the 1910 summer, the New Delta, ran the route three times daily in the spring/summer, and twice daily in the fall/winter, until April 1914.The Delta Times: 26 Oct 1912 to 9 Apr 1914 However, dangerous ice floes sometimes temporarily cancelled services.The Delta Times, 25 Jan 1913

Maintaining the Steveston run, the New Delta conducted a three-times-daily trial during April and May 1912 between Ladner and Woodward's Landing (south end of No. 5 Road, Richmond).The Delta Times: 6 & 20 Apr 1912; & 18 May 1912 In January 1913, the Scanlon (Helen M. Scanlon), pulling a barge, made the crossing in 20 minutes, while conducting a trial run for a government ferry service.The Delta Times, 15 Feb 1913 During 1913, piles were driven for the new temporary Ladner dock,The Delta Times, 18 Oct 1913 and the province and municipalities upgraded or built the approach and connecting roads on both sides.The Daily Colonist: 18 Jun 1913 & 27 Jan 1914

Strategic to their proposed Lulu Island branch line, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), specified a Steveston terminal for their planned Vancouver Island ferry service. Revised to Woodward's Landing, CNoR acquired 250 acres for five miles of siding and a three-track slip capable of handling the largest ferries (150 feet).The Delta Times: 26 Oct 1912, 23 Aug 1913, 18 Jun 1914, & 30 Jul 1914 The CNoR dock never eventuated after the demise of the railway.

In November 1913, the Scanlon, with its barge in tow, established the Ladner-Woodward's Landing government ferry service. The boat carried the passengers and the barge transported vehicles and livestock. A bus along No. 5 Road from Vancouver connected with the four daily sailings.The Delta Times: 29 Nov 1913 to 28 May 1914 That December, when the ferry struck a sand bar in heavy fog, damaging the paddlewheel, the trip across took four hours and the bus ran out of fuel, stranding the passengers at Woodward's Landing.The Delta Times, 6 Dec 1913 Owing to the deplorable winter road conditions, the bus could take an hour to cover the across Richmond.The Delta Times, 21 Feb 1914 In April 1914, the Sonoma returned to the Ladner-Steveston route,The Delta Times: 16 Apr 1914 to 13 Nov 1914 but it is unclear when this service ceased.

Purchasing the privately owned Scanlon (later renamed the William Henry Ladner), the government began a two-month refit of the vessel. Meanwhile, the smaller tug Linda took its place. The remodelled ferry no longer needed to tow a barge, and the faster turnaround increased service to six times daily.The Delta Times: 19 Mar 1914, 2 & 23 Apr 1914, 28 May 1914, & 4 Jun 1914 However, the bus connection covered only four sailings,The Delta Times, 4 Jun 1914 until increasing to six, two months later. At this time, oiling the gravel sections, and planking the remainder of No. 5 Road, allowed a faster more comfortable bus ride.The Delta Times, 20 Aug 1914 Purchased in March 1918 for $10,000, the larger BeaverThe Daily Colonist, 8 Mar 1918 underwent a $40,000 complete overhaul, before replacing the former ferry in July 1919.The Daily Colonist, 30 Jul 1919 The vessel unsuited to heavy traffic, because it loaded from the sides, increasing the risk of damage to vehicles, was replaced in 1926–27. Winter ice floes and spring flooding, which made navigation hazardous, prompted proposals for a permanent Deas Island crossing.

The Ladner terminal moved twice. During 1920–21, construction costed $15,748. The landing and paved Ferry Road cost $80,000, but on opening in 1931 the crossing time reduced to 10 minutes.The Daily Colonist, 23 May 1931 When tendered in 1932, three bids required no subsidy to operate the ferry, while Mr. Robson, the private operator for the prior six years, offered to pay $1,800 per annum. The province was responsible for supplying an appropriate vessel.The Daily Colonist, 3 Sep 1932 The Ladner-Woodwards No. 3. failed its federal inspection. The MS Agassiz, the replacement in November 1932, had only half the carrying capacity.The Daily Colonist, 18 May 1933 The province reimbursed losses being sustained by operator Leonard M. Robson, due to these serious deficiencies.

The bitumen surfacing of No. 5 Rd during 1935–36 provided continuous pavement from the ferry to Vancouver. In 1936, additional summer sailings were introduced.The Daily Colonist, 22 Apr 1936 The landing and approach at Woodward's Landing received extensive maintenance in 1940-41. The Ladner landing, on a side channel, experienced ongoing silting that required periodical dredging, and at times grounded the ferry in mid-summer. To address this issue, the landing was extended into the main channel during 1947-48.

Permanent replacement, the Delta Princess with a speed of 12 knots, entered service in 1949.The Daily Colonist, 13 May 1949 The new steel hull double-ended twin-screw ferry had a capacity for 35 cars and 200 passengers.

A new landing at Woodward's Landing was built throughout 1952–53. In November 1952, the charter contract ceased and the province assumed operations. A 24-hour service was instituted from 1954. Scouring at the Ladner landing caused a collapse on the extension, and its relocation. At peak times, the ferry could make five round trips in two hours.The Daily Colonist, 24 May 1959 On the George Massey Tunnel opening, the Delta Princess made the final run on May 23, 1959. Acquired by the Gulf Island Ferry Co.,The Daily Colonist: 14 & 30 Jun 1959 it was later renamed MV Salt Spring Queen by BC Ferries.

Patronage

Patronage (1922–1947) (Double these numbers for single trips) Type Year Page Round Trips Motor Vehicles Horse- drawn rigs Passengers Freight (tons) Livestock Total VehiclesSternwheeler steamer 1922–23 C40 1,895 24,037 570 59,599 4,760 1,341 24,607 1923–24 L38 2,150 27,150 368 65,427 4,685 1,252 27,518 1924–25 Q38 2,096 29,259 334 64,643 12,030 1,604 29,593 1925–26 Q38 2,261 29,205 272 62,918 11,061 1,311 29,477 1926–27 P46 2,272 25,830 53 53,105 5,177 730 25,883 1927–28 U52 2,912 37,968 109 79,142 976 38,077 1928–29 S60 1,019 34,651 6 74,151 908 34,657 1929–30 T74 no data 1930–31 G50 3,060 39,615 27 79,092 2 196 39,642 1931–32 M40 5,923 52,338 55 90,338 296 52,393 Power ferry 1932–33 Q37 5,882 48,262 66 70,332 226 48,328 1933–34 O33 6,298 47,095 47 72,222 271 47,142 1934–35 T37 6,582 52,100 55 80,046 370 52,155 1935–36 I44 6,264 53,642 49 77,259 260 53,691 1936–37 X52 6,735 56,794 27 84,326 87 56,821 1937–38 X55 7,373 61,723 23 88,259 21 607 61,746 1938–39 Z56 6,981 63,105 4 87,458 1,020 63,109 1939–40 P56 6,611 63,644 1 92,294 1,016 63,645 1940–41 O47 8,732 70,325 102,773 1,518 70,325 1941–42 T52 9,207 87,173 124,941 66 1,478 87,173 1942–43 O52 8,766 91,551 146,585 1,637 91,551 1943–44 Q52 10,037 78,406 1 132,323 1,503 78,407 1944–45 O51 9,745 85,354 2 145,388 11 1,298 85,356 1945–46 Q58 10,728 110,198 148,090 1,252 110,198 1946–47 P47 10,911 127,059 152,392 135 894 127,059

Patronage (1947–1960) (Double these numbers for single trips) Type Year Page Round Trips Passenger Autos Passengers (Drivers excluded) Trucks Trailers & Semis Buses Motor- cycles Horse- drawn rigs Freight (tons) Livestock Misc. Veh. Total Vehicles Power ferry 1947–48 N56 11,414 146,120 199,762 26,920 990 3,522 2,108 3,610 1,318 1,043 183,270 1948–49 O60 12,131 163,407 197,563 26,437 982 3,055 2,188 227 689 196,069 1949–50 Q74 11,835 206,869 243,675 29,059 968 2,519 1,631 303 241,046 1950–51 N77 11,474 280,460 292,100 32,155 961 2,311 980 58 316,867 1951–52 P83 11,870 259,924 300,497 29,791 958 2,361 809 2 293,843 1952–53 O85 10,903 264,425 288,448 26,989 1,014 2,011 523 1 3 294,963 1953–54 M93 13,198 312,048 335,539 25,918 1,661 2,652 669 7 1 342,955 1954–55 K95 14,601 335,312 353,541 25,011 1,620 2,648 613 1 365,204 1955–56 N88 14,721 349,414 350,757 23,557 1,484 2,666 881 378,002 1956–57 J100 14,764 386,456 389,901 29,512 1,765 2,736 867 421,336 1957–58 G53 15,423 440,530 437,938 38,550 2,339 2,742 591 484,752 1958–59 G36 15,475 492,623 459,071 39,525 3,887 2,904 935 539,874 1959–60 F41 2,279 74,017 63,184 6,043 964 428 140 81,592

See also List of crossings of the Fraser River

Footnotes

References