British Rail Class 99

The British Rail Class 99 was a fleet of 14 ferries, mostly owned by Sealink, which carried rail vehicles between Britain and mainland Europe. When British Rail implemented the TOPS system for managing their operating stock, these ships were incorporated into the system in order to circumvent some of the restrictions of the application software. This allowed them to be counted as locomotives while carrying railway vehicles in the same way as a normal locomotive would haul a train.

Details

There were 14 Class 99s, used for carrying road and rail vehicles from Britain to the continent (road only vehicles did not receive TOPS numbers). They were of various ages and origins, but all carried the BR double arrow logo on their red funnels. This was generally set up so that the upper arrow pointed towards the bow, and so was reversed on the port side of the ship. The hull was painted blue, with "Sealink" written in large grey letters between the waterline and the deck. A grey stripe was painted on some around parts of the top of the hull, with the main body of the ship being grey or white. Unlike other non-steam locomotives with TOPS numbers, no yellow warning panels were provided. Names were painted on the bow and stern but the TOPS numbers were not visibly carried. The table shows what are believed to be the numbers allocated:

Number	Name	Introduced	Type	Current Status
99 001	Suffolk Ferry	New to LNER 1947	TF/C/P	Scrapped 1980
99 002	Norfolk Ferry	New to BR 1951	TF/C/P	Scrapped 1983
99 003	Essex Ferry	New to BR 1957	TF/C/P	Scrapped 1983
99 004	Cambridge Ferry	New to BR 1963	TF/C/P	Scrapped 2003
99 005	Speedlink Vanguard	New to Stena Line 1973; sold to Sealink 1980	TF/C	In service (Poland)
99 006	Twickenham Ferry	New to SR 1934	P/VF/TF	Scrapped 1974
99 007	Vortigern	New to BR 1969	P/VF/TF	Scrapped 2004
99 008	Anderida	New to Sealink 1971	TF/C/P	In service (Canada)
99 009	Shepperton Ferry	New to SR 1935	P/VF/TF	Scrapped 1972
99 010	Invicta	New to SR 1939	P/VF/TF	Scrapped 1972
99 011	St. Germain	New to BR 1951	P/VF/TF	Scrapped 1988
99 012	Chartres	New to SNCF 1973	P/VF/TF	In service (Spain)
99 013	St. Eloi	New to BR 1975	P/VF/TF	In service (Italy)
99 014	Transcontainer I	New to SNCF 1968	TF/C	Scrapped 2001

Key
P	Passenger
VF	Vehicle Ferry
TF	Train Ferry
C	Container ship

There were also a number of other Sealink vessels which did not carry rail vehicles and so did not receive TOPS numbers.

While in traffic several vessels were involved in various incidents. Vortigern grounded on the approach to Oostende in 1982. Sealink Vanguard collided with European Gateway on the approach to Harwich, also in 1982, causing serious damage to the latter vessel, which nearly sank altogether. This was the most serious accident that a Class 99 was involved in while working for Sealink, resulting in six fatalities.

Disposal

The mixed origins of the fleet meant that disposal was carried out in a patchy manner, and at no point were all 14 Class 99s in service. Instead, ships were cut up at any time after the 30-year-old mark, and so Sealink disposed of 6 prior to privatisation in 1984. No.99009 Shepperton Ferry was withdrawn and broken up in Spain in 1972 while No.99010 Invicta was dismantled in the Netherlands in the same year. No.99006 Twickenham Ferry, the oldest member of the fleet, was withdrawn for scrap in 1974. No.99001 Suffolk Ferry, No.99002 Norfolk Ferry and No.99003 Essex Ferry were all withdrawn around 1980 and broken up shortly afterwards.

The remaining eight members of the fleet (99004/5/7/8/11-14) left British Rail ownership when Sealink was sold in 1984, after which they were invariably renamed (sometimes several times, making them harder to trace). The vessels were scattered across the world, with new homes including Cuba, Greece, Canada and Malta. Subsequently four of the ferries (now all over 30 years old) have been broken up but four appear to still be in service. No.99008 Anderida has, since 1988, been owned by Cooperative de Transport Maritime et Aerien in Canada and is the oldest survivor, dating back to 1971. No.99013 St. Eloi is now owned by Moby Lines, and is brightly painted as Moby Love. No.99012 Chartres was recently chartered by Atlanticoline, but now appears to be back at Gibralter. No.99005 Sealink Vanguard, the lowest-numbered (and possibly most-travelled) survivor, has spent time in Cuba and Panama, but is now registered in Gdansk as the Birdik I. .

Meanwhile, No.99011 St. Germain was dismantled in India in 1988. No.99014 Transcontainer I was broken up early in 2001, also in India, while No.99004 Cambridge Ferry met its end in Turkey in 2003 after working off Malta as Ita Uno and Sirio. No.99007 Vortigern was sold for scrap in India in 2004.

As time goes by the surviving Class 99s (99005/8/12/13) will probably also be broken up. Uniquely for a TOPS fleet which survived into the 1980s, none have been saved for preservation.

Further reading

• Details of several railway ships, including some of the 99s
• Report (1973)
• Report (1981)