MV Brightlingsea (1925)

MV Brightlingsea is a passenger vessel which was built for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1925.[1]

History
Name:	MV Brightlingsea
Operator:	1925-1948:London and North Eastern Railway 1948-1964:British Railways 1964-1979:Orwell and Harwich Navigation Company 1979-1985:Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company 1985-????:Harry Rodgers
Port of registry:
Builder:	Rowhedge Ironworks
Launched:	1925
General characteristics
Tonnage:	51 gross register tons (GRT)
Length:	67.5 feet (20.6 m)
Beam:	16.1 feet (4.9 m)
Depth:	7.4 feet (2.3 m)
Capacity:	152 passengers

History

The ship was built by Rowhedge Ironworks and launched in 1925 for the Harwich to Felixstowe ferry service. She was taken over by British Railways in 1948 and in 1964 by the Orwell and Harwich Navigation Company. They sold the vessel to the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company in 1979 and she was sold again in 1985 to Harry Rodger.

The opening of the Orwell Bridge in 1982 dented the Harwich to Felixstowe ferry trade, and she has been restored in Woodbridge and as of 2015 was advertised for sale.

In 2005 she was included in the National Register of Historic Vessels.[2]

References

1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
2. "Brightlingsea". National Historic Ships UK. National Historic Ships UK. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2015.