Needles Ferry Explained

Needles Ferry
Locale:	Needles−Fauquier
Waterway:	Lower Arrow Lake
Transit Type:	Passenger and vehicle ferry
Lines:	1
Vessels:	1
Terminals:	2
Operator:	WaterBridge Ferries Inc.
Owner:	BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

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 135km (84miles) southeast of Vernon and 57km (35miles) southwest of Nakusp.

Timeline

1913: Farmers built the first vehicle ferry using Ford Model T parts.^[1] 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.
1931: Wooden hulled cable ferry installed, having three-car capacity. Crossings were hourly.
1941: Upgraded to eight-car capacity.
1952: Upgraded to 16-car capacity.
1955: Service increased from 12 to 24 hours per day.
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.
1990: Needles relocated to Upper Arrow Lake Ferry route. Replaced by a 40-vehicle, 150-passenger cable ferry. At 5000feet was longest haul cable in North America.
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)
Type	Year	Page	Round Trips	Motor Vehicles	Horse- drawn rigs	Passengers	Freight (tons)	Livestock	Total Vehicles
Power boat	1924–25	Q38	1,008	256	30	2,186	682	36	286
	1925–26	Q38	1,852	2,557	56	4,037	42	100	2,613
	1926–27	P46	2,264	1,604	44	6,004	46	96	1,648
	1927–28	U52	7,138	1,530	40	5,162	39	41	1,570
	1928–29	S61	2,155	2,442	38	5,972	89	86	2,480
	1929–30	T74	2,155	2,366	79	5,899	68	87	2,445
Power cable	1930–31	G50	4,102	4,790	231	11,354	340	172	5,021
	1931–32	M40	4,117	5,244	385	11,836	582	159	5,629
	1932–33	Q36	4,049	4,438	369	13,203	503	135	4,807
	1933–34	O32	4,675	4,740	510	14,827	784	259	5,250
	1934–35	T37	5,427	6,181	700	18,449	719	605	6,881
	1935–36	I44	5,637	6,882	661	18,834	820	239	7,543
	1936–37	X52	5,992	7,733	825	19,804	998	355	8,558
	1937–38	X55	6,823	9,046	911	22,305	1,292	228	9,957
	1938–39	Z56	6,580	9,188	758	20,605	1,830	262	9,946
	1939–40	P56	7,220	9,346	541	21,324	1,938	310	9,887
	1940–41	O47	7,109	10,237	359	18,403	1,181	360	10,596
	1941–42	T52	6,628	10,894	229	20,010	2,116	590	11,123
	1942–43	O52	5,764	8,318	316	14,367	3,525	441	8,634
	1943–44	Q52	4,984	7,359	225	12,679	1,730	426	7,584
	1944–45	O51	4,985	7,284	74	14,699	1,814	217	7,358
	1945–46	Q58	5,426	8,620	264	14,037	1,707	330	8,884
	1946–47	P47	7,262	11,971	88	27,079	7,416	345	12,059

Patronage (1947–1960) (Double these numbers for single trips)
Type	Year	Page	Round Trips	Passenger Autos	Passengers (Drivers excluded)	Trucks		Buses	Motor- cycles	Horse- drawn rigs	Freight (tons)	Livestock	Misc. Veh.	Total Vehicles
Power cable	1947–48	N56	7,435	6,759	30,300	4,466	1,426	1,625	20	146	2,750	163		14,442
	1948–49	O60	9,953	10,558	49,803	6,427	394	1,787	29	164	6,361	170		19,359
	1949–50	Q74	12,928	15,311	60,151	9,970	433	1,737	19	71	6,798	140		27,541
	1950–51	N77	14,437	16,854	60,045	11,635	208	1,450	18	74	6,179	174		30,239
	1951–52	P83	12,868	12,758	52,322	10,200	372	1,535	10	45	4,614	99		24,920
	1952–53	O85	12,738	13,662	50,004	9,071	852	2,067	30	63	5,317	136		25,745
	1953–54	M93	16,009	19,216	60,776	11,911	544	1,997	63	18	4,560	84		33,749
	1954–55	K95	15,506	17,828	55,003	11,733	558	2,035	26	25	4,891	110		32,205
	1955–56	N88	14,601	16,783	48,373	10,947	379	1,661	11	26		67	4	29,811
	1956–57	J100	15,326	18,103	52,668	13,254	601	919	4	31		60		32,912
	1957–58	G53	15,428	20,400	56,907	13,420	528	720	10	12		71	6	35,096
	1958–59	G36	14,226	18,863	53,049	10,515	515	870	12			104		30,775
	1959–60	F41	15,226	20,939	53,077	11,450	561	718	10	8		82		33,686

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]

References

Web site: Public Works annual reports . www.library.ubc.ca.

49.8728°N -118.0897°W

Notes and References

Book: Marquardt, Riel. The Backroad Chronicles: Adventure & History in British Columbia . Trafford Publishing. 2006. I. 101. 978-1-4120-5903-9.
Web site: Daily News . 5 . 29 Sep 1922 . www.library.ubc.ca.
Web site: Daily News, 1 Sep 1919 . 3 . www.library.ubc.ca.
Book: Clapp, Frank A. . 32–33 . Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Lake and River Ferries . Ministry of Transportation and Highways . 1991. 0-7726-1364-8.
Book: Edgewood History Book Committee . 59. Just where is Edgewood? . E. G. Milne . 1991.
Web site: Nanaimo Daily News, 6 Jun 1967 . 14 . www.newspapers.com.
Web site: Nelson Star, 30 Jan 2016 . www.nelsonstar.com. 31 January 2016 .
Web site: Vancouver Sun, 9 Apr 2002 . 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. . www.newspapers.com.
Web site: RFP 12-06-2010 . 6 (4) . www.bcferries.com.
Web site: Nelson Star, 10 Dec 2019 . www.trailtimes.ca. 10 December 2019 .
Web site: Inland Ferries . www.gov.bc.ca.
Web site: Needles Cable Ferry . www.gov.bc.ca.