Builders: William Denny & Bros Dumbarton 1929
Propulsion type: Turbine
Owner: Southern Railway
Service dates: 1929 - 1965
Tonnage: 2912 Gross
Comments:
This picture is a Cyril Perrier original and was taken on 7 April 1963 at Dover. I am indebted to Cyril for allowing me to share this picture and for the narrative below, detailing her career.
Canterbury was commissioned for the Southern Railway in 1929 for a new All-Pullman 'Golden Arrow' (Fleche d'Or in France) London-Paris de luxe service. She appeared at Dover on 29 April 1929 and made her first crossing on 15 May. She was largely 1st class, with very little 3rd class space for local passengers. Unfortunately this coincided with the depression, and the French did not want to provide two trains of Pullmans, which would have been needed if both directions used the Canterbury. So the return service ran in the morning; Paris-Boulogne, the coaches then being run empty to Calais to meet Canterbury. Thus the passengers travelled to Folkestone usually on Isle of Thanet, without de luxe accommodation, and the English Pullman train was moved empty Dover-Folkestone to meet her. An odd arrangement! 'Invicta' was built to be ready for 1940 to replace Canterbury, but did not go into service until after the war, when Canterbury was downgraded.
Canterbury could accommodate 400 passengers and her sailings were followed 20 mins later by Maid of Kent with the 'hoi-polloi'. The winter of 1931/32 saw her converted to include 3rd class, increasing total complement to 1400, and tonnage to 3071. This gives some indication of the space available to her first class passengers. Canterbury was at Dunkirk and also saw war service on D-day. She resumed the Golden Arrow service on 15 April 1946 until October when 'Invicta' entered service. She then took over Folkestone-Boulogne sailings, deputising for Invicta when necessary. Canterbury's last crossing to and from Boulogne was on 27 September 1964. She was held in reserve at Dover from then and finally towed to Antwerp for scrapping on 29 September 1965.
For contemporary newspaper pictures, including interior shots, from when TS Canterbury was introduced in 1929, please click here.