The station and pier at Gourock opened in 1889 for pedestrian access only. It wasn’t until 1954 that car ferry services began operating from the pier. The car hoist in use from 1954 was upgraded to a roll on/roll off hydraulic linkspan in 1971. Due to a change of the ferry service schedule in 2011 Gourock Ferry terminal was again downgraded for pedestrian use only. It continued to be used as a car pier only during high winds, when ferry traffic was diverted from Wemyss Bar or Ardrossan. Maintenance problems finally put a complete stop to vehicles using the linkspan on 17 September 2019.
In July 2020 Millar Callaghan were awarded the contract to fabricate the new linkspan. The steel beam sections required to fabricate the new link span were a non-standard size. To overcome this issue a steel jig was constructed to fabricate the new beams from scratch at our Irvine workshop. When the new support beams had been fabricated, welded and fully NDT tested they were assembled into a 36m long x 7m wide frame, which weighed approximately 80-tonnes.
A full trial assembly was carried out in our Irvine yard before the structure was dismantled and sent for shotblasting and painting. The newly painted sections were delivered to the dockside at Gourock harbour, where they were reassembled into the new linkspan. Finally, a full coat of anti-slip surfacing was applied to the deck. A 200-tonne barge mounted crane was then used to remove the old linkspan and lift the new, fully assembled, 80 tonne structure into position, where it was secured to the new hydraulic rams. The power generators were then positioned to complete the installation. On completion of the works a full quality package was supplied to the client.
