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I remember back when Turtle Crossing was known as Curran Park, there was a pedestrian ferry at Queen Elizabeth Park that you could cross the Assiniboine and then walk or ride into the east side of the park.  
 
Was wondering if anyone has any pictures of the old ferry.  
 
Edited by RantsFromWinnipeg, 2020-10-21 17:53:10

I used it years ago, it was great for biking to Curran park. But sorry no pictures.

Took it a few times  
Try this site  
https://www.ehcanadatravel.com/manitoba/western/brandon/parks-places/3798-queen-elizabeth-park.html

We used to take the kids bike riding and cross the ferry to ride to Curran Park. That was when Curran Park was very popular destination with camping, swimming, ball games and other activities . It was quite a highlight for them. It was neat how the ferry used the current to propel across the river and back.

The ferry was built and operated by the Westbran Training Centre. It was inspected each spring by a coast guard inspector before being put into the river. The ferry had a keel that extended about 10 inches below the bottom of the boat that caught river current and propelled it across the river each way depending on which way the boat was angled to the current. When the city owned Curran Park was sold to private enterprise, the new park owner was not interested in having the public access the renamed Turtle Crossing park and consequently the Westbran Ferry was discontinued.

I knew someone who worked it and it was actually on a rope and pulley system and if memory serves, was about six by ten feet? But that’s really about all I remember about it.

There was a cable going across the river overhead that the ferry was rigged to with pulleys. The operator would angle the ferry one way or the other to catch the current and propel it across.

Based on peoples info here I'm picturing a floating dock with a sideways waterwheel underneath that catches the current and drives a shaft up the middle of the ferry that engages the overhead cable and pulls it along ?  
 
Sounds kind of neat actually  
 
Based on the picture someone posted I'm guessing I'm way off lol  
 
Edited by hutchster, 2020-10-23 00:31:32

No there was nothing mechanical. The ferry was just a big rectangular floating dock. When angled the current propelled it. Just like wind into a sail. I found a picture illustration.

There is a wooden ferry that worked like that catching the river current on display at the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw. Pretty amazing and simple.