3, they were the first vessels to offer regular transport between Britain and continental Europe for rail freight vehicles.

They had four sets of rails along the train deck and used a link span to load when in harbour.

After their use by the British Army ended in 1922, they were purchased by the Great Eastern Railway and moved to Harwich where the landing stage was re-erected[a] to provide a service to Zeebrugge in conjunction with the Belgian Government through a joint company, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company.

[3] In 1934, the Great Eastern Train Ferry Company was liquidated and she was bought by the LNER.

In 1941 she was converted to a Landing Craft Carrier, and the twin funnels were incorporated into a single stack.