Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

The Transpador

When my brother and I were kids, after WW2 and living in France, we frequently passed through Rochefort on our way to Royan. The beaches are beautiful there and we often camped out on the weekend.

Outside of Rochefort was a river that had a unique sort of ferry. It was called a transpador and was a mechanical contraption with towers and cables that transported cars, bikes and pedestrians from one bank to the other.

Before we left on our trip, Norman asked if I thought the Transpador would still be in operation. That perked my curiosity and I replied that we should make it a matter of top priority. On the way to Royan, there was a huge arching bridge and there below, dwarfed in comparison was the diminutive Transpador.

In the first picture you can see a model that shows how it worked. In the second is an actual photo of the mechanical device in operation. These days it only operates for bicycles and pedestrians but it still wheels and clanks from one bank to the other. I can imagine one on an interstate highway in US. It’s a stretch but I can.