Alkmaar Packet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alkmaar Packet was a shipping company that operated scheduled passenger and freight services in the northern part of the Netherlands between 1864 and 1950. The services the company provided were a kind of beurtvaart, which at the time had become a forerunner of modern public transport. At its height Alkmaar Packet owned more than 20 ships.
In 1864 Cornelis Bosman (1830-1911) established the company as a limited partnership and it was located in Alkmaar in the Dutch province of North Holland.[1] Operations started 1 July 1864, with the steamer Alkmaar Packet 1 sailing over the Noordhollandsch Kanaal between Alkmaar and Zaandam.[2] In between the ship stopped at Akersloot, Markenbinnen, Oostknollendam, Wormerveer and Koog aan de Zaan. Passengers travelling onwards to Amsterdam had to change ship in Zaandam as the Alkmaar Packet 1 was not seaworthy and the IJ was connected to the still open Zuiderzee.[3] Later ships could sail on to the capital, making a trip from Alkmaar to Amsterdam in just under three hours.
Expansion
Alkmaar Packet did well, and soon expanded its services with more ships and extra departures on the main route. It introduced new lines, like Zaandam - Haarlem and Zwolle - Kampen - Amsterdam.[1] In 1882 it was granted the license for the ferry connecting the island of Texel with the mainland. In 1886 it was chosen to operate the ferry between the cities (and railway stations) of Enkhuizen and Stavoren, which it continued to do until 1938.
In the twentieth century passenger transport grew rapidly with river cruises and day trippers, like inhabitants of Amsterdam going to the Zaandam fair.[2] Alkmaar Packet was also the mode of transport for many school trips, with Zaandam children visiting Artis, the Amsterdam Zoo. The locks at Zaandam, a bottleneck for decades,[1] were replaced with the much larger Wilhelminasluis in 1903.
In the 1910s Alkmaar Packet ordered the construction of much larger saloon ships than previously in use. Also, they weren't steamers but the company's first motor vessels. The Alkmaar of 1912 could carry up to 1300 passengers on three decks.[4]
