THE timing, in hindsight, could perhaps have been better. The Renfrew chain ferry ran aground (pictured) between 3am and 4am on February 28, 1956. It was not refloated until midday, which meant that its hundreds of daily travellers had to cross the Clyde in other ways. Some were taken by rowing-boats or a small motor-boat; others jumped on trams and buses at Renfrew Cross to catch the Linthouse ferry for Whiteinch. Coincidentally, just a few hours after the ferry found itself high and dry, the Clyde Navigation Trust made public its belief that both the Renfrew and Erskine ferries should be replaced by a tunnel or a high-level bridge.