David Schweizer

I have just found this photo (from C&RT archives) of Progress nearing completion at Bushells Yard. I believe this is how it would have looked in normal operation. I suspect that the canopy top was merely added for the ceremonial opening of the Grand Union. It was apparently fitted with a full cabin in the 1970's, but I am still lookong for a photo.

There used to be wide boats on the Grand Union, which were built up to 12ft 6ins wide. They were basicly wide "Narrowboats" and were known as Wideboats. Anything wider was usually referred to as a Barge. Progress was an example of a Wiideboat

Do Brinklow build widebeams? I thought that they specialised in building and restoring traditional narrowboats.

I think you are correct, but I could not find any record, so ommited any date (just in case).

A post script to my earlier post:- Arthur and Rose Bray were working for Harvey Taylor in the 1930's. Rose Bray was the daughter of Charles Ward, a Number One. He bequeatherd a horse drawn boat as a Dowry to Rose and Arthur when they married. When the boat started to disintegrate in the late 1930's, they went to work for Harvey Taylor, who were taken over by Barlows in 1955. I knew the Brays quite well, as they often moored in front of our boat on a Saturday night on their way to Kearley & Tonge's Jam Factory. Rose died in 1972 with Arthur following her in 1998. Rose's son, Ernie, lived on a boat called Poacher with his wife and son, but they moved away from Braunston and I do not know where they are nowadays.

The Wards were a large extended family of canal boatmen and women, several of whom continued until the last days of commercial carrying. Both Ted and Ken Ward who worked for Willow Wren were well known, but there were also Rose Bray and Rose Whiltock (both Wards), who worked for Barlows, and later Blue Line when they took over the remnants of the Barlows operation in the early 1960's. Rose Whitlock was very proud of her Ward Heritage and had a number of photographs of her family, I still meet her daughter every year at the Braunston Historic rally, and will ask her whether she has any knowledge of your Wards when I meet her later this year.

An alternative might be for one of you to take Sickle on a cruise and the other person to track the boat in the car, maintaining phone contact for use in an emergency. Of course that still may mean having to go back in the car for Flamingo, in order to tow Sickle back to the mooring, it really depends on how confident you are that the matter has resolved itself. Either way, I hope it all works out OK. If it does, can we assume that you will be bringing both boats to Braunston in June? At least there will be plenty of people on hand to help if the problem reccurs.

I started to watch it, but it was so bad that I gave up.

That is very similar to my experience of Vactan. In my view it just didn't do what it said on the bottle so, like you, I gave using it.

I know Alan quite well and have met Matty a couple of times, they are not the same person, but then you already knew that 😃

No, It was the Riley Pathfinder which had the same engine as the Riley 2 1/2 litre. It was a classic Riley 2 1/2 litre four cylinder twin cam OHV engine - top speed 90mph. The Wolsley 6/80 had a completely different engine, which was a newly designed (Morris) 2.2 litre six cylinder single OHC engine - top speed 80mph.

THe Riley RMA series had a similar tandem braking system invented by Percy Riley. It had the "advantage of of still having rear brakes if the hydraulics failed, and front brakes if the rods broke (which thy had a habit of doing!!)

Nor me. The last real Riley was built in 1955. From then on, they were just Nuffield clones with very little character.

Just the same on the Riley RMA, except that the floor had to come out as well. But if that was bad, changing the rings was a nightmare, the pistons would not clear the crankshaft, and the big ends would not pass up through the bore.

Yes, thanks for that. The captions now correct.

Austin A40 Cambridge Then there was this one - 1951 Austin A40 Devon with a body designed and built by Jenson

Austin A40 Devon Austin A40 Somerset

I hope your post signifies a return to the forum Alan, you have been missed.

I would have said "very powerful" My friend had an Austin A70, I can remember him driving out of London on the A40 and clocking over 80MPH going down the incline through Hanger Lane Underpass. That was before the National Speed limit!!

Correct, but you ommitted Triumph and Rover/Land Rover plus Morris Engines, You also ommit (unforgivably!) Riley's which were made in Coventry until 1949 before Nuffield moved their production to the MG factory in Abingdon. Below is a photo of a Riley RMA almost identical to the one I owned and loved. I believe that the A40 Somerset Convertable bodies were made by an outside company in Coventry, which may hve led to the "Coventry's revenge", but AFAIK no Austin cars were actually manufactured in Coventry.

I had several in my youth, including a Somerset and a Devon. All purchased for a couple of quid and run until they irrepairably failed their ten year test (remember them?) and then scrapped in favour of anothr £2 car.