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archie57

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Posts posted by archie57

  1. Further to Pete's post - in their working days, these "Engines", as they were referred to, were immaculately turned out (according to a late friend who had first-hand experience of them) and eg it was common to scrub out the cabin on the long pounds with the drawers taken out and scrubbed and left on the cabin top to dry out.

  2. As regards Rugby aqueducts, I have met boats many a time in the past on them, but our Lords and Masters, in their infinite wisdom (/ignorance) have seen

    fit to reduce the width in the course of repair works - like some bridgeholes on the Coventry and Ashby canals, for example. As I once said to a BW

    engineer, what other countries in Europe go around actively reducing the width of their canals - they enlarge them whenever they can!

  3. This is the only GUCCCo one I've seen. With it's grading of the boatmen (I note the trainees were in a class of their own - I wonder why!) it created a lot of interest amongst the boaters I've shown it to who were around at the time!

  4. Not sure that the Wains ever had the "Puppis" in working days though (but never say never!) One who did have it was Joe Fitchford, and a picture of his boats "Antony" and "Puppis" is in the Arthur Watts collection at the Waterways Museum. His daughter may still live in Hillmorton

  5. Arthur Stokes had arguably the smartest pair on the canals when he had the "Mimas". Legend has it that they would only use the primus for cooking in the engine 'ole, and at the first sign of rain the Flat Irons would go on the range to heat up in order to iron the Ash strips to dry them out and keep them snowy white! (Of course, many owners of old boats today don't seem to know what Ash strips are....!)

    Myself and a friend were invited around to their house (opposite the "Engine" at Longford) many years ago for a cup of tea, where we were treated with great kindness. Naturally the conversation turned to boating, whereupon they said "You should have come last week - we've just had a bonfire in the garden and burnt all the photos!" Anyone doubting the spotless turnout should look at the pictures of Robert Longden and the Weaver collection.

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