Chris Griffiths

It would not be a good idea to go into precise details at the moment, but WJ was produced at minimal cost to CRT. It should easily be able to produce a (small) profit. The issues are more about where the responsibilities for promotion and distribution lie. There isn't a lot of point in expending a significant amount of effort in producing copies to sit in boxes in a store. The other difficulty is the lack of a reliable channel to solicit contributions following the demise of the Waterways Museum Society. I should add that publication is suspended not abandoned.

As a follow up to my posting, many thanks to Ray T for sending me some material. I'm not able to reply directly as I don't have an email address and the PM system doesn't allow me to respond.

And I thought I was making an innocuous appeal to anyone with an interest in writing about waterways history. It hadn't crossed my mind that it would be seen as an imposition on the boating community. Just to clarify and set the record straight. Waterways Journal was launched in 1999 by the Boat Museum Society, the voluntary society that was instrumental in the foundation of the Museum at Ellesmere Port. The first 22 annual volumes were published by the Society, which changed its name along the way to the Waterways Museum Society, to reflect the changes in the Museum itself as it became part of The Waterways Trust and ultimately Canal & River Trust. In 2020 the Waterways Museum Society decided to close, due to falling numbers of supporters willing to run the organisation. Many Society members who volunteered at the Museum continued to do so, but under the umbrella of the Trust's volunteer system. It was also decided to continue publishing Waterways Journal under similar arrangements, so Canal & River Trust is now the official publisher, via the National Waterways Archive, but it remains entirely volunteer produced. The Trust puts up the money for printing and sells the publication via the Museum shop, but it isn't exactly a major profit centre. Although I've worked on the publication for a few years in a "backroom" role (as has another contributor to this forum) I took over as editor this year, right in the aftermath of Covid. I'm doing it because of an interest in waterways history. Although I have done a lot of boating in the past, I've never considered myself to be a "boater". My interest is in the waterways as a whole. One of my goals when I took over as editor was to widen the pool of contributors and to make sure that the journal covers a wide spread of topics - boats, the built heritage, waterways operation, etc. - and also to have a good geographic spread. Hence my appeal for additional contributors. I don't really understand the comments about expecting contributors to rework their contributions. Articles in Waterways Journal have a wide variety of writing styles, form the very informal to the almost academic. They are all of course edited to give a certain degree of consistency to the publication, but writers are generally left to express themselves in the manner they choose. Like just about any publication, we have a "Notes for contributors" intended to act as a guide to potential authors. It includes information about the typical article lengths that we can use and has tips on how to format text and pictures with a view to simplifying the editing process, but is in no way prescriptive about style. I'm not quite sure how I ended up writing this screed, but there you are. On a positive note, my appeal here and through other channels has made me contacts with a few new potential contributors, so thanks.

Forgive me intruding on a rare visit here, but I'm looking for some help. I'm currently inviting articles for the forthcoming edition of Waterways Journal, which is due for publication next year. Since the demise of the Waterways Museum Society, the journal has been published by Canal & River Trust's National Waterways Archive at Ellesmere Port. The closure of WMS also means that I no longer have the option of appealing for contributions via the RE:PORT newsletter. There seems to have been something of a pause in research activities, largely due to the Covid lockdowns. Archives around the country have been closed or have offered only restricted access, which means that there is a shortage of research articles ready to publish. A number of authors are promising contributions for 2024, but have nothing completed available for use now. Whilst I have several possible articles for publication, ideally I need 1-2 more. Are you able to assist? Perhaps you have a research article which could be used, or know of someone else who may be seeking publication. I would be very happy for you to pass my request and contact details along, either directly or via other publications and/or distribution lists. Waterways Journal normally publishes at Easter, although it is possible that Volume 25 could be delayed a little. Deadline for the submission of articles is generally the end of the preceding December, i.e. the end of this month, but I have a certain amount of flexibility in this. If you are able to help in any way, please get in touch with me at chris@ivydene.com. I can send a set of "Notes for contributors" to anyone interested.

Water Lilac is mentioned in an article in Waterways Journal 20 (2018). The article is titled "Healthily Active, Mildly Adventurous, Abounding in Interest, as well as Delightfully Different - The story of British Waterways’ early involvement with leisure craft" At the top of p60 there are two photos: the one you have posted here alongside a shot showing the boat with centre steering. You can find this latter photo by searching for R2562 at collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk. Unfortunately it appears to be undated.