springy

AIUI all Clayton's tank boats were wooden, they did briefly own at least one second hand iron composite (Adder ex FMC IIRC) but disposed of it fairly quickly. For the tar traffic the wooden hull was important as it acted as an insulator keeping the heat in and the tar more liquid. springy

Found the Shell depot photo - also on the "Made in Oldbury" site, undated but 5 horse boats springy

Found these photos in the Thomas William King collection on the "Made in Oldbury" site showing the last two loads of oil carried by claytons boats and dated to 1956. Somewhere I have also seen a photo of the Shell depot at langley green with a Claytons boat being unloaded, and 3 or 4 others waiting, but I'm unable to find it at the moment. For clarification the oil was put straight into the hold in bulk, no other tanks or containers were involved, with (IIRC) a motor carrying some 15-18 Tons and a horse boat 20 - 22 tons depending on whether it was fuel oil or lubricating oil. And some single Horse boats continued to be used as well as motor/butty pairs. Cowburn and Cowpar had at least one boat with round tanks lowered into the hold but they carried "chemicals" including carbon disulphide. springy

From 1924 to 1955 Thomas Clayton carried both Lubricating Oil and Fuel Oil (diesel) from the Stanlow refinery on the Manchester Ship canal to the Shell Depot on the Titford Canal (just past Langley Maltings), using the same "Tank" boats as used for the tar traffic. These were simply wooden hulled narrowboats with a "tight" bulkhead in front of the cabin/engine and another at the fore end of the hold. Motors had another bulkhead roughly in the centre of the hold, and this had small "paddle" in it to allow controlled filling of the rear half, I don't know if the horse boats had similar arrangement. Double planked deck with sliding hatch covers over a hinged lid (which would have a lead seal attached after loading to prevent pilfering). From '24 to '39 all the boats were horse drawn with the then "new" motors being used paired with a horse boat from then on. The contract finished in '55 due to a pipeline direct to the midlands becoming "available". In 1949 TC(O) ltd. carried just shy of 30,000 tons on the Shell contract. I have often wondered why horse boats lasted so long, but given the "one way" nature of the traffic it may have been at least in part due to the better handling of an empty horse boat compared with an empty motor. Info (mostly) from Alan Faulkners "Clayton's of Oldbury" and conversations with various ex Clayton's boatmen. springy

How big is the tank - you are unlikely to find any sort of hand pump which will deliver much more than a couple of litres/stroke - even a relatively small tank is going to require an extended period of hand operation to empty by hand. A wetvac may be a good idea as it will be useable for other things but will need emptying every 20 litres or so, any electric pump will need to have a decent duty cycle as you will probably need to run it for quite a long period - maybe an hour at a time even for a moderate sized tank. springy

A quick google for "tube expander" found lots of things like the following, intended for use on copper air con systems, and copper is probably more ductile than your aluminium tube but may do the job https://www.amazon.co.uk/Repairing-Conditioner-Copper-Expander-Swaging/dp/B09SDZ54WX/ref=asc_df_B09SDZ54WX/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=641545482634&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12892406534298187719&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007147&hvtargid=pla-1729943784233&psc=1&mcid=38dfb78338a53b8ba27c78619c612445 springy

I know them as a "Bottle Stove" commonly used in BCN day boat cabins - Birchills at BCLM has one. springy

I saw your Pic and thought "I've got one of those somewhere", however whilst the mug has a pretty identical shape, the design on the side is different - whilst the bottom still says "Titford Two" the upper text reads "National Waterways Rally" , there is the IWA logo centrally with 1982 below it and what could be a small version of the bird standing on an half moon with the BCN on it above, because of the reduced size the detail has been lost. springy

Re Sally - I don't think there's anything left there, the scrapyard was cleared some years ago and a care home now occupies the site, its possible that Sally was removed at that time. springy

Offside adjacent to Tipton Road Bridge on the Dudley tunnel branch, IIRC somewhere I have a similar photo of Sally in slightly better condition - sunk but cabin side intact. springy

IIRC the BSS specifies the size according to the size and quantity of bottles to be stored in the locker, and remember its a "Drain" (gas is heavier than air) and if you drill as close to the bottom plate of the locker as you can, you may also need to use a file or die grinder to widen the bottom to create a half moon shape and get the bottom of the drain hole flush (as far as possible) with the bottom of the locker. springy (beaten to it by MtB)

Some years ago I acquired something I find ideal for my straight chimney - 3 section aluminium handle, well made sporting a broad arrow, and a short bristle head approx 3" diameter boss with 1" bristles. Easy to store and the rigid handle allows me to give the chimney a good scrub. I was told its original purpose was for cleaning gun barrels. springy

I can't remember when, but there were (and I think still are, though only visible in winter when there is less vegetation) several sunken day boats on the offside in the stretch between Birchills Junction and Pratts Bridge - the location IIRC of Ken Keay's yard. No idea which ones. springy

The middle 6 have a layout quite similar to factory 3, the sideways extended short pounds between each lock chamber provided extra water storage so that drawing a lock full of water off the pound did not lower the pound level too much. Retention of the wharf and part of the original line below top lock would serve the same purpose for that pound, it is possible that the "arm" alongside the bottom lock served a similar purpose for that pound as well as potential use as a wharf. The end of that "arm" is also the location of the bywash for the bottom lock. springy

The "Blue Book" suggests that the whole flight was rebuilt in 1858, top and bottom locks on their original location with the intervening 6 on a new alignment replacing the original middle 7 which suffered from subsidence. Whether the fall of the top and bottom locks was adjusted to make them all equal I'm not sure. It would seem unlikely that both sets would be usable at the same time depending on the severity of the subsidence, certainly there would be little point in doing any maintenance or repairs on the old 7 once the new ones were built. springy

The first Vedettes were based on the original side valve morris engine, later ones used the OHV engine. The distributor mounted in the bellhousing was an alternative to a magneto, but the magneto was slightly bulkier possibly the reason for its relocation, along with a raised handstart, - hence no battery, ignition coil, dynamo or starter motor was actually needed to run the engine, and AIUI a typical lifeboat installation. Many years ago a friend had an Uffa Fox designed airborne lifeboat with one fitted. Inlet manifold and carburettor are out of sight under the exhaust manifold/heat exchanger. springy

Mopped or wiped out daily / as required ? springy

Not Birmingham either but I just fount this picture of a Manchester AFS boat in Laurence Hogg's Archive And this is in London Should have looked further before posting - This IS in Birmingham springy

First release the tension on the locking ring (anticlockwise) whilst holding the "nut" still, then gently turn the "nut" clockwise to compress the packing, hopefully you can get the drip to stop whilst still being able to turn the shaft by hand fairly easily. Finally tighten the locking ring clock wise whilst holding the "nut" still. Check again that you can turn the shaft by hand. If you overtighten the packing it will run hot and wear the shaft. springy

You may need two C spanners of different sizes - the lock ring looks slightly larger than the "nut", and you may need two separate spanners so that you can tighten the lock ring whilst holding the "nut" in the required position. The "nut" is nearest the gearbox, the lock ring immediately before the stern tube. springy

Looking down the weed hatch how close is the prop to the rudder/how big is the gap between the prop and the end of the stern tube - if the shaft has moved outwards there may be an obvious line visible on the shaft indicating its normal position. Similarly the inner end of the shaft may have an obvious line where it went into the clamp. Are the four clamp bolts tight ? Does the shaft have a lot of visible keyway at the clamp end ? (rotate the shaft to check) If so its also possible that the key has dropped out though it may be still inside the coupling. If the key is still there and there is more than a couple of inches between the prop and the stern tube, loosening the clamp bolts may allow you to push the shaft back into the clamp and re tighten the clamp bolts. springy

Carvers -W'ton top lock springy

Weedhatch tools - sharp knife on a length of string, small bolt cutters for wire etc also on a length of string springy

Beware - it may have come out of the cup on the skeg, if so the nut will be supporting the whole rudder and undoing it may cause you to loose the rudder. is the bottom of the swan neck slightly lower than it used to be ? is the swan neck slightly off vertical My method for relocating requires two people - one facing forward, bent under the tiller bar with the bar in the centre of their back and straighten their legs to lift the whole rudder/swan neck/tiller bar assembly and the other to move the swan neck and rudder stock sideways and relocate in the cup. As bizzard says you may be able to see the cup and rudder stock via the weed hatch which would confirm this and if a third person was available to observe while lifting they could guide the second person as to which way to move it. springy