Derek R.

A boat grasping the straws of history. Barely. Precious little to 'save', and enormous expense to correct the ample errors of judgement carried out over the years. Doubtless DIWE & BWB made use of it for a while, but the back end; fore end; and that entire cabin have sealed its fate. I see NBOC have it as originally being built as a 'motor' as early as 1907? Yet as DRUNKEN DUCK a build date as 1924. It's clearly had a tortured life. Or should that be 'torchered'?

Well, it looks a tad better on that FB page than it did when NBOC got a couple of images. It's a bit frightening nonetheless. I'm not in Facebook, but the link took me there. Not that I'll be going again.

I guess you could say it's a 'regional' title when many Wagtails frequent areas of water. Pied; Yellow; Grey; Water. They are largely insectivors, and insects are found near and in water. And how about Willow Wren? Which is a misnomer, as it generally is referred to as the Willow Warbler. I think Willow Wren - the company - most likely chose birds that had an affinity to water, rather than strict and direct associations with water. Dipper definitely, and Mallard? Not so much Kestrel maybe. The Wagtail can also be found frequenting motorway service area car parks, where they scavenge for small morsels of cast off crumbs from the less edible fodder available for humans - the Car Park Wagtail. We have some in the farmyard. Alway bugs there. 😉 https://www.shutterstock.com/search/water-wagtail

Amongst the Wagtails there is a Water Wagtail, and a Pullet is a young hen, as in female chicken.

Understood.

I cannot help but wonder why the OP has asked the question. Curiosity? Or some other reason?

Take a look through the LMS boats in the NBOC historic pages, especially BALTIC (not the ice boat); RAT and OCEAN. https://hnbc.org.uk/lms (No Station names there Mr. Fincher . . . "Second class ticket to Ethel please, changing at Rat.") But several did get Station names as the NBOC page states. The LMS Railway boats were used between interchange basins. One of their features is a longer foredeck than most long distance boats. Generally nice fore ends.

Brilliant stuff. Our first daughter was born in Aylesbury, and for a season I worked with Bob Moore who was Aylesbury Amplifying Services, supplying sound and communication equipment to shows, fete's, and horse events not just in Aylesbury, but much farther afield. His base was his home in Stone. My familiarity with the basin only started in 1979, so I missed the covered warehouses, though the crane was still there (moved from its original site I believe). It was a thriving little community through the eighties. The town scenes are very familiar as I drove London Country buses on 301 and Green Line 706 from 1970. The Wharf. The Ship Inn far left, with Jackson's bakery behind. Beyond the boats is where Kingfisher House was built. The huts were thought to be those associated with Harvey Taylor's business.

Welcome to the forum. A simple typo probably, but it's Yarwoods, not Yarwards. Both Yarwoods and Harland & Wolff built hundreds of working narrow boats during the 1930's and as plans will show, they were mostly 71' 6" in length overall - but not including the rudder blade or any fenders. Generally these are commonly referred to as seventy footers or 'full length'. But for all I know you may have this information, so apologies if this sounds pedantic. As such, it would seem most likely that the 'Station' boats would also be built to the same lengths. Why 71' 6"? Possibly because the maximum length available within a lock on much of the system was 72', builders would maximise on length to accomodate as much hold space as possible.

Somewhere in the vicinity? It's changed a bit! It's called a feeder canal at this point. https://tinyurl.com/4hj4e8bm That's looking towards the Castle. North Road runs parallel the other side of the drama college. Blackweir ambulance station behind aways.

Bear in mind it's a small can, and if it's a copy - it's a darned good one.

I thought Wales, but it's not on the Montgomery, and it's certainly not on the Lancaster. Looking on Google maps at the entire length of the Mon & Brec comes up with nothing like it. That big wall with the gates has to be to some Manor house, that's not likely to have disappeared in 100yrs. The lamp posts are set to cover the lock, rather than the gates. The characters on the bridge look to me as adult male & female with child. Love to know where it is.

I could live in a back cabin, but not in a slanty sided under cloth 'conversion'. That would rule out BADSEY, though it's well kitted out under the 'cloths'. At nearly twice the price, HYDRUS looks to be overkill. That slanty thing at the fore end of the cabin would see my cutting disc. Impressive rebuild (or is it 'replica'?). No thanks. I'd be quite happier to have dings and dents, all part of a boats history of a working life. HYDRUS is dead. And IVY! Apart from the easy to change curved undercloth contraption (catches the imagination as to what a 'cargo' might be) what a pretty thing. I like it. Yes, it's wooden, but I'll wager it's a dream to steer. Prices? There's now't so queer as folk. I can see the work on HYDRUS has been expensive, but worth £107k unfitted and super smooth sides? A recovering of costs as they escalate beyond dreams? Were I in the 'market', I'd take IVY.

Looking at the general environs in the more recent image courtesy of G maps, it doesn't match with the original image posted by Heartland. The mid distance black and white bridge (could be modern) is not there, but more noticably the mature rows of trees have gone - and there's a house on the right - though it does look like 'new-build'. Some massive changes have taken place if it's Aldermaston lock. Then - I've changed a bit since I was ten years old.

And more recently: - with 'scollops' https://tinyurl.com/2s3fpcxk

On G maps, this is taken from the present day Monk Bridge, a broad road bridge looking toward a disused concrete footbridge. The run of the river in either direction does not fit the original claimed Monks Bridge, though it is over the river Foss in York. No idea. https://tinyurl.com/m3p7jsw5

Bit of a give away!

The Owl has been joined by a Deer . . . and the Chinese hat is missing.

You'd have a job sticking one of those in your belt! I'm thinking the star wheel turns a shaft with worm gear on the end, connected to the large horizontal gear. That when turned, turns the vertical shaft and another spiral gear connected to the sluice which is thereby lifted. Complicated, and vulnerable. Ah - no - a 'rotating' paddle, Da Vinci style.

Somewhat off topic, but my late Mother-in-Law would respond to her statements from her credit card account by writing all over the statement and sending it back. Not one for wasting paper.

Not by the rise of the lock exactly, as it needs to take into account the displacement into the lock structure of any cill. These xyz mathematical calculations may be necessary when designing and constructing, but do not take into account water lost through leakages at gates. Reality has an unerring way of messing with figures, do they not? Water in real life, is fluid - it escapes, in differing amounts.

Whichever way you look at it, water is needed from a summit supply and will ultimately end up at a lower level. A lock is a lock. The area of water between locks is a pound. If a lock is full (going uphill) you have emptied a lockfull into the lower pound in order to enter the lock. You then have to draw a lockfull of water off the upper pound to rise in the lock, thereby replacing the lockfull you emptied to enter. Therefore, you have taken a lockfull of water off the upper pound to proceed uphill (or conversley downhill). Water is needed to move a boat uphill or down. It gets used by moving water from a higher level to a lower level. This is basic stuff.

May I point out, that if the boat going uphill presents itself to a bottom lock (in a flight or single) that is full, then immediately it has moved a lockfull into the lower pound which will have to be replaced ultimately by water from the upper pound. Only if the lock is empty upon approach can the above statement be true.

I would agree with Tim. Most quotes I have heard are of 56,000 gallons for wide locks (Grand Union size) and around 26,000 for narrow locks. Depths will of course vary therefore the amount in volume. Heartland's original question can be answered only in theory, as lock depths vary. The volume of water in a 'lockfull' therefore also varies, and can only be used as a rule of thumb. The alleged American measurement of acre x foot (depth presumably) is neither here nor there. It may well be 270,000 gallons, but is that Imperial or Elizabethan gallons? As to how much water is used going uphill against downhill being different, and displacement of a vessel in the same calculation (was water over bywashes considered?), it's about as much use as fog on a dark night (apologies for being blunt). The fact is - it varies. Volumes used will also be affected by the difference between a shallow draught short narrow boat in a wide lock, compared to a heavily laden wide boat in a wide lock. Then there's evaporation and leakage to consider. The 'lock full' of water as a precise measurement is a useful estimate at best, but does give an 'indication' of how many lock emptyings/fillings that a reservoir is capable of supplying - roughly. Then there's the displacement in a reservoir caused by gradual silting from the banks; detritus thrown in; and fish displacement. It can get quite silly when an attempt at precise volumes are spoken of..

What a stunning set of modelling images and skills! Love this one: