Derek R.

Imperial War Museum may have something judging by the link recently posted on another thread.

Not bad, but McColl's is my favourite: Shots of Salford in the 50's & 60's.

As was in 1981:

Just found my back copy of 'Narrow Boat' with a Clayton article - Spring 2006. The closest reference to steel tank barges are those used from the Brentford based fleet; two built by Watson's of Gainsborough in 1923, two from Holland in 1924, and two acquired from the Maypole Dairy in 1927. No images, so no idea really! Patrick's image looks more like a converted mud hopper but that can't be right. Could it be a 1927 build? It would have been 35yrs old if so, not beyond the realms of possibility.

Thos. Clayton did operate wide beam boats in the South and had a base at Brentford and also at Paddington. Some trade was with wide boats on the Thames, and Alan Faulkner’s book ‘Clayton’s of Oldbury’ shows MEDWAY being towed through Bell Weir lock heading for Reading Gas Works to load, the vessel in a similar appearance to a River Wey barge. But that was in 1916. Claytons canal traffic effectively ended in 1966 according to Faulkner, though no specific mention is made of when the London traffic ended. It would be interesting to hear more of that ‘Narrow Boat’ article. I really ought to subscribe.

Has to be a tanker for some liquid or another. There's several caps or fillers spaced at regular intervals, most likely bulkheads beneath. Some sort of factory waste comes to mind. I think fuel would require more pipework on deck, and I don't reckon there would have been need for a 'Lavender boat' that big back then.

Definitely the Regent's going through the Park, and looking West. Worked in the Zoo in the sixties and it was rare to see a horse drawn vessel even then. This was before the towpath was opened up to the public, and there was a locked gate under the Zoo perimeter bridge which would have had to be negotiated by horse and man. I think you are mistaken, not prop wash at all just water turbulence off the rudder.

Several such films are available through Beulah Films http://www.eavb.co.uk/video/index.html The B&W is simply titled 'Grand Union Canal', a silent film declared to have been made in 1934. Maybe some of it was, but there are boats show that were built in 1936 so it could be a collation of film. Pre-WWII though. 'Inland Waterways' was made in 1950, and the notation the engineer makes in the trip card shows the date in February 1950 at 'Target Turn'. 'There Go The Boats' is stated as being made in 1951.

It's a difficult one. On the one hand there is the copyright issue and doubtless lack of permission from the owners, yet on the other there are so many images that I personally have not seen before and I do wonder why there is such an objection to the sharing of information that has for many - as judged by the comments - re-united them with images of relatives distant and not so distant. The 'theft' of music downloads I can understand. But who here is being stolen from except a few who wish to capitalise on a small social panorama that affected a community that has all but disappeared, and which the extant community of boat orientated people would wish to learn more from. If there is a lack of captions, then there is given space for comment to perhaps rectify same - why not contribute and increase the knowledge base? They are hardly a global gold mine. Do we need to be so secretive? The disaster for me is that they are on facebook. Not the best place for advertising ones personal data, for it will become anyones.

The Grinch never sleeps . . .

I think it will be found that John Locker 'flourished' - 'fl' (floruit) between 1862 & 1875. I suspect a misprint of 1975! Haven't found out much about him at all. Edited for typo. Matty's suggestion could be a possibility. There's a very tempting likeness in the header here: http://www.h-g-canal.org.uk/html/history.htm

I cannot help but think that someone (not me) will cry 'copyright infringement' of the original sound track now that more have seen the spoof.

Such places as Flatford Mill are always recognised and it's easy to be led in that direction, but with the esturial river behind with what looks like a craft on the mud, the Blackwater and River Chelmer do come to mind. A lot depends on how much artists licence has been applied - hills where a slight rise was seen, a boat with features taken from memory rather than life, was he influenced by Constable. Perhaps a stronger clue would be to know where the artist lived, and where he frequented for subject matter.

Yes, "cared for" does sound a rather generous description. It would be interesting to know in what fashion the renovation will take, with the vessel suspended from the five beams. Clearly there must be some structure within that holds the sides and bottom together and which is attached to the beams as well as the straps around the hull. I note also that the attempt to lower the vessel onto the stands was aborted at 11m.12seconds for an entry end on. Quite a tricky manoeuvre for the driver. So it hangs suspended. What next? Will it remain a dry exhibit in a covered area, or see water again?

An engine! And upon fitting I suspect the crew made good the animals accommodation into something habitable for themselves, hence the wooden structure. Equine burger anyone?

Ah - the wonders of posting! You think that's vexing - try dealing with French authorities/banks. The vessels shape reminds be of our galvy bath that hung on a nail in the back yard. That didn't 'swim' well either. Such shapes are an acquired taste. Just a personal opinion but I think they are quite hideous. Oddly, the 'garden shed' amidships is probably only one of two original structures aboard. Tam's excellent historic postcards posted elsewhere will show that. Crew lived at one end (no engine of course), and the 'animals' were bedded amidships in the 'garden shed'. BLUE BERRY's stern gear has three pivots. The first section from the stern post is held static by wire hawsers attached to the hull. The second section fixed with the first through a pivoting bar seemingly easily moved to allow articulation between 1 & 2. The third and last is directly attached to that horrendous tiller (bet that flexes like a flexible thing). There's a cable and sheave to allow lifting of the prop and shaft too. Looks like a barrel of fun under way. There are sprockets too - disused in this set-up, and P 10862 shows how they might have been connected, but without 'that' tiller.

No, just two - the small centre section is fixed to the primary rudder pivoting at the stern post. But what a wonderful contraption! I suspect that it would never have been used to steer in the aspect at which it is seen in the image, but more to be used to deflect the prop wash in the desired direction of travel. The secondary rudder looks to be separately steered through an auxiliary system of chains and sprockets. Maybe fixed to the primary or variable as required. More likely the sprockets could be deployed to tuck the extra rudder sideways to avoid fouling within a lock. Bit of a palava.

Half of French is waving hands about, so not far off of heaving on a tiller!

I hope you don't think I'm any friend of the developer Ray, my own home City has been desecrated by the developer such that I will never go there again. Those gruesome modern back to backs - or concrete shoe boxes, have replaced fine house, our classic library building demolished and replaced by a gold plated glass monolith. My point was simply that at the end of the day it's he who pays the piper decides what happens. There's only so much charity and goodwill can achieve in the face of corporate profit/greed.

Sadly the big questions are; What else could they be used for; Who is going to pay for them; and will they be respectful of their historic value. Because it seems like the only way in which such structures can survive at all is for people who are not indigenous to the neighbourhood (or country) to use them, and as has been seen with part of the former BSA factory, great changes have eradicated the qualities of still standing historic structures. The entire Nation has been through an industrial period where we manufactured goods and sent them world-wide. All that has now gone, and we know where and why, which leaves so many remnants and reminders of the past which for many folk are parts of their lives and reason for having 'been'. They may not have been 'The Good Old Days' as seen through rose tinted glasses, but they were Our days - and hence the - in my eyes justified anger that rises from inept government bureaucracy. If you can't keep the structures - keep the memories. Record, write, and pass them on. In some instances that is all we can do.

550V to 600V, 650V was the maximum allowed output from the power station. This seems to be fairly universal according to bus boffins. Never drove one, but loved peering around the driver from the saloon, and watching the little amber light above the windscreen flicker when crossing 'frogs'. Amongst all the other hazards of the roads, Trolleybus drivers had to be aware of dead sections at major junctions and plan their progress accordingly. http://www.sfu.ca/person/dearmond/set/Trans_Web/M3/Voltage.2.etb.htm

Fantastic. Thanks for posting Jim. I was fettling motorbikes back then and totally unaware of the cut other than the Regent's through the Zoo. Eyes wide closed.

I know I've said it before as have others as above, but such work is so very rare nowadays when 70 or 80yrs ago it may well have been commonplace. Such skills as were almost taken for granted are indeed now very rare, and when come across by anyone who has worked raw materials in todays world - all the more awesome because it is no longer commonplace. Just seeing and reading of Chris's experience is an education in itself.

15 years to dredge 15 miles. So say the CRT blurb. There's a good half hour of that bit of dredging on the Basingstoke. Plenty of detail and action of the dredger and its engine.

Got a link Bill? 14 pages of googling has found nothing. As an aside, I did find this: http://www.grantham-canal.co.uk/ Anyone know the boat?