Pluto

This photo, and zenataomm's post, does suggest that it is A37. A38 was bought by Albert Blundell circa 1953, and as he delivered to Trafford Park Power Stn, where the coal was unloaded by suction, he did not remove the coamings, as happened on all the other A boats, which served Whitebirk PS. So where is A38?

Roy. You could be right as I did not keep any record back in the 1970s, when boats were changing hands fairly regularly. There is a possibility that numbers were changed when at work for Hargreaves, though I cannot confirm this. Without checking the hull, it is all a little bit vague, and boat owners do not seem to like you sneeking up at night and scraping their paintwork off!

This is my most recently, mid-2021, updated list of L&LC steel boats, which does suggest that it is A38. Steel boats.pdf

There has only been a 'Germany' since the 1870s, and before that there were numerous kingdoms and electorates, each having their own set of measurements. I have a list of some in my recent translation of Maillard's book on canal engineering, while for the translation of Hogrewe's book on English canals from 1759, published in 1780, for which I am currently writing an introduction - I have done the translation - some of the dimensions are: Fuß ½ Elle 292mm (11.5 in) Hannover, Calenburg, Bavaria, Wismar. old Fuß 406mm (15.98 in ) Metz, France Reichsfuß 313.8536mm (12.36 in) Prussia On floating bridges, Rhine ferries used a series of small boats as an anchor, as seen below in a picture of St Goar.

For non-navigable ones, there are two at Rain Hall which provided access to the limestone quarry. This was taken in 1981 of the one nearest the main canal. The other entrance is now virtually covered and in the middle of a field.

This photo shows a floating Bailey bridge over the Rhine in 1946. It comes from the collection of Ben C Walls, whose family had a general cargo carrying business on the L&LC in the 1930s, their connection with the canal going back to the previous century. Ben Walls was involved in recruiting boatmen during the war, and set up the volunteer boatwomen scheme on the L&LC, as well as previously recruiting Irish labour for canals nationally. From 1946-1947, he was in charge of reopening German canals in the British Sector, and was the first post-war Chairman of the Rhine Commission.

They were quite common on the continental navigable rivers - especially after the 2WW. The ones illustrated here are at Sobieszewo on the Vistula, now replaced by a normal bridge, but it still shows up on Google maps. The second is on the Francis Canal in Serbia, so a floating bridge on a conventional canal. The photo was taken in 1997, so I am not sure if it is still in operation.

The section below Tinsley in 1819.

Sebastian Maillard mentions the Derby Canal cast iron aqueduct in his book on canals; my translation of the book is available below.

On the Bata Canal in the Czech Republic.

September 2000, and a replica of the coal barges which used to work on the River Ruhr under construction at Mulheim.

He must have been one of my bosses when I was an apprentice at Pilkingtons in the 1960s. I was at Cowley Hill Works, which was next to Windle, which was his middle name.

https://youtu.be/MxvYruM-eDk A L&LC Society video.

Thanks for the response. This came at the same time, so is presumably the Glamorgan Canal as well.

What about this one, for which I do not know the location. When given to me, it was suggested as the Lancaster, but there is no towpath. However, the bridge parapet does seem to have some sort of protection against wear by tow lines, so it could be on a navigation. Any suggestions?

As you imply, if we don't get local people interested in their local canal and its heritage we will loose out on support for funding for maintenance. The more people feel some sort of ownership of canals, the more likely it is that government will continue their funding. Coke ovens were not that unusual, as even back at the beginning of the 19th century people appreciated smokeless fuels. This site probably pre-dates railways, and certainly the local ironworks, so there must have been a demand from the local population. The best household coal was cannel, so called because it burnt like a candle with a bright flame and produced little dust. However, it was more expensive than other coals, so coke was a low dust alternative, even if it did not produce a bright flame. Coke was much more widely used than most people think, and there were a number of large coke ovens alongside the L&LC in Burnley. Canal steamers and early railway engines tended to use coke in order to keep down pollution.

The earliest staircase lock was probably on the Canal de Briare, opened in 1641, with a seven-rise flight at Rogny. Further riser locks were built on the Canal du Midi, opened in 1681 and visited by the Duke of Bridgewater during his time in Europe. Brindley was not particularly successful on the Calder & Hebble, possibly because he had little knowledge of the variations in the Calder's flow over the year. Smeaton, as a local man, probably had a better understanding, though even today floods in the Calder valley remain a problem. On iron making, the 'scientific' community certainly had an interest in the chemistry, but practical progress tended to be made by craftsmen. Even quite recently, the correct composition would be judged by eye as steel was being smelted.

Engineers from the Germanic areas visited England much more than the French, hardly surprising with a royal family which still had its roots in Hanover, and the continual conflicts with France. There is hardly anything in French literature about English canals until after the Napoleonic Wars ended, though they did make up for it then. Their post-war development proposals for canals included around 1000 miles of narrow canal, though very few were actually built. In general, their engineers were too Paris-centred and too theoretical. However, they were beginning to use calculus for engineering problems before 1780, with the usefulness of calculus only being accepted around 1810 in Edinburgh, and mathematicians in Oxford, Cambridge and London only accepting it from around 1830. As a result, in terms of theoretical technology, they were thirty or forty years in advance of us on the mainland of Europe. Why we succeed industrially was because we accepted craftsmen as eligible for senior engineering roles. Until the 1830s, the only 'theoretical' British engineer was probably Smeaton, with Rennie marking the beginning of the change as he was both time-served as a millwright and had studied at Edinburgh University. There were certainly world-class theoretical scientists in the UK, but their interest did not include practical works, which were left to skilled workers. Their paths only crossed in chemistry, such as in textile printing and gas production. I have just translated Hogrewe's 1780 book on European canal history and English canals since 1759, which gives further new insights into canal technology at the time, none of which have appeared in English previously, thus confirming to some extent that those involved in engineering in England were less 'literate' than engineers on the continent. The written word was less important than seeing for oneself.

When Brindley took over from Smeaton on the C&HN, the latter is reported as saying that he 'shall never envy any Man the praise of doing better than myself while I am conscious of having done as well as those that have trod the same 9or perhaps less difficult) Steps before me.' They hardly seem the words of someone openly hostile, though Brindley's work on the navigation did prove to be of poor quality. Even then, Smeaton observed that the floods that did the damage were the worst on record. For hostility you need to look at John Rennie and John Sutcliffe, the latter's book on 'Canals and Reservoirs' can be seen as a thinly veiled attack on the competency of the former. On literacy, you only have to look at what was published on the theory and practice canal engineering technology prior to 1820. There is virtually nothing in English, apart from Rees Cyclopedia, but there is an extensive library of European books on the subject. Engineers on the mainland of Europe were years in advance of those here when it came to a theoretical understanding of engineering, with British engineers, almost all of whom were millwrights, much better at the practical application. They were much less 'literate' than those abroad, so were less able to disseminate their ideas via the written word. I have discussed the implications of this in my recent book, a translation of an Austrian book on canal building, first published in 1817, whose author built, in effect, and English narrow canal in Vienna after visiting England in 1795.

The Conca dell' Incoranata in Milan, though they don't seem to have discovered how the paddles were operated when it was restored.

Penrhyn in 1980, with the tanker Lobol at the quay.

When canals were first built in England, those authorised prior to 1780, the expected traffic was far almost always less than that which resulted. No one anticipated the success canals would have in encouraging the development of industry, with the result that water supplies had to be extended over the years. As the catchment area for water was restricted, some canals reached the maximum number of boats it was possible to supply with certainty, given that rainfall varied from year to year. One of the main reasons British canals were so successful is the comparatively short distances involved, making it possible to construct them economically using 18th century technology. On displacement, you need to factor in where a boat is loaded or unloaded, as that will raise or lower the height of water, which may or may not run to waste over a byewash. Just looking at one lock in isolation is useless, though the amount of water involved, compared to other factors, makes it pretty much a useless calculation anyway.

As you say, overwriting was not that unusual, but the example I gave was a translation from a poorly written report into something more intelligible. It is the only example I have come across in extensive research into canals, though I have found many poorly written letters which took some interpreting. The standard of writing also varied. Some of the L&LC company minutes look very clear at first glance, though were difficult to read in detail, whilst others were scrawl but easy to read. If you really want a challenge, try reading 18th and early 19th century hand-written German.

It does depend upon what you call literate. This is a report from 1816 done for the L&LC regarding coal on the Sankey Navigation. I have included one page of the original, which has a translation', plus a pdf of the full text. Wigan Sept 14th 1816.pdf

The canal warehouse at Church was burnt out on Saturday. https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/historic-accrington-mill-destroyed-fire-24818832 It has been semi-derelict for as long as I have known it, and proposals for redevelopment have all failed, mainly because it is in the blast zone for chemicals stored at the chemical works opposite. The building was built by local mill owners for storage of printed cloth, and was taken over by the L&LC in the 1870s for use as a conventional warehouse.