Victorian Iron Butties

[Mike Tee]

1 hour ago, pete harrison said:

If by 'BCN productions' you mean the details and statistics about boats gauged in 1896 then the original source will be the B.C.N. Company gauge registers. These are paper based ledgers with each containing 200 separate gauge tables - 1 for each boat, and there were about 26000 boats captured within them. Thousands of gauge tables (12371 to be precise) were removed when the B.C.N. Company carried out a review between 1895 and 1906, leaving us with sketchy details pre-1895 but complete from that point onward - and these are what is contained in the B.C.N. Company gauge registers that are available today.

 

As somebody who dabbles in 'historic' boat research I went through the process of constructing a Microsoft Access database of B.C.N. Company gauge registers almost 20 years ago, and it contains fairly comprehensive details for every available table (other Canal Company gauge details have been added since). It is this database that I used to compile the figures above  

 

edit = remove irrelevant information. 

'Dabbles' - I want to nominate this for the most under-stated statement ever statemented in the history of CWDF statements

[Heartland]

Is this a new interpretation of the word "dabble", I wonder

 

Yet returning to the subject, the naming of the boat ANVIL, perhaps could be pursued. If this was the name of the boat from the start, the name might be related to the iron trade. Another piece of information would be a gauging plate, if one exists on the craft.

[pete harrison]

31 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Yet returning to the subject, the naming of the boat ANVIL, perhaps could be pursued. If this was the name of the boat from the start, the name might be related to the iron trade. Another piece of information would be a gauging plate, if one exists on the craft.

My database actually captures almost four sets of B.C.N. gauge registers and I have already unsuccessfully searched for the boat name ANVIL, and had done before my first post on this thread. Whether the pre1990's history of this ANVIL can be resolved will depend on whether the owner finds a gauge plate, and that will largely depend on whether an 'enthusiast' has got there first and removed it for their collection

[pete harrison]

2 hours ago, Peter X said:

I trust that Pete Harrison will preserve his database for posterity, I'm sure he'll be aware that the technology still exists to do so.

A much reduced version of the B,C,N. part of my database is already preserved in that it has been published on the B.C.N. Society website, as mentioned in post No, 2 of this thread. I am aware that somebody else is also producing a similar database, which I am looking forward to seeing once it is complete.

 

To be honest I am not particularly interested in preserving my 'dabblings' for posterity as I only do this for a bit of fun. Perhaps somebody will come along who is prepared to continue with my works but I suspect it will all die with me, as has already happened a few times in the past few years (Clive Guthrie, Alan E. Brown, Laurence Hogg)

[Anvil_1896]

On 18/11/2019 at 16:51, pete harrison said:

My database actually captures almost four sets of B.C.N. gauge registers and I have already unsuccessfully searched for the boat name ANVIL, and had done before my first post on this thread. Whether the pre1990's history of this ANVIL can be resolved will depend on whether the owner finds a gauge plate, and that will largely depend on whether an 'enthusiast' has got there first and removed it for their collection

I had a look for the gauge plate this weekend, but to no avail! It seems like a bit of a dead end unless I discover it. Thanks for all the comments!