Team Rebellion Virtual BCN Challenge 2020 Cruise Log

[HuggableHamster]

Log Time: 14:45, Wednesday 21st October 1801

Location: The Gospel Oak Ironworks, The (B$*&$&!!!!) Dumaresque Branch

 

We arrived at the Ironworks, but there was no sign of ironworking today.  The machines were silent and no other boats were to be seen.  The only person was a very grumpy man, he was well dressed and as we approached he came over to us.

“Have you seen this!” He exclaimed waving a copy of yesterday’s London Gazette, we shook our heads and he pointed to this announcement...

 

 

“What are they playing at?  Do you know where I can find this John Read fellow, I’ve come to collect my dues!”

We shook our heads again, and presume he must’ve taken us for idiots as he huffed and turned sharply around.

 

But we know this was not the end for the iron works, it seems it would go on to be taken over by Samuel Walker, whose company would go on to make the cannon for HMS Victory.

 

 

Research notes

 

The key to planning a good trip, is to know where you can go, and well that requires research - and @smudgepuss's amazing map!  A lot of this research involved reading through Bradshaws, scouring old maps and google searches that kept ending up on Capt Ahab’s blog.  It was on this (http://captainahabswaterytales.blogspot.com/2010/12/gospel-oak-branch-bcn-upper-reaches.html) particular entry about the gospel oak branch we saw a note.

Update 30.11.12 My thanks go to Ray Shill who advised me that there was a further short lived extension to this canal: "One of the more obscure BCN private branches was the Dumaresq Branch that linked with the end of the Gospel Oak Branch and ascended through two locks to Gospel Oak Ironworks. It appears to have had a short period of existence, and I have only found it on one map at Birmingham Library Archives"

 

This fateful note sent us down a rabbit hole... without the ability to get to Birmingham Library Archives we had an enormous task ahead of us.  Where was this branch, where did it go, when did it go there?  

 

The answer to these and many other questions were obscured by the fact that Colonel John Dumaresq, after who (or possibly his brother Philip) the canal branch is presumably named, had two very famous sons, a very famous descendant who invented a mechanical calculating device and (as seen above) went out of business fairly soon after the canal was built.  

The man himself, he did many things, but have an easily findable canal branch, not a chance.

 

In spite of this, and resorting to reading through such delights as the reports of Lord Dudley’s coal estate exploits... I suspect the poor F. Dumaresq was the Lieutenant Colonel’s brother Philip... we did eventually find a likely route...

 

 

And then *finally* yesterday! We found this beauty...

(this photo was buried somewhere on Ahab’s blog.  We’ll certainly buy the map if we ever come across it in real life!)

 

It would’ve been very useful if we’d found this 2 weeks ago!  But who doesn't love spending hours searching for online maps, that may or may not have the lost canal branch on them!

 

So our GPS continues... https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.54251902144439%2C-1.9980846112136987&z=12

[HuggableHamster]

As we onboard Rebellion  William have been very strictly adhering to the not leaving the boat (combined with me having injured my hip before lockdown and it not being fully recovered) our food is not up to our usual standards...

 

Bacon Butties for breakfast, crisp and ham sandwiches for lunch (plus some really nice cheese), a little liquid refreshment on our way then to the chippy for the local delicacy of orange chips!

[RebelMike]

Log time: 15:45, Saturday 20th May 1950

Location: Moorcroft Junction

 

Approaching Moorcroft Junction - as you can just about make out going off to the right in the shot from RebellionCam 2017:

We’re coming from the other direction today, and we dialled the Automat back to 1950 before turning left on to what was once known as the Scott & Foley Canal.

[smudgepuss]

Minion's Log (supplemental)

 

We have just started going up Bradley Locks. No sign of Other Minion, @Amynotontheforum, I'm not impressed. Now it's just me and @HuggableHamster left to do all the hard work while @RebelMike just swans about steering the boat.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Just now, smudgepuss said:

Minion's Log (supplemental)

 

We have just started going up Bradley Locks. No sign of Other Minion, @Amynotontheforum, I'm not impressed. Now it's just me and @HuggableHamster left to do all the hard work while @RebelMike just swans about steering the boat.

But @Indigo Dreamers did leave the locks emptying for you ....

[RebelMike]

Log time: 16:30, Saturday 20th May 1950

Location: Half way up the Bradley Locks

 

We can’t find @Amynotontheforum, but we have a suspicion where she might have gone...  

 

Many thanks to @Indigo Dreamers leaving the locks ready for us - we've managed to keep to time so far.  Here’s the view looking back down the flight.

(Picture from https://www.bradleycanal.co.uk/, who are looking to restore this branch, amongst other places)

[TheBiscuits]

11 minutes ago, smudgepuss said:

while @RebelMike just swans about

 

That was Tuesday.  Today is food.

[RebelMike]

Log time: 17:00, Saturday 11th May 1850

Location: Bradley Locks Junction

 

For some reason, we’ve decided to travel both the Wednesbury Oak Loop of the original Old Main Line, and the Rotton Brunt canal that shortens the journey on the Old Main Line around the Wednesbury Oak Loop…  More adventures I guess!  The Rotton Brunt also joins the Bradley Locks branch to the Old Main Line.

 

Still no sign of @Amynotontheforum...

[smudgepuss]

41 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

But @Indigo Dreamers did leave the locks emptying for you ....

Thanks @Indigo Dreamers!

[RebelMike]

Log time: 17:25, Saturday 8th May 1802

 

We just had enough time before the finish for one last push down the staircase locks on the Bradley Marr branch and back up again.  Alongside the branch is the colliery owned by Foley & Scott.

 

We did have trouble working out where the exact path of the branch was to start with, as most of our source maps were newer than the canal, and we didn’t spot the bit that said ‘old canal’ for a while...

 

Then, we found this lovely specimen, although we were a little confused by north being to the right:

But then of course why would it be? We spend half our lives using Pearson’s maps after all!

[RebelMike]

Log time: 17:45

Location: The Big Finish, Bradley Workshops

 

Emerging into the present we tie up our lines, disconnect our Automat Senschuct, and grease the stern gland. 

 

We look around to discover @Amynotontheforum had taken a shortcut to the party and had been tucking into the barbeque and beer already.  We have some catching up to do!

 

Log sent in, quiz summed up and our closing post written, we crack open our tipple of choice and wander over to chat to the other teams, content we have all our ducks in a row!

 

Thank you to @cheshire~rose and all her team we have had a wonderful, silly and exhausting week.  It feels like we’ve done something between a child’s history project and an industrial archeology PhD but we’ve learnt so much, and will, when we finally can move again, have to go and see some of the remains of these canals for ourselves!

Edited May 9, 2020 by RebelMike

[RebelMike]

Addendum: @Amynotontheforum’s further mutiny and punishment. Collected from witness statements and the accused testimony. @Amynotontheforumwas found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to chimney brushing, porta potty cleaning and coffee making duties for the remainder of the season. 

 

After the initial first mutiny death of a strawberry the crew thought all her gremlin activity had ceased. Unfortunately this was not to be as she was simply too much of a white devil. Setting up Mr Fake Duck like a lion in winter with her secret weapon, a yoghurt pot!

 

Sneaking out of the boat she escaped up the 39 steps to the jetty (maintaining all social distancing) into the flying machine she had hidden near the bradley locks. Unfortunately it all got a bit brechtian too soon finding the fourth wall of the machine broken. 

Feeling as though today's gremlining was about to be much ado about nothing she stumbled upon an abandoned bbq on the quayside, after carefully sanitising the bbq Amy settled to a late lunch, before heading to the finish thinking alls well that ends well.

However like the three musketeers the rest of the crew had been following her progress and once they found her at the finish, @Amynotontheforum was put to work and found guilty of misuse of her daily allowable quarantine exercise, avoiding lock wheeling duties, and making threats to yoghurt pots. She was banished to below decks for the remainder of the evening.

[smudgepuss]

Minion's Log (supplemental)

 

Other Minion has been found being a Bad Minion. I have had a promotion to Good Minion and was rewarded with chips!

 

 

Turns out they weren't wrong about the orange batter!

[cheshire~rose]

3 hours ago, smudgepuss said:

Minion's Log (supplemental)

 

Other Minion has been found being a Bad Minion. I have had a promotion to Good Minion and was rewarded with chips!

 

 

Turns out they weren't wrong about the orange batter!

It just occurred to me they look like Trump chips! 

[smudgepuss]

1 minute ago, cheshire~rose said:

It just occurred to me they look like Trump chips! 

Well that's put me right off.

[cheshire~rose]

Out of interest, did anyone in your team calculate the total miles and locks you covered during the challenge? If you have already mentioned it in the thread somewhere forgive me, I am asking because I am too lasy to go through 14 threads to find if the information has already been shared

[smudgepuss]

Chief Technical Officer @RebelMike is the master of the route, but I don't think he's up yet. There are a few versions of our route planner knocking about and I wouldn't want to end up giving you the numbers from the wrong one!

[RebelMike]

8 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

Out of interest, did anyone in your team calculate the total miles and locks you covered during the challenge? If you have already mentioned it in the thread somewhere forgive me, I am asking because I am too lasy to go through 14 threads to find if the information has already been shared

We covered:

Day 1: 32 locks (or 30 if you don't count the lock on the Slough arm), 13.5 miles

Day 2: 16 locks (Birchills both ways), 13 miles

Day 3: 10 locks (up to Wyrley Bank and back), 14 miles

Day 4: 20 locks (down to Walsall canal and back up to Wolverhampton level), 13 miles

Day 5: 3 locks, 15.5 miles (original plan was 15 locks including a trip to Titford Pumphouse and only 14 miles)

Day 6: 21 locks (back down to Walsall, up Bradley and Bradley Marr), 12.5 miles

 

Total: 102 locks, 81.5 miles.  40 hours of cruising (we never exceeded the 7 hour limit).

 

For comparison, last year's challenge I believe we did 82 locks and 36.5 miles in a little under 24 hours.