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Narrowboat Enfield


adrian hogg

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13 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

Here. They were used in many coal mines.

We had a few at Hatfield and at Yorkshire Main single ended pairs were coupled nose to nose for coal hauling when I was there at the end of the 1970s.

 

I don't know about 2LWs but this Hunslet beast had a 4LW.

The first pic is of a Hudswell Clarke. Both these locos were made in the same parish in Leeds, Hunslet.

 

Whittle Colliery Hunslet

 

Both pics from t'internet via Mr Google.

 

Our 2LW was formerly in a Hunslet 0-4-0. It was a narrow-gauge loco, so the smaller engine would suffice.

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thanks to everyone for the useful info. I will pass it on to my nephew. 

 

The brokerage who sold him the boat advertised it as a Watercraft Boat built in 1976.

 I did manage to contact David Harris who worked at Watercraft in the 70,s and he had no recollection of it or of them building a boat with a 5LW.

 

I recently accompanied him from the Anchor Inn at Cross Green down to the Bratch. The boat swims nicely and the Gardner runs cleanly once warmed up. Typical of all 5 cylinder engines it runs very smoothly (no need for a magnet to hold your tin mug on the cabin roof)  The gear box is a little noisy and neutral not easy to find so I will be helping him strip it down shortly.

Edited by adrian hogg
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17 hours ago, adrian hogg said:

thanks to everyone for the useful info. I will pass it on to my nephew. 

 

The brokerage who sold him the boat advertised it as a Watercraft Boat built in 1976.

 I did manage to contact David Harris who worked at Watercraft in the 70,s and he had no recollection of it or of them building a boat with a 5LW.

 

I recently accompanied him from the Anchor Inn at Cross Green down to the Bratch. The boat swims nicely and the Gardner runs cleanly once warmed up. Typical of all 5 cylinder engines it runs very smoothly (no need for a magnet to hold your tin mug on the cabin roof)  The gear box is a little noisy and neutral not easy to find so I will be helping him strip it down shortly.

When you say Watercraft, I assume you mean Water Travel 

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On 09/10/2021 at 19:43, adrian hogg said:

thanks to everyone for the useful info. I will pass it on to my nephew. 

 

The brokerage who sold him the boat advertised it as a Watercraft Boat built in 1976.

 I did manage to contact David Harris who worked at Watercraft in the 70,s and he had no recollection of it or of them building a boat with a 5LW.

 

I recently accompanied him from the Anchor Inn at Cross Green down to the Bratch. The boat swims nicely and the Gardner runs cleanly once warmed up. Typical of all 5 cylinder engines it runs very smoothly (no need for a magnet to hold your tin mug on the cabin roof)  The gear box is a little noisy and neutral not easy to find so I will be helping him strip it down shortly.

In 2000, David Harris built Hanuman for me. She was a beautiful boat, deep sided and I had him put a 5lw in her, coupled to a PRM 750. At the time I'd have liked a 2 or a 3 cylinder, but the 5 came up for sale locally to me at a knockdown price and I simply couldn't resist it. After a change from the first blade to something more appropriate, she went extraordinarily well, both at tick-over on the cut and like the wind on open water. My abiding memory is of being tied at Upton in full flood, with the river going downhill at a ferocious rate, swirling audibly around the bridge piers. I was in the process of untying and a chap came up to me and said, "You're never going out on THAT?", pointing at the water. His face was a picture when I clutched in and she leapt off the staging like a rocket and we disappeared upstream, smooth as you like, with no exhaust beat, and a fine wake.

I sold her on, and I hear she's now got what I originally intended to put in her, a mere three cylinder LW.

Bit of a shame really.

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44 minutes ago, johnthebridge said:

In 2000, David Harris built Hanuman for me. She was a beautiful boat, deep sided and I had him put a 5lw in her, coupled to a PRM 750. At the time I'd have liked a 2 or a 3 cylinder, but the 5 came up for sale locally to me at a knockdown price and I simply couldn't resist it. After a change from the first blade to something more appropriate, she went extraordinarily well, both at tick-over on the cut and like the wind on open water. My abiding memory is of being tied at Upton in full flood, with the river going downhill at a ferocious rate, swirling audibly around the bridge piers. I was in the process of untying and a chap came up to me and said, "You're never going out on THAT?", pointing at the water. His face was a picture when I clutched in and she leapt off the staging like a rocket and we disappeared upstream, smooth as you like, with no exhaust beat, and a fine wake.

I sold her on, and I hear she's now got what I originally intended to put in her, a mere three cylinder LW.

Bit of a shame really.

I would have listened to the man. All it takes is one plastic bag or something else around the prop and you are then in trouble 

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21 hours ago, johnthebridge said:

In 2000, David Harris built Hanuman for me. She was a beautiful boat, deep sided and I had him put a 5lw in her, coupled to a PRM 750. At the time I'd have liked a 2 or a 3 cylinder, but the 5 came up for sale locally to me at a knockdown price and I simply couldn't resist it. After a change from the first blade to something more appropriate, she went extraordinarily well, both at tick-over on the cut and like the wind on open water. My abiding memory is of being tied at Upton in full flood, with the river going downhill at a ferocious rate, swirling audibly around the bridge piers. I was in the process of untying and a chap came up to me and said, "You're never going out on THAT?", pointing at the water. His face was a picture when I clutched in and she leapt off the staging like a rocket and we disappeared upstream, smooth as you like, with no exhaust beat, and a fine wake.

I sold her on, and I hear she's now got what I originally intended to put in her, a mere three cylinder LW.

Bit of a shame really.

When we travelled from Broxbourne up to Cosgrove for the boaters Xmas meet in 1986 with Kate and Snowy, Baron had a massive 5 cylinder 90hp engine fitted and also went like an absolute rocket -- IIRC correctly we hit getting on for 15mph downstream on the Lee at 2am... 😉

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18 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Is this the ex FMC Baron? I thought that had a Bolinder 1053.

Yes, I think so (and I see it was 1985 at Cosgrove, not 1986):

 

http://www.steamershistorical.co.uk/Web_FMC_Steamers/BARON

 

I think the Bolinder was fitted when Snowy bought Baron in 1980, but when we were on it had been (temporarily?) replaced by something big and 5-cylinder (probably when a steel bottom was fitted in 1983, possibly because the Bolinder was knackered?), Snowy told me what make it was (and that it was 90hp) but this was 35 years ago and I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure about the engine being fitted.

 

The canals froze and we broke ice all the way back to Broxbourne which took off all the rivet heads in the bow, by the time we got there the bilges needed pumping every hour or so. Baron was waiting to be repaired when the yard failed to keep an eye on this and the pumps stopped overnight, she sank in six feet of water at Whitsun 1986 with all their possessions on board... 😉

 

I see from the record that Pete Thompson (who I knew very well, spent the following Xmas with him on Colonel going up to Cosgrove again) rebuilt the Bolinder and it was refitted in 1991 before being sold. Much more authentic than whatever Snowy had fitted, but undoubtedly slower...

Edited by IanD
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As i recall the risk assessments used to be, can i get to the pub before the cut freezes solid.

I think it was 85 we ended up outside the general idiot at uxbridge after tomps broke the ice from battlebridge all the way to cowley.

It was so bad we ended up living out of the cans ( fortunately filled up with water by the pub)

We had to borrow showers in the university halls of residence for about 5 weeks.

Oh and we passed enfield today. Looks a little weary at present.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 14/10/2021 at 11:07, IanD said:

Yes, I think so (and I see it was 1985 at Cosgrove, not 1986):

 

http://www.steamershistorical.co.uk/Web_FMC_Steamers/BARON

 

I think the Bolinder was fitted when Snowy bought Baron in 1980, but when we were on it had been (temporarily?) replaced by something big and 5-cylinder (probably when a steel bottom was fitted in 1983, possibly because the Bolinder was knackered?), Snowy told me what make it was (and that it was 90hp) but this was 35 years ago and I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure about the engine being fitted.

 

The canals froze and we broke ice all the way back to Broxbourne which took off all the rivet heads in the bow, by the time we got there the bilges needed pumping every hour or so. Baron was waiting to be repaired when the yard failed to keep an eye on this and the pumps stopped overnight, she sank in six feet of water at Whitsun 1986 with all their possessions on board... 😉

 

I see from the record that Pete Thompson (who I knew very well, spent the following Xmas with him on Colonel going up to Cosgrove again) rebuilt the Bolinder and it was refitted in 1991 before being sold. Much more authentic than whatever Snowy had fitted, but undoubtedly slower...

 

I heard from Pete (who rebuilt the engine before Kate sold Baron) and David Mack was right, it was a Bolinder 1053 -- which is a 3.4l 42hp 3-cylinder diesel, not the semi-diesels of narrowboat fame.

 

So I was wrong by 2 cylinders. Still went down the Lea like sh*t off a shovel though... 😉

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I remember BARON being in Aylesbury basin in 1979. It was about the time I was looking to live afloat and went aboard to view, Had a long passageway down one side with 'cabins' off it. There was a 1053 in the stern end which reportedly was in poor condition. I 'passed' on the offer.

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3 hours ago, Derek R. said:

I remember BARON being in Aylesbury basin in 1979. It was about the time I was looking to live afloat and went aboard to view, Had a long passageway down one side with 'cabins' off it. There was a 1053 in the stern end which reportedly was in poor condition. I 'passed' on the offer.

It was rather run down, Pete rebuilt the engine about ten years later -- but only after it sank in 1986 after we'd taken all the rivet-heads off in the bows icebreaking all the way back to London after the Xmas meet up at Cosgrove... 😞

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