Dabchick; Aylesbury

[mark99]

[LEO]

That was a while ago, I think there was a Rally down there, early 60's?. It's all change now, the power station in the background has gone. I have attached a picture of a dockside crane at the Aylesbury basin, which appears in a series of pictures recently released. Hope you are well...

 

M

 

[BEngo]

The wharf crane shown was only ever a pastiche of a crane.  It never lifted anything and, regardless of the words on the jib,  would not have been safe over about 56 lb.

It was erected at the same time that Kingfisher House was built and when  the arm was shortened, but widened to maintain the water area.  The top of the vertical element was supported off a piece of telegraph pole (seen bearing the " Towpath" sign.) I do not know where the iron work came from, though Bryan Barnes  may be able to remember.

It eventually went rotten ( I think in the 90's) and was taken down lest it fall down.  At one time BW Bulbourne yard were willing to provide timber and expertise  to renew it, but that fell through. The bits hung around the car park until the Basin was returned to the Council when ACS was moved out to Circus Field.

 

N

[LEO]

Thanks for the info..........

[alan_fincher]

The butty DABCHICK pictured was part of a pair operated by the Willow Wren carrying company. It was originally an LMS "station" boat - a horse drawn boat - and would have been used for short haul interchange traffic on the BCN.

 

They were elegant boats, but with lower hull sides than on many purpose built motors and butties, which limited their carrying capacity, particularly on cargoes that were bulky rather than dense. The boatmen tended to favour boats they could put bigger loads on, as they were paid by weight carried.

 

I think DABCHICK might have been the only LMS station boat to end up in the Willow Wren fleet - though I could be wrong.

[PeterScott]

18 hours ago, BEngo said:

... same time that Kingfisher House was built and when  the arm was shortened, but widened to maintain the water area.  ...

This is a pic (Aylesbury Canal Society's picture) looking towards the current end of the basin, and wonder if it shows some water in front of the garage that was later filled in ??

 

 

17Sep1980...

 

 

and picking out the detail of the pastiche-crane ...

 

 

... and also 17Sep1980 a similar viewpoint  from the OP ...

On 31/01/2024 at 09:28, LEO said:

...the power station in the background has [now] gone ...

 

 

...and 19Jan2019

[koukouvagia]

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

The butty DABCHICK pictured was part of a pair operated by the Willow Wren carrying company. It was originally an LMS "station" boat - a horse drawn boat - and would have been used for short haul interchange traffic on the BCN.

 

Dabchick was paired with my old boat Owl.  I think you can just see part of Owl in the picture.  Jack Monk was the steerer.

[spud]

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

I think DABCHICK might have been the only LMS station boat to end up in the Willow Wren fleet - though I could be wrong.

heron

13 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

Dabchick was paired with my old boat Owl.  I think you can just see part of Owl in the picture.  Jack Monk was the steerer.

owl was never a ww boat and jack monk had avocet with ww - so how did owl and dabchick end up as a pair ???????????????

[alan_fincher]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

I think DABCHICK might have been the only LMS station boat to end up in the Willow Wren fleet - though I could be wrong.

 

44 minutes ago, spud said:

heron

 

Ah!  - I did say I could be wrong! 😁

[LEO]

5 hours ago, PeterScott said:

This is a pic (Aylesbury Canal Society's picture) looking towards the current end of the basin, and wonder if it shows some water in front of the garage that was later filled in ??

 

 

17Sep1980...

 

 

and picking out the detail of the pastiche-crane ...

 

 

... and also 17Sep1980 a similar viewpoint  from the OP ...

 

 

...and 19Jan2019

Thanks an excellent set of pictures, the first (oldest) one brings back a lot of memories - 1963/4, school lunch breaks, wanting around here, spares from Mick Riley's motorcycle worksop in the canal buildings, or Claude Rye across the road. The canal was scheduled to go from here and link up with the River Thame to join the Thames near Dorchester............seeing narrowboats being converted in the covered area..................... I think one of the 'Clee' boats built here ended up at os D&DBC at Pitstone, great picture, thanks.

[Dav and Pen]

I brought my first boat a 19 ft Dolphin from Aylsebury in 1964 (I think) it was in the compound and the owner had gone bust so when we got there with the trailer it was all locked up. The chap fetching it for me asked the seller if he owed any money and he said no so jacked the gate up off the hinges and we took the boat away. Can’t remember the yard owners name but something like Merganisser. Sure an older member will recall.

[koukouvagia]

4 hours ago, spud said:

heron

owl was never a ww boat and jack monk had avocet with ww - so how did owl and dabchick end up as a pair ???????????????

You're quite right, of course.  What I meant to say was that the boat paired with Dabchick was Avocet, which had Jack Monk's Seffle engine which later I put in Owl.  Old age and decrepitude, I fear.

[Derek R.]

Some great images. HERON was a Station boat and formerly named CALEB IIRC. I was responsible (guilty?) of re-siding the cabin. It is shown in silver primer.

The Motor covered in yellow tarp is LION, owned at the time by Alan Falkingham(?).

 

The B & W shows the full length of the basin towards the road. Much of which was filled in to where the 'crane' was erected.

Edited February 1 by Derek R.