Tanker Narrowboats.

[DandV]

As an ex oil company engineer and somebody also interested in the commercial operation of narrowboats in latter years my interest has been raised by tanker narrowboats.

I have seen Spey a tar tanker a few times, which I understand  was one of a fleet taking coal tar away from coal gas manufacturing plants to where?

Was coal tar a bitumen substitute for roading? I know bitumen always needs to be transported hot, so presumably coat tar was more liquid at normal UK temperatures. 

 

 I am also aware, probably from this site, that diesel fuel used to be transported from refineries adjacent to Port Ellismere down to the Midlands by tanker narrowboat until fairly late in commercial trade by narrowboat. Presumably by boats especially constructed for this trade.

Any body know their tank configuration and capacity?

 

Were only motors used, or were working  pairs of boats used?

 

When did this trade cease? and where in the Midlands were the discharge points for further distribution by road?

Was only diesel fuel carried or also heavy fuel oil, or even motor spirit?

 

I look forward to replies.

Don 

 

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Not narrowboats, but there is still oil traffic on the UK canals from Hull to Rotherham.

This is an old photo (2012) and not one of the current boats. Heading back empty through Aldwarke lock, after unloading.

[BEngo]

20 minutes ago, DandV said:

 

I have seen Spey a tar tanker a few times, which I understand  was one of a fleet taking coal tar away from coal gas manufacturing plants to where?

The Thomas Clayton (Oldbury ) fleet traded  in gas works by-products to tar distilleries. Since a good gas works wasted nowt, or less,  cargoes ranged from ammonia water to crude tar.  All theee were further refined at the tar distilleries.  There was one in Banbury, one at the foot of the Crow in Oldbury, adjacent to Claytons base and another at Calf Heath. 

Crude tar, once refined,  gave a range of products from tar varnish ( like varnish but black), through road tar to solid at room temperature bitumen.

 

23 minutes ago, DandV said:

diesel fuel used to be transported from refineries adjacent to Port Ellismere down to the Midlands by tanker narrowboat until fairly late in commercial trade by narrowboat.

The Ellesmere Port to Aldridge run was operated for Duckhams, but was shipping lubricating  oil for blending rather than diesel. The cargo was in cylindrical tanks installed in ex GU and FMC boats.  I think Midland Canal Transport were the carrier.  At least one boat capsized during loading or unloading.  There are pictures in,  IIRC, the excellent  Phillip Weaver photo book published by the  h/ HNB(O)C.

 

N

 

[DandV]

8 minutes ago, BEngo said:

The Thomas Clayton (Oldbury ) fleet traded  in gas works by-products to tar distilleries. Since a good gas works wasted nowt, or less,  cargoes ranged from ammonia water to crude tar.  All theee were further refined at the tar distilleries.  There was one in Banbury, one at the foot of the Crow in Oldbury, adjacent to Claytons base and another at Calf Heath. 

Crude tar, once refined,  gave a range of products from tar varnish ( like varnish but black), through road tar to solid at room temperature bitumen.

 

The Ellesmere Port to Aldridge run was operated for Duckhams, but was shipping lubricating  oil for blending rather than diesel. The cargo was in cylindrical tanks installed in ex GU and FMC boats.  I think Midland Canal Transport were the carrier.  At least one boat capsized during loading or unloading.  There are pictures in,  IIRC, the excellent  Phillip Weaver photo book published by the  h/ HNB(O)C.

 

N

 

Thanks for that. 

Lube oil in simple tanks makes sense. Specially built boats didn't seem to make sense.

And now I know how great grandmother's Wright's Coal Tar Soap was really just a way of maximising the yield from a toxic by product of coal gas production! I remember it smelt vile compared to fragrant Lux.

 

Don

[MtB]

1 minute ago, DandV said:

Thanks for that. 

Lube oil in simple tanks makes sense. Specially built boats didn't seem to make sense.

And now I know how great grandmother's Wright's Coal Tar Soap was really just a way of maximising the yield from a toxic by product of coal gas production! I remember it smelt vile compared to fragrant Lux.

 

Don

 

I used to think it smelled fantastic! But then I love the smell of road tar too. And creosote. 

 

Lux was all girlie.

[PeterF]

Many years ago I worked at a chemical manufacturer, Robinson Brothers ltd, that was based canal side just above Ryders Green locks. This was started up in the 1870s distilling coal tar as the Robinson family had a history owning gas works and managing gas works for councils. The company history states that it was served by narrowboats. They were involved with the other tar distillers, such as Midland Tar Distillers at Oldbury and Four Ashes. Some of the sites are still operating manufacturing speciality organic chemicals based on this heritage.

[DandV]

I was never fond of the smell of petroleum products, but this rose to an intense dislike, when, in my job, they indicated their presence in places they definitely should not have been.  

First you had to find the escape point,  and ascertain how much had gone AWOL, Then  engage with alls sorts of others, you really didn't want to deal with.

The emergency services,  clients, councils, and your highers ups.  Start the clean up, which could be a major,  And somewhere in all this  fix it, and return service.

And  later participate in "The Investigation" 

 

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Not narrowboats, but there is still oil traffic on the UK canals from Hull to Rotherham.

This is an old photo (2012) and not one of the current boats. Heading back empty through Aldwarke lock, after unloading.

We had to be aware of where the Humber Princess actually was,  when we shared her territory in 2015, as she shuttled backwards and forwards delivering lube base oil from port storage in Hull up to the blending plant in Rotheham. In that time she made two return trips.

Was impressed the way she delivered her, far from young,  deckhand, from off the fore deck, onto the lock wing wall at Eastward Lock to set the lock where  she entered,   prior to the CART team arriving to take over.

Certainly would not have wanted to encounter her on the bends on the river near the Conisbrough Viaduct. 

[springy]

From 1924 to 1955 Thomas Clayton carried both Lubricating Oil and Fuel Oil (diesel) from the Stanlow refinery on the Manchester Ship canal to the Shell Depot on the Titford Canal (just past Langley Maltings), using the same "Tank" boats as used for the tar traffic. These were simply wooden hulled narrowboats with a "tight" bulkhead in front of the cabin/engine and another at the fore end of the hold. Motors had another bulkhead roughly in the centre of the hold, and this had small "paddle" in it to allow controlled filling of the rear half, I don't know if the horse boats had similar arrangement. Double planked deck with sliding hatch covers over a hinged lid (which would have a lead seal attached after loading to prevent pilfering). From '24 to '39 all the boats were horse drawn with the then "new" motors being used paired with a horse boat from then on. The contract finished in '55 due to a pipeline direct to the midlands becoming "available".  In 1949 TC(O) ltd. carried just shy of 30,000 tons on the Shell contract.  I have often wondered why horse boats lasted so long, but given the "one way" nature of the traffic it may have been at least in part due to the better handling of an empty horse boat compared with an empty motor. Info (mostly) from Alan Faulkners "Clayton's of Oldbury" and conversations with various ex Clayton's boatmen.

 

springy

[DandV]

Just thinking back.

UK and NZ standard above ground oil and fuel  tanks, at the time would have been 6ft and 8ft standard diameters with 6ft strakes on the 6ft diameter tanks and 8ft on the 8ft diameter tanks.

So nominally 1000 imp gallons per 6ft length. I think 4000 gallons,/ 24ft long was the normal max size for that diameter. But the 1 2 & 3 thousand  gallon tanks were much more numerous. Steel underground tanks were the same dimensions. And even small vertical tanks. 

So over 4ton per 6ft tank length. These tanks  would be an economical fit in a 7ft wide boat. And repurposed second hand tanks would have been numerous.

A colleague of mine was persuaded to provide a similar,   but  later metric sized tank to convey fuel as deck cargo on an Antarctic supply ship for a private expedition. It did not go well when a big wave hit and split the tank.

 

You can see stability,  being an issue with the centre  of gravity of a full tank  being about 3ft 6" above the bottom of the 

[max's son]

 

oil tanker on the Severn at Upton and the last one to come to Diglis oil basin

[alan_fincher]

13 hours ago, BEngo said:

The Ellesmere Port to Aldridge run was operated for Duckhams, but was shipping lubricating  oil for blending rather than diesel. The cargo was in cylindrical tanks installed in ex GU and FMC boats.  I think Midland Canal Transport were the carrier.  At least one boat capsized during loading or unloading.  There are pictures in,  IIRC, the excellent  Phillip Weaver photo book published by the  h/ HNB(O)C.

 

N

 

Unless I'm confusing it with something else, then the carrier was Birmingham & Midland, rather than Midland Canal Transport.

 

I think only ex Grand Union Canal Carrying Co boats were used for that traffic- I can't think of any FMC boats likely to have been involved.

I think the traffic was very short lived.

 

 

Here you go!

 

Brimingham & Midland's YEOFORD and PICTOR on the Duckham's Oil Traffic in 1970 (or so it says!)...

 

 

Edited April 7 by alan_fincher

[springy]

Found these photos in the Thomas William King collection on the "Made in Oldbury" site showing the last two loads of oil carried by claytons boats and dated to 1956.

 

 

 

Somewhere I have also seen a photo of the Shell depot at langley green with a Claytons boat being unloaded, and 3 or 4 others waiting, but I'm unable to find it at the moment.

 

For clarification the oil was put straight into the hold in bulk, no other tanks or containers were involved, with (IIRC) a motor carrying some 15-18 Tons and a horse boat 20 - 22 tons depending on whether it was fuel oil or lubricating oil. And some single Horse boats continued to be used as well as motor/butty pairs.

 

Cowburn and Cowpar had at least one boat with round tanks lowered into the hold but they carried "chemicals" including carbon disulphide.

 

springy

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

 Not narrow but about 10 foot wide and worked on the Fens 

[zenataomm]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

At least one boat capsized during loading or unloading.

Was it Yeoford that turned turtle at Ellesmere?  There used to be photos of it on the web, but I can't find any now.

[BEngo]

2 hours ago, springy said:

 

Cowburn and Cowpar had at least one boat with round tanks lowered into the hold but they carried "chemicals" including carbon disulphide.

 

As well as those with  tanks some  C&C boats carried their cargo in (presumably glass) carboys.

 

N

[springy]

Found the Shell depot photo - also on the "Made in Oldbury" site, undated but 5 horse boats

 

 

 

springy

[Ray T]

There is of course Gifford!

Mrs. Mary Smith with Ben Smith by the 'oss and Jack Smith.

Top and middle photo's, Graham Guest, top of Spon Lane Locks. Some of his photos are featured in the Robert Wilson series "Claytons of Oldbury" by Alan Faulkner.

Middle photo believed to be 1964.

 

Coal tar was a by product of the gas works many towns and cities had. Leamington Spa was one, the gas works being beside the G.U.

Edited April 7 by Ray T

[DandV]

Thanks for all of the replies. It is interesting that this trade, and the boats, and that horsepower survived as late as they did.

 

Presumably the fuel oil carried was light fuel oil, used as boiler fuel, where any residual contamination from previous  coal tar carriage would be irrelevant, whereas internal combustion engines might be a little more fussy.

 

Were there any other narrowboats built for special cargoes?

Other then the two powered pontoon like boats used in Stoke on Trent for carting partly fired pottery between kilns?

 

I saw one of them being loaded  whilst on a canal side walk there in the mid 1970's and was disappointed in that it looked nothing like the picturesque working boats I had seen in all the romantic  pictures that had made it around to this side of the world. 

[Francis Herne]

Also at Titford were the Alfred Matty boats carrying white phosphorus sludge from Albright & Wilson to the dump pit at Rattlechain Lagoon. Filled directly into open holds (with sealed bulkheads) and pumped out at the other end.

 

As with the tar, quite a lot of it got into the canal which is reputed to have spontaneously caught fire quite often.

 

Both BW and the EA used tanks in maintenance boats for collecting sewage from Elsan points and lockkeepers' facilities.

 

Boats were used in the 1990s for laying fibre-optic cable, with big spools in the hold.

 

There are a couple of odd-shaped work flats moored opposite Stretton Wharf, I guessed for transporting lock gates at an angle to be 'in gauge', but not sure.

[Ray T]

There were some "Box Boats," used to deliver coal.
From CRT Archive:

972.0075

Bridgewater Canal box narrow boat with cabin moored in industrial area

Description

August 2021 - information received suggests that this is Box Boat Tug FRED built in 1943 for Manchester Collieries. Engine Gardner 2L2 now in FMC ALDER. (Web sub. no.71673)

Reference code

972.0075

 

Edited April 8 by Ray T

[twooh10]

Trent 5:

https://hnbc.org.uk/boats/trent-5

[Pluto]

8 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

Also at Titford were the Alfred Matty boats carrying white phosphorus sludge from Albright & Wilson to the dump pit at Rattlechain Lagoon. Filled directly into open holds (with sealed bulkheads) and pumped out at the other end.

 

As with the tar, quite a lot of it got into the canal which is reputed to have spontaneously caught fire quite often.

 

Both BW and the EA used tanks in maintenance boats for collecting sewage from Elsan points and lockkeepers' facilities.

 

Boats were used in the 1990s for laying fibre-optic cable, with big spools in the hold.

 

There are a couple of odd-shaped work flats moored opposite Stretton Wharf, I guessed for transporting lock gates at an angle to be 'in gauge', but not sure.

Matty's boats in 1969, photo Roger Lorenz. The second photo shows the tar loading bay at Church on the L&LC. The tar was delivered by a pipeline through the stone arch on the left.

[Bee]

Absolutely wonderful pictures. Thanks

[Heartland]

Some interesting comments that mention barge and narrow boat traffic on canals, but the subject is wider than just tar and oil, with narrow boats there was also the transport of gas water and cyanides and chemicals

 

Whilst Claytons had an important share of the market, there were other firms involved. Yeomans of Oldbury was a case in point.

 

Crosbie moved chemicals by narrow boat. It is a complex subject.

 

[MtB]

6 hours ago, Heartland said:

there was also the transport of gas water and cyanides and chemicals

 

 

What is gas water? 

 

Or if there is a missing comma, would water really have been moved around by boat? 

 

Thanks.

 

Answering my own question maybe it was "water gas".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_gas