A previously unknown GUCCCo Ltd livery variation?

[Laurence Hogg]

This film contains several shots of a large Woolwich carrying a non standard livery with curved lettering and patterned cabin doors.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=11800

 

A still from the film:

[Derek R.]

Tantalising view of the butty's fore end looks like it 'might' be 'BALHAM' on the top bend, that would make it a large Woolwich and intended to be paired with BANSTEAD, but we all know there was no guarantee that was so. BANSTEAD appears in The Bargee without panelled cabin sides. Was it built with panelled sides and changed between 1940 and '63?

Did any Large Woolwich have all panelled cabin and engine'ole?

[Laurence Hogg]

All the H&W boats were built with panelled sides from new. They lost them very likely during engine roof removals for power unit change. Many boats in the later wartime economy livery just have the vertical rear bulkhead lining strip in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

edited to add detail

Edited August 6, 2011 by Laurence Hogg

[c c]

Is that a brass tiller arm in 1940?

[Laurence Hogg]

Ok so you have seen the first picture, here is a second! This is from a Cyril Arapoff picture in the late 1930's in limehouse dock. The pair of Woolwich boats are part obscured by a timber laden lighter, however theres no mistaking the patterns on the motor boat doors. Also the can on the butty is not as supplied (two blues, white middle band).

 

[Laurence Hogg]

Is that a brass tiller arm in 1940?

 

No its just the light, further on it shows as the normal steel one.

 

However the other odd thing is the hook fitted on the port side instead of the usual dolly. This was fitted to wooden Rickmansworth boats normally but not the Yarwoods or H&W boats.

another mystery! I cannot find a picture of any large motor with this feature.

 

[pete harrison]

However the other odd thing is the hook fitted on the port side instead of the usual dolly. This was fitted to wooden Rickmansworth boats normally but not the Yarwoods or H&W boats.

another mystery! I cannot find a picture of any large motor with this feature.

 

 

Waterways World January 1982 page 47 shows ALDGATE with a hook, but on the other side. Waterways World September 1987 page 74 shows a Large Northwich motor swinging around Sutton Stop with a hook. HADLEY still retained a hook when docked in May 1949 per photograph in Waterways World June 1988 page 74 and DARLEY has a hook in the opening sequence of There go The Boats. These did take some finding proving that the hook was not that common on the Large boats and as they are simply bolted through the cants / deck I suppose they were interchangable.

Edited August 6, 2011 by pete harrison

[antarmike]

Waterways World January 1982 page 47 shows ALDGATE with a hook, but on the other side. Waterways World September 1987 page 74 shows a Large Northwich motor swinging around Sutton Stop with a hook. HADLEY still retained a hook when docked in May 1949 per photograph in Waterways World June 1988 page 74 and DARLEY has a hook in the opening sequence of There go The Boats. These did take some finding proving that the hook was not that common on the Large boats and as they are simply bolted through the cants / deck I suppose they were interchangable.

Bilster has a hook in some photograhs

[debbifiggy]

This film contains several shots of a large Woolwich carrying a non standard livery with curved lettering and patterned cabin doors.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=11800

 

A still from the film:

 

 

I love these films. I know you are discussing livery but I am intrigued by the locations.

 

The start of the film is so obviously Brentford and then there is a shot of a flight of locks (Hanwell?) or much further up the GU such as Marsworth? There then seems to be a big jump and possibly a bridge over a weir Stoke Bruern Way or is it further north at MK? The final part looks like the embankment above the Hatton flight towards the Tom O'the Wood.

 

What do other forum members think?

 

Apols for typos.

 

Debbi

[Derek R.]

Hanwell Yes, the lattice towpath bridge looks like that opposite Walkers at Ricky, and the last few seconds could be Cassiobury of further afield. Sound effects and continuity about on par with 'Painted Boats'.

[mykaskin]

As far as I can tell its all filmed from Brentford to Hanwell Locks. Most views of countryside are the river. The towpath bridges are at the bottom of Hanwell where the Brent enters, and the latice bridge is where the river enters near the railway viaduct.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[Derek R.]

I think you are correct Mike. That lattice bridge could have been over the Brent as it leaves above Osterley lock. New structure there now of course. I'm sure cost would have dictated all was done around one area in one day.

[Steve Priest]

I've had this piece of film bookmarked for a while, I think it is a great snapshot of Grand Union boats working in their early days. I don't recall seeing any other photographs of boats painted in that style though. Laurence is right that all Woolwich boats had panelling from new, it ran forwards along the engine room and stopped a few inches behind the rear engine room door, the hinges of which were welded to the engine room side, the thickness of the hinge allowed the door to open flat across the top of the panelling.

 

The position of the panelling is clear on boats with original engine rooms from the pattern of small rivets which were used to fill up the fixing holes when the panelling was removed. Big Woolwich motors were built with a bolt on engine room roof so that the engine and tanks could be removed, and you can see from the still that the panelling covered the roof flange bolts along the top of the sides, and as the roof could not be taken off without first removing the panelling, it's not suprising that it didn't last very long.

 

All of the Woolwich and Northwich motors were supplied with one dolly and a hook, the hook was fine when towing with a long line via the butty mast and running blocks to a t stud at the front of the butty slide hole, the motor steerer would just put the line on the hook, and the butty steerer would run the line out off the t stud to take up the tow, but a lot of people came to prefer to pay the line out from the motor boat, and two dollies made that a lot easier to do, hence most boats were altered. This is the reason that more often than not the dollies on G. U. motors don't match, the new ones were made of straight bar with the end heated up and mushroomed over. I am not sure when this happened, I believe that it was in early Waterways days.

 

Another feature of big Woolwiches in their earlier days that is shown is the offset headlights, and I don't think that lasted long either!

 

great piece of film,

 

Steve