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BCN19240


Cas446

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This is an old Birmingham Canal Navigations Company maintenance boat, and the earliest record I have for it is 21 August 1889 when it was gauged as BCN 12508. It was gauged again on 11 May 1904 as BCN 19240, owned by the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company as No. 12 and based at No. 4 District. An alteration to this gauge table dated 12 August 1936 shows a new fleet number as 123 and a location base of Walsall District, along with the fitting of a cabin (no cabin previously).

 

This boat has recently been renovated, although to my mind the lettering on the cabinside should say 'Walsall District' rather than 'No. 4 District' as it had no cabin when under the control of the latter - but this is a minor detail. Back in the day there were literally thousands of boats like this but the majority were wooden hulled whereas this boat is iron :captain:

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9 hours ago, pete harrison said:

This is an old Birmingham Canal Navigations Company maintenance boat, and the earliest record I have for it is 21 August 1889 when it was gauged as BCN 12508. It was gauged again on 11 May 1904 as BCN 19240

 

OFF_TOPIC

 

Why would you gauge a maintenance boat?

 

Richard

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1 hour ago, RLWP said:

 

OFF_TOPIC

 

Why would you gauge a maintenance boat?

 

Richard

Post 1948, the DWIE owned the boats, the canal and most of the general loading wharves.  Why do I see film of Brentford from 1955ish showing the Berisford brothers loading a known weight of aluminium ingots into a DWIE boat to run on a DWIE canal to Birmingham but still being gauged by a DWIE man before departing?

 

George

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30 minutes ago, RLWP said:

Did they hire them out?

No, quite the opposite as they hired in a few boats.

 

There is no doubt that the B.C.N. Company were absolutely fanatical about gauging every single boat that carried anything across their waters, and their gauge registers and alterations ledgers hold a phenomenal amount of detail regarding these boats - and I have only 'scratched the surface' regarding B.C.N. Company records of boats and boat movements :captain: 

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22 minutes ago, pete harrison said:

No, quite the opposite as they hired in a few boats.

 

There is no doubt that the B.C.N. Company were absolutely fanatical about gauging every single boat that carried anything across their waters, and their gauge registers and alterations ledgers hold a phenomenal amount of detail regarding these boats - and I have only 'scratched the surface' regarding B.C.N. Company records of boats and boat movements :captain: 

The back of your sofa must be well stuffed with scraps of paper! ?

 

George

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3 hours ago, furnessvale said:

Post 1948, the DWIE owned the boats, the canal and most of the general loading wharves.  Why do I see film of Brentford from 1955ish showing the Berisford brothers loading a known weight of aluminium ingots into a DWIE boat to run on a DWIE canal to Birmingham but still being gauged by a DWIE man before departing?

 

George

If it was the same reason we had with a few loads in the late 50's it would have been Union involvement we also had several cases of being in the midst of loading/unloading & the hooter went & every one trooped off when I asked if i could finish of the last couple of tons to get a way the answer was "you touch that & I'll call out everyone on strike"

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3 hours ago, furnessvale said:

Post 1948, the DWIE owned the boats, the canal and most of the general loading wharves.  Why do I see film of Brentford from 1955ish showing the Berisford brothers loading a known weight of aluminium ingots into a DWIE boat to run on a DWIE canal to Birmingham but still being gauged by a DWIE man before departing?

 

George

The film you have in mind, There Go The Boats, was produced in 1951 although I think much of the filming was done in 1950.

 

The last Grand Union Canal Company gauge table was issued on 14 September 1938, the Oxford Canal Company on 04 September 1946 and the B.C.N. Company on 05 April 1962 (excluding the nonsense gauging of BARNET on 09 September 2011). My understanding is that with the ending of boat gauging and toll offices in the last few years of commercial narrow boats the tonnage was charged / wages calculated by that recorded on the consignment paperwork as had been done in the north west for a number of years.

 

Interestingly there were a few Grand Union and F.M.C. Ltd. narrow boats that were never gauged at all, yet they definitely worked so had tolls drawn against them and paid wages to the boatman :captain:

Edited by pete harrison
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6 hours ago, furnessvale said:

Post 1948, the DWIE owned the boats, the canal and most of the general loading wharves.  Why do I see film of Brentford from 1955ish showing the Berisford brothers loading a known weight of aluminium ingots into a DWIE boat to run on a DWIE canal to Birmingham but still being gauged by a DWIE man before departing?

 

George

DIWE/BTW aka British Waterways used to impose tolls for internal accounting purposes to appear to give a level playing field with other carriers.  However it was, conveniently, the loss incurred “after tolls” which gave them the excuse to give up most of their narrow boat carrying in 1963.  In truth it was desperately uneconomic anyway with the need to support admin offices and maintenance depots busy renovating worn-out old boats which would never be brought back into use - at least by BW. 

 

Paul

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9 hours ago, furnessvale said:

The back of your sofa must be well stuffed with scraps of paper! ?

 

George

Now there's a thought for the future George.

A foldaway sofa for the bank side!

 

Heading for eBay to get one first.

 

Hope you made it to Hawne without too many problems.

 

See you soon.

 

James

 

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