Autumn 2016 - Issue 43
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Front Cover: On a pleasant autumn day in 1935, iron composite motor boat Elm and butty Ash are underway with full loads on the East Midlands waterways. The boats have spotless paintwork, having recently been delivered new from prolific boatbuilders W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd of Northwich.
The Autumn 2016 issue includes the following features.
Famous Fleets
The Erewash Canal Carrying Company
Alan Faulkner records the history of this small Leicester-based canal-carrier that was active during the mid-20th century.
You can view an excerpt here.
Art of the Waterways
Painted Pride
Chris M. Jones studies aspects of the traditional painted decoration of commercial narrowboats, commonly known as ‘Roses and Castles’ and acknowledged as a folk art.
You can view an excerpt here.
Canals That Never Were
Sheffield & Manchester Junction Canal
Richard Dean looks at an 1824 proposal for a 39 mile trans-Pennine waterway connecting Manchester and Sheffield.
You can view an excerpt here.
Working the Waterways
Coal for Condensed Milk
Chris M. Jones examines photographs that record coal-carrying to the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in Aylesbury by the Buckler family of Nuneaton.
You can view an excerpt here.
Unearthing History
Napoleonic-era Narrowboats
Mike Clarke presents a rare view of early narrowboats and their construction through the eyes of Austrian engineer, Sebastian von Maillard, who visited England in 1795, recording details of boat traffic, planking, legging boats and bulk-carrying cargoes.
You can view an excerpt here.
Time and Place
Roadstone to Welshpool
Chris M. Jones examines an early 20th-century photo of Welshpool that shows the transportation of road-making minerals on the Montgomeryshire Canal.
You can view an excerpt here.
Unearthing History
Power Shift
Mike Clarke looks at the early internal combustion engines used on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the progression from steam power in the 1880s to gas and diesel engines in the early 1900s.
You can view an excerpt here.
From the Archives
Sou'Wester
Joseph Boughey uncovers some interesting findings in 1966 copies of Sou’Wester – a regional IWA newsletter – including plans for a ‘National Maritime Exhibition’ in Exeter and a charter service by Weaver Boats Ltd on the River Shannon.
You can view an excerpt here.
Picturing the Past
Ovaltine Epilogue
Another selection from Patrick Rawlinson’s superb photo collection shows the last working pair of Ovaltine boats. From the 1920s onwards the beverage manufacturer built up its own fleet, but by April 1959, the company’s boats, William and Enid, had carried their last load.
You can view an excerpt here.
Traditional Techniques
Canal Carpentry
James Hewitt recalls the process of repairing lock gates on the Macclesfield Canal, with details on: making new paddles, draining canals and lock stoppages.
You can view an excerpt here.
Time and Place
Sailing to Brigg
Chris M. Jones looks at a pre-WWI photo showing a sailing keel on the Old River Ancholme in Lincolnshire. The postcard photograph shows a typical early 20th-century scene of one of many small riverside towns in Lincolnshire and neighbouring Yorkshire.
You can view an excerpt here.
