List Of Boats 2015 (pdf file)

The boats - listed by original operator
Unless otherwise stated, all boats are full length (70’ - 72’), with iron or steel hulls
Associated Canal Carriers
Victoria 1931
‘Royalty’ class motor boat built by W J
Yarwood of Northwich for Associated
Canal Carriers of Northampton (taken
over by GUCCC). Engine: Lister JP2.
Still working, as a coal/oil delivery boat.
Grand Union Canal
Carrying Company (GUCCC)
These boats were built in the 1930s by
Harland & Wolff at North Woolwich
(names starting A-H) and W J Yarwood
& Sons at Northwich (names starting
from H). ‘Large Woolwich’ and ‘large
Northwich’ boats are unofficially known
as ‘Town’ class, whilst the lower
capacity ‘small Woolwich’, ‘small
Northwich’, or ‘middle
Northwich’ (slightly higher capacity, with
rounded chines – the side/bottom joint)
are known as ‘Star’ class.
Alcor 1935
‘Small Woolwich’, used as a London fire
boat in WW2. Attended the reopening of
the restored Stratford Canal in 1964.
Engine: National 2DM.
Darley 1937
‘Large Woolwich’. Operated also by
British Waterways 1948-1963, Willow
Wren to 1967, and Alfred Matty & Sons.
Engine: Petter PD2. In carrying condition.
Retains original liner style funnel.
Leo 1935
Canal & River Trust Working Boat Group
‘Small Northwich’ butty, towed to Audlem
by Scorpio. Engine: unpowered.
Lepus 1936
‘Small Northwich’ butty. Operated also by
Manchester Ship Canal Co. as Mud Boat
No 5 in 1940s. Engine: Lister HRW3.
Lepus was cut into two – this is the stern
part of the original butty, later motorised.
Scorpio 1936
Canal & River Trust Working Boat Group
‘Small Northwich’. Operated as a
maintenance boat by British Waterways
from 1960s. Engine: Lister HA2.
Stanton 1936
‘Large Northwich’. Operated also by
British Waterways, and Blue Line Canal
Carriers from 1965. Engine: Lister HA3
(1968). Deconverted 2007.
Stirling 1936
‘Large Northwich’. Operated also by
Willow Wren. Engine: Lister JP3. Rebuilt
Northwich style cabin.
Birmingham 1936
‘Large Woolwich’. Operated also by
Willow Wren, British Waterways and
Union Canal Carriers. Engine: Lister
HB2.
Thea 1936
‘Middle Northwich’ butty, now 57’ long.
Operated also by Sir John Knill, Samuel
Barlow. Engine: Lister JP2. Converted to
a house boat in 1962; motorised in 1993.
Buckden 1936
‘Large Woolwich’. Operated also by
British Waterways 1948-1963, then
briefly Willow Wren. Engine: original
National DM2. In carrying condition.
Sometimes carries liner style funnel.
Warbler 1935
‘Small Northwich’, originally named Libra.
Renamed when operated by Willow Wren
Canal Carrying from 1953, but mainly as
a camping boat until 1964.
Engine: Bolinder 1052 semi-diesel.
Buckden
Widgeon 1937
‘Large Northwich’, originally named
Thaxted, and renamed by Willow Wren.
Operated also by British Waterways,
Willow Wren Canal Carrying, Union
Canal Carriers. Engine: Lister HA2. In
working condition.
Fellows, Morton
& Clayton (FMC)
Until about 1920, most Fellows, Morton
& Clayton boats were built by
themselves, at Saltley, Birmingham,
though some were built by other yards as were the later boats. Most FMC
boats had a unique bow shape, and are
popularly known as ‘Joshers’, after the
company director Joshua Fellows.
Acacia 1931
Built by W J Yarwood & Sons at
Northwich.
Australia 1894
Built as a horse drawn boat by FMC at
Saltley, Birmingham. Note the fore-cabin.
Currently operated by South Midland
Water Transport. Engine: unpowered,
towed here by Lynx.
Badger 1923
Built by W J Yarwood & Sons at
Northwich. Operated also by British
Waterways, latterly as a maintenance
boat. Engine: Gardner 2LW.
Clematis 1935
Built by W J Yarwood & Sons at
Northwich. Operated also by Alan Jones
of Moore. Engine: Armstrong Siddeley
AS2.
Dory 1934
‘Fish’ class motor boat built by W J
Yarwood & Sons at Northwich, later
converted to butty, then back again.
Engine: Bolinder semi-diesel. Carried
stone for rebuilding Windsor Castle after
the fire in the 1990s.
Elizabeth 1880s
Built as a horse drawn day boat. Later
operated by Robert Teal Gravel
Company. Now 61’ 9” long. Engine:
Gardner 2LW. Converted to a sailing
cruising boat in 1936, and is probably the
oldest working boat conversion.
Empress 1898
Originally steam powered; semi-diesel
engine fitted 1924. Operated also by:
Ernest Thomas just pre 1948 nationalisation. In carrying condition. Engine:
Armstrong Siddeley 20hp.
Grange 1912
Built as an unpowered boat by
Braithwaite & Kirk at West Bromwich.
Later shortened to 60’ and motorised by
Harris Bros. at Netherton.
Grange
lbex 1926
Built by W J Yarwood & Sons at
Northwich. Engine: Lister HR2. Once
known as Ibis. Operated by BW as a
maintenance boat, later leased to Ed
Mortimer who reinstated the back cabin.
Lynx 1913
Operated also by British Waterways and
Midland Canal Transport; currently South
Midland Water Transport. Engine: Lister
JP2M.
Marquis 1898
Built as a steamer; Bolinder semi-diesel
engine fitted 1925. Now 54’ long.
Operated also by J Holloway of Oldbury,
and W J Hayward of Tipton. Engine:
Lister FR3M (1957).
W H Cowburn & Cowpar
Eight motor boats were built by W J
Yarwood & Sons at Northwich, in
matching sets of two, to carry
chemicals from Manchester to the West
Midlands, originally in carboys, but later
in some boats in tanks. All these “bottle
boats” were named after native birds
beginning with “S”, and a cut out metal
silhouette of the bird was fixed to the
cabin side. Amazingly after 80 years, all
eight boats are still on the canals, and
we had these four, plus Swift, here for a
previous Gathering.
Skylark 1934
Operated by Cowburn & Cowpar to 1956,
then sold to Jonathan Horsefield Ltd.,
Runcorn. Engine: Gardner 12 bhp 4VT
single cylinder two stroke (original).
Starling 1936
Also operated by Mellor Mineral Mills
(1951-1954); Jo Prescott and David
Jones of Leigh to 1958. Later shortened
to 40’, used as a hire boat and tug, but
lengthened to full length in 1996. In
carrying condition. Engine: Lister HA2.
Swallow
Plover 1914
Operated also by British Waterways
(known as Parrot 1952-1969). Engine:
Lister JP3. Riveted iron construction;
originally with a wooden bottom, but
more recently steel.
The King 1905
Built as a steamer by FMC at Saltley,
Birmingham, to operate as a flyboat (24
hours a day) between Birmingham and
London. Converted to diesel in 1925.
Current engine: Gardner 2LW.
The King
Viceroy 1909
Built as a steamer; diesel engine fitted in
1920s. Operated also by Ernie Thomas
(1940s). Engine: Lister HB2.
Swallow 1934
Later carried market produce from
Winsford to Dunham and Castlefield,
then operated by Bridgewater Canal
Department of MSC for canal
maintenance. Engine: National 2DM.
Swan 1933
Also operated by Gordon Waddington,
Bolton (1955-1963). Engine: Gardner
12bhp 4VT single cylinder (original).
From 1960s, privately owned, including
by Roger Wickson of Audlem. Features
in the seminal canal book ‘Journeys of
the Swan’ by John Liley.
Gathering sponsored by
CanalBookShop.co.uk
British Waterways
Jellicoe 1960
‘Admiral’ class butty built by W J
Yarwood & Sons at Northwich. Still a
butty, and paired for most of its life with
Mountbatten. Currently owned by
Anderton Canal Carrying Company.
Keppel 1960
Etruria Boat Group
‘Admiral’ class butty built by W J
Yarwood & Sons at Northwich, towed to
Audlem by Lindsay.
Lindsay 1959
Etruria Boat Group ‘Admiral’ class
motor boat built by W J Yarwood & Sons
at Northwich. Operated also by Anderton
Canal Carrying, Union Canal Carriers.
Engine: Armstrong Siddeley AS2.
Mountbatten 1959
‘Admiral’ class motor boat built by W J
Yarwood & Sons at Northwich. Paired for
most of the time with butty Jellicoe.
Currently owned by Anderton Canal
Carrying Company.
Birmingham Canal Navigations
(BCN)
Shropshire Union Railways
& Canal Company
This canal company was unusual in
operatng a large fleet of its own boats at one time, over 200. Many were “fly
boats” - horse drawn, and operated
round the clock to a timetable,
collecting and delivering goods at
wharves in the villages and towns along
the route. The Shroppie was an
amalgamation of several canals in
Shropshire, Cheshire and North Wales.
Saturn 1906
Shropshire Union Fly-Boat Restoration
Society Wooden boat operated as a
horse drawn fly boat, then by LMS Railway from 1923, and British Waterways
from 1948; still horse drawn until 1950s.
Later an hotel boat, temporarily
motorised and paired with Jupiter.
Restored in 2002; the only fly boat in
near original condition.
Gerald 1897
Operated by George Hingley of
Netherton (to 1912); Stewarts & Lloyds,
Coombs Wood (to 1967). Originally
carried coal and iron ore, latterly steel
tube. Engine: Lister HA2.
Jake 1906
Built by Thomas Bantock as a ‘station
boat’. Operated by Great Western
Railway; Hickmans of Bilston; Stewarts &
Lloyds of Coombs Wood. Engine:
National DA3.
Notes:
Samuel Barlow Coal Co.
Beatty 1937
Built by W J Yarwood & Sons at Northwich. Engine: Armstrong Siddeley AS2
twin cylinder air cooled 22HP. Owned by
the same family since 1968, following
conversion in 1961. Beatty was a working
boat for only 23 of its 78 years.
Gort 1939
Wooden hull boat built by Frank Nurser
at Braunston. Operated also by Ernest
Thomas just pre 1948 nationalisation.
Engine: Gardner.
Saturn
The boats listed here were built as
horse drawn day boats for local traffic,
usually without cabins. Often known as
‘joey boats’. Many day boats were used
for delivery to/from rail transhipment
yards (and were known as ‘station
boats’). The boats below are iron and
were later motorised, but a section of a
wooden joey boat is part of the bar in
the Shroppie Fly pub at Audlem.
Electra 1910
Built by Thomas Bantock. Operated by:
Great Western Railway at Withymoor
transhipment basin as no. 99; British
Waterways for maintenance work, with
significant modifications (e.g. digger
mounted at the back; Dudley Canal Trust
as a tunnel boat. Engine: National.
The organisers thank Canal & River Trust
staff and local volunteers for all
their support and assistance
in staging this Gathering
Ian
Midlands & Coast
The North 1925
Horse boat built by W J Yarwood & Sons
at Northwich. Converted in 1937 to a 44’
motorised tug known as Crown.
Lengthened in 1957, and again in 1989
back to full length. Previously known as
Lion. Engine: Lister HR2.
The North
Ian 1947
The last wooden motor boat ever built.
Constructed at the former Nurser yard in
Braunston. Later operated by Blue Line
for a short time, and cabin repainted by
Ron Hough. Operated by the Whitlock
family until 1970, mainly on Grand Union
Canal. Engine: Lister JP2.
Discover much more about historic ex-working boats
historic working narrow boats
today
465 boats as they are today, in over 590 colour photographs,
with notes on each boat. A4, 110 pages.
£19.95 at Audlem Mill 01270 811059
or from www.canalbookshop.co.uk (post extra)

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