Gloucester Waterways Museum
Index> Museum Exhibits>

2.10  Vessels and Their Maintenance

Cross-Section of a Leeds & Liverpool 'Short' Boat
     Although much attention is paid to the role of 7ft wide narrow boats that flourished on the Midland canals, this cross-section is a reminder that many types of wide beam craft were also used on inland waterways, particularly in the north of England. Building styles varied around the country, often being related to the type of sailing barge that had developed in each area. The type which flourished in the south-west was the Severn trow, which was also used on the Stroudwater Canal. For much information about vessels, see computer screen on right

Severn Trow Models
     Severn trows were shallow draft sailing vessels with an open hold that traded on the river and the estuary but did not usually go into the more exposed water beyond Bridgwater and Barry. They had a flat bottom so they could lie aground at low tide when loading or unloading cargo. Norah (pictured) was built in Bridgwater, Somerset, in 1868 and was broken up in 1932. Spry was built at Chepstow in 1894 but had her rig taken down in the 1930s and was then used as a dumb barge towed by a tug. She ended her useful days as a floating workshop at Diglis Basin, Worcester, and was then totally rebuilt at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum where she is preserved as the last of the trows. Perseverance was a variant of the trow known as a Stroud barge. These were designed to carry Forest of Dean coal from Bullo Pill to wharfs along the Thames & Severn Canal, and so had to be of limited width to suit the locks on that canal.

Concrete Barges
     This panel highlights how reinforced concrete has been used for barge and boat building during war time when steel and skilled labour were in short supply. Examples from the First World War include huge seagoing barges, some of which were launched into the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal at Hempsted, and two concrete narrow boats, one of which is moored in the Barge Arm adjoining the Museum. During the Second World War, the Admiralty organised the building of 200 ton capacity barges to serve as floating warehouses, and one of these is moored in a lie-bye of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal between Purton and Sharpness.

Model of Barge Repair Yard
     The model beside the door shows the Liverpool Lighterage Company's yard beside the River Weaver at Northwich circa 1935. Here their fleet of Mersey flats and Weaver steam 'packets' were repaired. The yard was first established in 1876 by Samuel Bracegirdle, and it was at one time leased to W Pimblott. A Foden steam engine in the shed at the top of the slope drove four winches that could haul a vessel up a set of rails for maintenance. Originally there were only three winches, but a fourth was added and the slipway extended to allow larger boats to be pulled out for repairs. The yard closed in 1972. 

Foden Engine
     This engine came from the Liverpool Lighterage Company's yard on the River Weaver at Northwich. It was used for driving the adjoining winch and three others that together hauled vessels up a slipway for maintenance. It was supplied by E Foden Sons & Co of Sandbach, Cheshire, circa 1890. The steam cylinder is 12 inches in diameter, has a stroke of 18 inches and provided up to 20 horse power with a steam pressure of 80 pounds per square inch. However, it took about four hours to raise full steam in the original boiler, and when this wore out in the 1940s, an electric motor was installed, being attached to the steam engine as a convenient way of connecting to the drive shaft. The motor came second-hand from a Liverpool Corporation electric tramcar, and the controller from the tram was used as well, giving a number of speeds forwards and backwards. The winches could then be run instantly without having to wait for steam to be available.

Winch Driven by Foden Engine
     Power from the main drive shaft passed to a secondary shaft through reduction gearing, and the secondary shaft drove each of the four winches via gears that could be slid along the shaft to disengage when required. Levers behind the winch operated a brake on the main drive shaft, a brake on the winch and the sliding gear on the secondary shaft. This meant that a vessel being hauled up the ramp could be stopped securely at any point and that it could be allowed to slide down the ramp under the control of the brakes. The wire rope replaced an earlier chain which was originally fitted.

Vessel Building
     These panels highlight how thousands of boats and barges were built in small yards all over the waterways network. Early builders used wood, but in later years iron and then steel were favoured as they were more durable although more expensive. As a compromise, many narrow boats were built with iron sides and wooden bottoms. Most of the building yards also carried out repairs.

Boat Models
     The model of the steam tug Iris was made by schoolboy Dick Parsons c1930 and was powered by a steam engine. The original Iris was one of the tugs that towed ships and barges up and down the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
     The scale model of the Gloucester fire-float Salamander was made by Phil Riley and was radio-controlled. The original Salamander was based on what is now the Museum quay, and it helped to fight several fires in the docks and the timber yards down the canal.

For Index to Museum Notes, see www.gloucesterdocks.me.uk/museumnotes