BCN Old and New

Last weekend we attended the Titford pump house rally. This meant doing a bit of the BCN Old Main Line, which happens to be covered in new bits, part of the way. It just so happens the new bits are falling down, as you can see from the photo below, and the old bits, over 200 years old are still standing, this is called progress?
On the way we past quite a few pieces of history that didn't survive, such as Sandwell Colliery coal drop. However BW have left an information board in it's memory. Not has good as the real thing I think.

The cast iron 1828 structures of Smethick Junction seam to be lasting better than the modern concrete type and a lot more attractive to look at too.

After viewing the latest DVD of Laurence Hogg's, we've been spotting how things used to be, sad isn't it. We've done Smethick lock many times and never noticed they used to be twin locks.

If you look at the photo below, albeit modern, the right arch as been reproduced for the second lock.

And at the top you can still see the remnants of the other lock. It's a shame the B16 brats have burnt down the Toll house. I don't understand the youth of today, they want somewhere to go out of the weather, so they burn the roof off! Does that make any sense at all?

You may note the above photo we're heading the wrong way, that's because the photo I took on the way up was crap so Andrea took another on the way back. Same for the one below.

I thought this showed how things changed, even in the early times of the canal system. You can see the original Brasshouse Lane bridge then the later addition of the cast iron section. Road traffic on the increase, even in those days.

In the DVD mentioned earlier this concrete monstrosity doesn't exist.

Nor this one at Spon Lane Junction!

Now leaving the concrete jungle and heading up the Oldbury Locks to Titford

We had all day Saturday and Sunday morning at Titford talking to the locals about boats and engines. Saturday night we had various brews and were entertained by a group that really didn't get it going till the end of the night. Shame really, they were very good musicians but left it too late to play popular music that people knew.

Sunday morning we had the company of Joe Hollingshead telling his tales of days gone by. I tried to video this but camera decided otherwise, I'll get him on film one day.

We left Titford at about 11:00 and decided to make a bid for The Dog and Doublet at Curdworth.... we made it, eventually!
The run through Birmingham was brilliant, just a bit bumpy in places, which is to be expected. Down the Farmers Bridge Locks, no problems at all, then Aston! mmmm.

Into the top lock, fine, boat coming up the second lock down. The bottom gates open, no water, well not enough anyway, I bounced over the cill and then sat on the mud. So after letting another lock full down I finally drifted into the second lock. It was like this most of the way down until lock number 4. Here everything looked ok until I went into reverse gear to pull away form the gate, nothing happened, I just sat there, I checked, we're in gear, water coming out of the sides, couldn't understand it. I then looked over the back to see the uxter plate about 6 inch out of the water...we're on the bottom of the lock...bluddy hell. It was then decided, by Andrea, to put just enough water in the lock to float us back to the cill, then empty the lock again, this would the allow us to open the gate. (Just as a note, the Aston locks, like all the BCN only have one bottom gate, so things are little tight with a boat 70'-6" long and even tighter with a big GU boat. I think that's why the cill stonework is squared off on one side, the rudder just fits in nice.) Then flush us out into ever so slightly deeper water, where I bounced and scraped my way to the next lock and the next, and the next. Then to top it all, a down pour of rain and I mean down pour. When we got to Salford Junction I had to change coats while under the motorway and weigh up the situation. As time was against us I decided to carry on, I've never seen so much water cascading off the motorway into the canal, it was just a water curtain. We then had a soggy plod down Minworth and Curdworth locks, arriving at the Dog and Doublet at about 9:30. Dumped the boat nearly on the lock moorings, quick wash, pub.

The photo above is out of the back doors where we left Dove. The lock silhouetted in the bridge hole.
We left here at 6:00 the next morning and got back to Fradley around 12ish

A few Photo's of the Ricky outing

While we're out and about working, I though I'd take advantage of the hotel wifi and post a few photo's of our Ricky trip.
Starting with the Gauging Lock at Brenford.
Then the Loading Dock at Brentford

Bull's Bridge, the Layby now surrounded by factory units and full of floating blocks of flats, not working boat in sight.

Dove surrounded by the red and greens

This is just after a rain storm, the rainbow doesn't seem to show up very well, it was really vivid in real life.

Couldn't resist this one, Dove sat at Little Venice with a setting sun

No flies on me.....

....oh yes there is. Why is it as soon as you get the paint pot out the flies zoom in? I've been trying to paint the boarders of the cabin for weeks now. It's either raining or too hot and now the flies. I finally beat them yesterday, I got up before they did and sucsessfully painted the all the cream. We just need Jim to re-write the registered at Birmingham bit to complete the job. I've been doing one or two jobs that have dragged on a bit, like the new Swan neck/Rams head, call it what you will. (Que Blossom) I made this quite a while ago and fially got round to fitting it. The Britannia model was not quite right, wrong diameter and the wrong shape. I had a piece of tiller bar spare so I've made a dummy to cover the rusty bit. Don't know if this is right or wrong but I've got one, somthing else to Brasso.
While I had the paint brush in hand, you know what it's like, I went round touching up all over, then forgot what was wet and finished up with more paint on me than the boat.
Next weekend we're off to the Titford rally, so get ready for another trip report

Bill and Joe

Just a thought, I've rattled on about Bill and Joe Beresford in my previous posts. This might help you understand. Thats if you haven't seen it.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3155844753118741601&hl=en-GB#

We're home

Due to the lack of signal this is the first chance I've had to finish our trip report, so here goes.

On arrival at Cathrine de Barnes we had to do a bit of shopping, it just so happens the pub is across the road from the shop, so we popped in for a taste, well you have to, don't you. We got our beer and noticed we were surrounded by a funeral party, so being a nice day, the garden looked a good option, where we are now in the company of uncontrolled brats and a gang of breast feeding mothers. We drank up and thought we'd come back when all the little darlings had gone home.

The next morning we set off at 7:15 thinking we'd have a good run to Samson Road due to Sagitta coming through last night and clearing the way. How wrong can you be...we ploughed our way through mud all the way and having to rope through nearly every bridge 'ole. At one bridge some kind person left us an industrial bin liner, with a log in the bottom, that nearly stopped the engine and caused some hard work with the shaft. As soon as we got to the more industrial area, things seemed to get better and the going got easier. Also, the scenery got more interesting with the remains of the industrial past. I don't do flora, I'd much rather see a nice piece of brickwork or a riveted structure and appreciate the craftsmanship.

Surprisingly some of the buildings are still in use and the aroma of metalworking drifts across the cut, jogging memories of my days in the Sheffield Steelworks.

On arrival at Samson Road Depot. things didn't look much like the 1950's film. Obviously parts had been filled in and buildings demolished. We got here anyway, but I doubt Bill and Joe could make the trip today with their loaded pair. The bottom of the cut is too near the top nowadays.

Leaving Samson Road we head off down the Camp Hill Locks. It's nice to be back in narrow locks, being able to stride the bottom gates and use my less bulky Neil windlass. The locks are in very good condition and a pleasure to use, no anti-vandal key needed and the pounds are full. However, on reaching the bottom, nothings changed, all the lovely bridges and buildings covered in mindless daub by the latest generation of brainless brats. The two blokes who invented plastic bags and aerosol cans should have been throttled at birth!

We now turn right down the Garrison flight and again, a pleasure to use everything working fine and plenty of water.

On reaching Salford Junction it's my turn to steer and it's going to be fun due to the angle of the turn, about 270 degrees. I ended up with the Bow and Stern touching concrete and had to resort to ropes, no other way.

Had a reasonable run to Minworth then arriving at Curdworth at 4:00 decided to carry on to Fazeley, "can't be stopping at this time". By the time we got to Fazeley the weather was good and everything was running ok, so, we said sod it and headed for Fradley. Arriving at 10:45 tied up and in the Swan in 5 mins.

We've completed 350.5 Miles, 317 Locks in 164.5 Hours (that's 13days)

The next day I had a close look at the blown head gasket and the associated drawings. I discovered the oil blow was nothing to do with the head gasket but, a broken oil pipe dripping down the cylinder head, then running round the gasket, then, being blown off by the cooling air escaping through a gap in the cowling. After curing that I could see a small blow from the gasket, a quick tweak with the Torque wrench soon cured that too. While I was at it, I adjusted the Tappets, which were miles out, then ran the engine up and it seems to be a lot better.

Now it's back to the restoration of the hull, now the warmer weather is here.

Got through Stoke Bruerne and left the Gongoozelers in a cloud of smoke at the top lock. I forgot to mention earlier that the head gasket has blown and we're burning a little oil now, so it gets a bit smokey at times. We motored on and got to the bottom of Buckby by about 9:00.
Left Buckby at 7:30 hoping to get ahead start on the Sunday dawdlers but that plan went to cock at the second lock up, no water. The local locky was already on to it and running water down, top man. This delayed us by about two hours so the poor boat that came up with us ("Mel 'n' Colly") had to get into trot mode. By the time we got to the top the lady on the boat, Mel or Colly, I don't know which, was completely pooped and was fearing the confines of Braunston tunnel. We met again at Braunston top lock and she seamed to have survived the experience, after a quick descent we parted company and we turned left at Braunston turn and headed for Napton Junction. Due to us coming from Brentford, we thought, well I thought, we might retrace the route taken by Bill and Joe Beresford in the 1950's film "Inland Waterway" and carry on to Samson road depot.
It was a steady slog to the junction, the sun was beating down and we'd caught up with the Sunday dawdlers, we're in tickover and still gaining on them. Eventually we were waved on and we overtook. Thinking that would be the last we saw of him, I looked back and there he is, right behind us, all the way to the locks. I'm sure he just wanted someone to follow. We teamed up with another boat waiting at the locks and left him behind.
After a while we were on our own and trying to be good boaters and shutting the gates behind us only to find them open up again, so we gave it up and left them as they did in Bill and Joe's day.
When we got to the bottom we left the lock and we got him, Mr. sodding perfect, "Are you leaving that gate then?" my answer, "Yep...Why" his reply I didn't hear being a bit deaf but I got gist he wasn't happy. The top gates were tight as a ........ well they weren't leaking so whats the problem?
We then dragged our arse or Shoe plate if you want to be correct, all the way through Royal Leamington Spa where I had to out stare a few of the local brats armed with stones, I'm glad to say my scruffy hat, unshaven face and mean look won the day and the stones dropped to the ground.
After eating my tea on the move we finally got to the Cape of Good Hope, the pub that is, and tied up.

This morning, up with the birds and Hatton in front of us. you know the rest if you've done Hatton in the blazing sun. We were on our own, as usual, so it was a steady plod, 3 hour 10 mins.
and a pot of tea at the top. We're now at Catherine de Barnes and off to the pub.

Had a very good weekend at Ricky and got a bottle of bubbly for our efforts, looks like we'll be there next year.
While down this end of the country we've had a run up and down, firstly through Little Venice, and onto Lime House. I always thought Nuneaton was the plastic bag centre of the world, I was wrong, It's Bethnal Green. I have never seen so much crap in all my travels, funnily enough we didn't get one thing round the blade.
After taking a look at the Thames we headed back to Little Venice and met up with some friends for a drink. Very nice place, I see why people don't want to leave.
The following morning, not too early, we set off to Bulls Bridge and turned left to Brentford. Here we picked up another friend of ours from the Keighly and Worth Valley railway who lives in the area and gave us a historic industrial guided tour. It cost me quite a bit of home brew I might add. Looking at Brentford, it doesn't look anything like the the old films, must look at the films again and compare with the photos.
Got back to Uxbridge that night for Fish and Chips, and, would you believe it, some Yorkshire beer.
Leaving the next morning we bumped into George Wain, he's working the Gravel boats for Land and Water, quite a thing to meet in a bridge 'ole. Had a chat then on our way up the steady climb through Ricky and Hemel then stopping at Winkwell at tea time. This has also changed a lot since the films were made in 1950. Called at the Three Horse Shoes for a pint.....five quid for a pint and a half!! didn't look at the menu. We only had the one then back to the boat, home brew 27p a pint, gammon, sausage, egg chips three quid...very nice.
Left early next morning, cracked on up through Berkhamsted, over the top and down Marsworth. While it was quiet I thought I'd have a bash at this Thumb lining business. Not very good with single motor but I've got the idea, thanks Malcome. Got to Soulbury three last night, the weather finally got to us, Knackered!
Set off this morning about seven heading for Stoke Bruerne.