Boats from yesteryear shown off at festival.Byline: Steve Bradley Steve Bradley is an American professional wrestler who has competed on North American independent promotions throughout the 1990s including East Coast Wrestling Association, IWA Puerto Rico and the National Wrestling Alliance as well as spending over three years World Wrestling HUNDREDS of visitors enjoyed a fine display of watercraft at the Black Country Living Museum's Historic Boaters' Gathering at the weekend. The steamer President The paddlewheel steamer, known as the Steamer President to New Orleans residents for over 20 years, made its home at the foot of Canal Street and provided tourists and party goers tours up the Mississippi River. The keel was laid in 1924 being one of two boats. , based at the museum but at the end of a national tour, was joined by another centenarian canal boat Sharpness, the first motor-powered tug, and 25 other old working boats. The 101-year-old Sharpness used to work the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Tunnel and was used to pull a train of boats through the West Hill Tunnel, also working as an icebreaker icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined bow, meeting the edge of the ice, rises upon it, and the weight of . The only preserved steam-powered narrowboat on the canals today, President was brought back to moor at the museum following an extensive tour to mark her 100th birthday. She was built in Saltley, Birmingham and cost just pounds 600. In its heyday the steamer would have usually worked 'fly' (day and night) on the canals between London, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham with a crew of four working continuous shifts. CAPTION(S): Colourful: Sarah Parrott aboard her narrowboat Sickle in the Black Country. Pride: Boaters Roger Fuller, left, and Glyn Phillips on their boat Ilford at the Black Country Living Museum's Historic Boaters' Gathering. Pictures: Trevor Roberts |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion