Adrian Stott wrote: > "Neil Arlidge" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> ansonpowell wrote: >>> Hi all >>> >>> >>> >>> IIRC the barge Progress, built for use on the Grand Union, still >>> survives. Does anyone know its whereabouts as I would like to take a >>> picture of it. >>> >>> >>> >>> Mike >>> >>> Nb Joanna >> >> Was this a metal one??? > > No, it was/is wooden. > > Last I heard (~five years ago), it was at the Stinkhole, hauled out > supposedly for restoration but actually just sitting. I've no idea of > its current condition, but Di Murrell once told me that when they > owned it some years before that the hull was deteriorating seriously. > > Although technically a barge (No! Please let's not restart that), it > was/is actually a "wide boat" (which really confuses the broad/wide > terminology), as it is like a wider narrow boat. It has a beam of > about 3.8 m, and was built to test the feasibility of craft that wide > as a replacement for narrow boats on the Braunston - Birmingham run > after the contstruction of wide locks on that route in the 1930s. The > test failed, as it turned/turns out that there are too many places on > the route where two such craft have trouble passing to make it > feasible for a significant volume of such traffic. > > FMC built its own version, Pioneer, at the same time, but it is long > gone. > >> (his mum showed me a piccy of her parents on a riveted GUCC wide >> boat) > > There were quite a few such craft on the Grand Junction, right from > the start, although the earlier ones were all wooden. I think various > beams were used. I would interested in seeing that picture. Do you > know the name of the craft? > > Adrian
AFIAR the name was not present. The piccy showed the couple by the side of the engine room, with GUCC shown on the cabin side. FAIK it could have been a maintainance craft or a dredger. I will get Ian Clarke to scan the photo...that is he ever wants to admit being related to proper narrowboaters! ;-) -- Neil Arlidge - NB Earnest - The Wilderness years... Follow the truly independent TNC at : http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk Visit this site and help save our waterways from the DEFRA cuts http://www.saveourwaterways.org.uk/
