Heartland

I was working for BR at Curzon Street then when parcels trains came in the depot often at night when it was a tad cooler One local MP became the Minister for Drought and typically for Birmingham inventiveness, it then rained and rained!

Yes that is the easy part But the image dates from the first day this (as one of 32 Lions) was put into place Perhaps somebody could enlarge on the detail But this Lion will only be here till 14 September

Ma Pardoes is the only place were a group of us carried a chap into a pub, usually it was the other way around. It was railway booking clerk Fred Gaskell! And now for something completely different Where and when might this be? There is no witch or wardrobe, but there is a boat called Tardis. Now the Doctor had a Tardis that was a police box but other time lord Tardis's could change shape and it would seem that this one has become a narrow boat. May be the Master has come back to Earth to wreak havoc again and has enlisted the usual nasty aliens to help him, this time the "Polit Itions"

What about the Ariel Aqueduct on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal which is named after the Ariel Motor Cycle Factory, but had complicated early history connected with the cycle component trade and even the making of motor cars

So now not by the ICC and no doubt at Woolva Ampton The Capponfield Furnaces were on the old main line that went to Bradley and there were separate ironworks nearby and the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway crossed by a bridge which was metal but might have been timber originally, and is now gone The BCN also had a reservoir here which was north of the ironworks complex, but only briefly supplied the canal. it had a pair of pumping engines that helped to drain the mines.

It is interesting to see the response so far But to answer this It was true and Jos Hateley was prosecuted at Worcestershire Sessions in December 1847 His employer was W H Dawes and a watchman observed him drop of 30 pounds weight of coal He was found guilty but clemency was requested and he was only fined a shilling

Some very detailed explanations and so quickly The caption was given as "State Barge" but these explanations seen more valid

A boatman was charged with stealing coal in 1847 when he followed the custom of leaving a quantity for the boatman's hovel at Dudley Canal Tunnel If true Was he found guilty? Who complained? And what happened to him?

And now it is an 1860 engraving at Oxford, but what are these craft?

The Alan Faulkner extensive collection

The Wikipedia entry for Earlswood Lakes, the reservoirs for the Stratford upon Avon Canal states that Prisoner of War from the Napoleonic Wars with the French were used to construct Earlswood Reservoirs as this first happened between 1821 and 1823 it is less likely to have been the case and the reference is given as from the Earlswood Craft Centre. By 1821 it would be reasonable to assume that the prisoners had been repatriated. Authority to make the reservoirs was made first by the 1815 act, but the act of 1821 also dealt with water supply and it seems that was the act that led to the principal work commencing and the reason for that was the anticipation of additional traffic travelling to Stratford and onto the Stratford & Moreton Railway/Tramway. There also another bill in 1836 which mentioned improvement of the reservoir. The engine house was completed in 1823 and the bulk of water from the reservoirs were pumped using the beam engine there.

Apparently Phil Wild has been scanning some of the collection.

The Canal History Workshop is now scheduled to take place at the BCN Titford Pumphouse on Saturday 8th November details from Martin O Keeffe or Ray Shill 10 30 1630 The £10 fee is retained and those who paid in 2020 will have their tickets honoured Details will be supplied to those interested

The aerofilm image is useful as it shows the branch and line along the quays Yesterday was out planning the RCHS West Midlands Group walk on 13th September from Foregate Street to Diglis along the canal and River which comes back to the Butts I posted a marker one the Britain from Above website recently to show the Butts Branch.

Yes D J Norton died young and he was principally a railway photographer. Peter Norton was from Warrington and it is said his negatives are with the Warrington Library