Leeds & Liverpool shortboat "NIDD"

[Bargenidd]

Hello,

 

I bought NIDD, a Leeds & Liverpool shortboat at St Jean De Losne, a major canal hub near Dijon in France in November 2005. I have since moved it down the Saone and Rhone rivers and live full time on board on the Canal Du Midi.

 

I would love to find out more about the boat and get some photographs. If you have anything, or can suggest any other websites or even e-mail addresses to pursue, I would be most grateful.

 

Best wishes

 

 

Graham

[allybsc]

Hello,

 

I bought NIDD, a Leeds & Liverpool shortboat at St Jean De Losne, a major canal hub near Dijon in France in November 2005. I have since moved it down the Saone and Rhone rivers and live full time on board on the Canal Du Midi.

 

I would love to find out more about the boat and get some photographs. If you have anything, or can suggest any other websites or even e-mail addresses to pursue, I would be most grateful.

 

Best wishes

 

 

Graham

 

Hi there,

I'm soooo jealous, I have a hankering for a shortboat, I was on Kennet at the skipton boat festival earlier this year and I loved it.

Nidd was built for Canal transport Ltd by Yarwoods in January of 1935, No 1633, there is a picture of Nidd laden with wool at Skipton in the little book "Canal transport Ltd" by Geoff Wheat

Regards,

Ally.

[Bargenidd]

Hi Ally,

 

thanks for your reply.

 

There was an old wooden nameplate/sign on the sides in bad condition when I bought Nidd. It read "Built for Canal Transport Ltd in 1934 by Yarwoods of Northwich".

 

I bought it from an English couple in November 2005. They had her for about 1 1/2 years, having bought it from another English couple who owned Nidd for about 5 years and had sailed her accross the channel. I had heard she was moored on the Thames or a tributary for a while before this in some neglect. Not sure how accurate this is.

 

Another unusual thing is Nidd has a TK Bedford 6 cylinder engine. It is the only one I know of.

 

Any information any body has would be most appreciated.

 

Graham

Edited June 15, 2008 by Bargenidd

[Phil Speight]

Hi there,

I'm soooo jealous, I have a hankering for a shortboat, I was on Kennet at the skipton boat festival earlier this year and I loved it.

Nidd was built for Canal transport Ltd by Yarwoods in January of 1935, No 1633, there is a picture of Nidd laden with wool at Skipton in the little book "Canal transport Ltd" by Geoff Wheat

Regards,

Ally.

I think maybe the original engine would have been a Widdup.

Phil

[Timleech]

I think maybe the original engine would have been a Widdup.

Phil

 

Or even Widdop

 

Yes I think those boats had either 30hp or 40hp twins

 

CMXT?

 

Tim

[TimYoung]

We have 'Severn', Pimblott's 1936. Unconverted with a Lister HA3 engine. I'll help if I can.

 

Tim

[Eglantine]

Hi Graham,

Sorry I've only just found this site! My ex-husband and I bought Nidd in 1999 (I think), we gave her her last cruise the length of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in 2000. We then took her to France (quite correct that she crossed the channel - with no problems). Went out at Boston and arrived in Calais. We did some research on her history at Gloucester docks, and, for me, the most exciting thing is that she was used as a training boat for woman, who would be taking cargos up and down the canal during the war. I loved living on her (for 5 years), she's a beautiful old girl, and was gutted when I learned that she was festering in St Jean de Losne after we had sold her. I'm so pleased that she is being used and hope you love her as much as I do!

 

Sally Garrington

 

I would love to see a picture of her (my husband took them all when he left!)

[pete harrison]

Hello,

 

I bought NIDD, a Leeds & Liverpool shortboat at St Jean De Losne, a major canal hub near Dijon in France in November 2005. I have since moved it down the Saone and Rhone rivers and live full time on board on the Canal Du Midi.

 

I would love to find out more about the boat and get some photographs. If you have anything, or can suggest any other websites or even e-mail addresses to pursue, I would be most grateful.

 

Best wishes

 

 

Graham

 

I hope you will find the following of interest, researched by the late Clive Guthrie who was preparing a publication on all things built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd., Northwich. Unfortunately Mr Guthrie passed away before his work was published, and to this date it still has not been published (and I do not suppose it will be now).

 

Y.N. 470 NIDD iron motor barge

Reg. No. Lp 1633 Tonnages: unknown Dimensions: 61.0 x 14.0 x 4.67 feet

Oil engine 1 cyl. type EMX by H. Widdop & Co. Ltd., Keighley, Yorks. 24 BHP

 

22/10/34: Launched.

12/12/34: Completed as NIDD for Canal Transport Ltd., Liverpool. Cost of hull - £560.

17/01/35: Registered with the Liverpool U.S.A. (Lp 1633).

01/01/50: Canal Transport Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of B.T.C.(D.& I.W.E.), London.

27/06/50: Re-registered as Lp 1633 by new owners.

01/10/53:Transferred to B.T.C.(B.T.W.), London.

26/05/53: Transferred from Blackburn, Lancs. to Northwich, Ches.

c1958: Sold to British Fuels Ltd., coal factors, Burnley, Lancs.

08/62: Sanitary registration cancelled.

c1972: Sold to Mr. Philip Bevan, Burscough, Lancs. and converted into a residential barge.

1992: Briefly fitted with a 4 cyl. National DM oil engine for the run to Stanley Ferry.

1992: Sold to Mr. George Cutts, Stanley Ferry, Wakefield, Yorks. Re-engined with a 100 BHP Bedford T6 oil engine. Laterley based at Barnton in Fabis, Notts.

08/99: Sold to Mr. Paul Belsey & Miss Sally Garrington, Nottingham.

2006: Still extant.

Edited July 3, 2011 by pete harrison

[Timleech]

I hope you will find the following of interest, researched by the late Clive Guthrie who was preparing a publication on all things built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd., Northwich. Unfortunately Mr Guthrie passed away before his work was published, and to this date it still has not been published (and I do not suppose it will be now).

 

Y.N. 470 NIDD iron motor barge

Reg. No. Lp 1633 Tonnages: unknown Dimensions: 61.0 x 14.0 x 4.67 feet

Oil engine 1 cyl. type EMX by H. Widdop & Co. Ltd., Keighley, Yorks. 24 BHP

 

22/10/34: Launched.

12/12/34: Completed as NIDD for Canal Transport Ltd., Liverpool. Cost of hull - £560.

17/01/35: Registered with the Liverpool U.S.A. (Lp 1633).

01/01/50: Canal Transport Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of B.T.C.(D.& I.W.E.), London.

27/06/50: Re-registered as Lp 1633 by new owners.

01/10/53:Transferred to B.T.C.(B.T.W.), London.

26/05/53: Transferred from Blackburn, Lancs. to Northwich, Ches.

c1958: Sold to British Fuels Ltd., coal factors, Burnley, Lancs.

08/62: Sanitary registration cancelled.

c1972: Sold to Mr. Philip Bevan, Burscough, Lancs. and converted into a residential barge.

1992: Briefly fitted with a 4 cyl. National DM oil engine for the run to Stanley Ferry.

1992: Sold to Mr. George Cutts, Stanley Ferry, Wakefield, Yorks. Re-engined with a 100 BHP Bedford T6 oil engine. Laterley based at Barnton in Fabis, Notts.

08/99: Sold to Mr. Paul Belsey & Miss Sally Garrington, Nottingham.

2006: Still extant.

 

That National engine was, I believe, more or less wrecked by an attempt being made to start it when the water pumps were frozen solid, the stress split the timing case apart.

It had started life in a Campbeltown fishing boat, which was I believe lost on its maiden voyage, then was salvaged & fitted to what was probably the last Billy Boy in trade, as wing engine to a bigger National, working on the Clyde (sand dredging, I think).

 

ETA - I bought the engine from Tom Mair, of Alexander Mair & sons of Irvine, along with a 4D generator engine. The marine unit was pretty much worn out but I was able to make a reasonable engine from the two. Tom and his father had a timber business and had run timber (for pit props, I think) from Arran to the mainland with an old Clyde Puffer, originally steam burning wood waste but when the boiler failed converted to diesel with, I think, the bigger National from the Billy Boy (certainly with a big National). It ended its days sunk outside Bowling basin, still visible there last time I was there but that was over 30 years ago!

 

There, not much to do with the Nidd but a bit of history

 

 

Tim

Edited July 3, 2011 by Timleech

[Guest]

Despite spending a lot of my life on or near the LL, and to my shame, I have no recollection of shortboat "Nidd." Any chance of some pics?

[fanshaft]

I hope you will find the following of interest, researched by the late Clive Guthrie who was preparing a publication on all things built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd., Northwich. Unfortunately Mr Guthrie passed away before his work was published, and to this date it still has not been published (and I do not suppose it will be now).

 

Y.N. 470 NIDD iron motor barge

Reg. No. Lp 1633 Tonnages: unknown Dimensions: 61.0 x 14.0 x 4.67 feet

Oil engine 1 cyl. type EMX by H. Widdop & Co. Ltd., Keighley, Yorks. 24 BHP

 

22/10/34: Launched.

12/12/34: Completed as NIDD for Canal Transport Ltd., Liverpool. Cost of hull - £560.

17/01/35: Registered with the Liverpool U.S.A. (Lp 1633).

01/01/50: Canal Transport Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of B.T.C.(D.& I.W.E.), London.

27/06/50: Re-registered as Lp 1633 by new owners.

01/10/53:Transferred to B.T.C.(B.T.W.), London.

26/05/53: Transferred from Blackburn, Lancs. to Northwich, Ches.

c1958: Sold to British Fuels Ltd., coal factors, Burnley, Lancs.

 

I seem to recall that Nidd was hired to Canal Carriers Ltd / Airedale Canal Services in the 1950's. That would tie in with the sale in 1958 at which point ACS was in terminal decline.

 

regards

 

David Lowe(ex short boat owner and operator!)

[Pluto]

Despite spending a lot of my life on or near the LL, and to my shame, I have no recollection of shortboat "Nidd." Any chance of some pics?

Nidd and Comet at Skipton, probably around 1950. Sorry, but I have no more recent photos, though remember her at New Lane in the 1970s. Photography was too expensive then to record everything.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Pluto

[jez1954]

I was wondering how she got the name "Nidd". Did they perhaps name them after UK rivers? The river Nidd flows through Knaresborough where I live.

[CanalWalker]

I was wondering how she got the name "Nidd". Did they perhaps name them after UK rivers? The river Nidd flows through Knaresborough where I live.

 

the River Class barges are certainly named after rivers.

[Guest]

Nidd and Comet at Skipton, probably around 1950. Sorry, but I have no more recent photos, though remember her at New Lane in the 1970s. Photography was too expensive then to record everything.

Brilliant,thanks. Odd that I don't remember Nidd, especially if she was at New Lane. I must have seen it at some time..

[cuttsie]

Hello all Nidd lovers.

Just found this site and have lots to add.My name is George Cutts and me and my Mrs bought Nidd from somewhere near Patricroft in Manchester we bought it from a bloke called Steve Grey along with a National gas engine which we fitted at Lorrenzes boat yard near Worsley?.

I have read through various posts on this forum and i can say without doubt that Nidd was a derelict hulk when we purchased her.

We towed her with our Narrow boat[ Potweshers only] to Lorrenzes yard.

When the National engine was fitted we sailed Nidd across the Pennines to our mooring in Thorne ,Doncaster.and on the way we had many mishaps the most traumatic being above Burnley were she started to sink.Drastic action was needed and a solution had to be found there and then .

Well due to luck there was a Builders merchants just down the hill from the canal and i set off and carried half a dozen 1 cwt bags of cement up the hill at double quick pace, where the strength came from i will never know.Anyway these bags were placed over the offending hole in the hull and the day was saved although we had to still keep pumping out all the rest of the Journey home.

When we arrived in Thorne there was no choice but to get Nidd into dry dock and dig into our rapidly disappearing savings to re plate the hull.This was not easy due to her being iron .

We bought some quarter inch thick ex Gas tank steel plate from a Sheffield scrap yard and with the help of boating mates set about the re plate job this took about 6 weeks and was a bloody pain due to the wieght of the sheets and bending them with jacks and acrows into shape.

Over the next couple of years we started to fit out the boat as we lived on her and as stated in another post the National engine did pop due to frost [it was raw water cooled]and so we fitted the Bedford which made all the difference to handling etc, i also fitted wheel and chain steering.

We lived on her for a few years before selling to Paul and Sally [We were then moored on the Trent at Barton in Fabis.And there is many more tales i could tell you about Nidd but as i have already said she was a wreck when we bought her and all the old hands on the Leeds and Liverpool said that we would never get her back to our base in Thorne but we did now she is in France and is still a very big part of our lives.Cheers Judd and June Cutts.

Ps The National engine used to make my face as black as coal after a day at the helm and despite posts on his site saying it is scrapped this is not true as i repaired it [again with help from boaters]and it is now owned by Mr LEE Guest at Thorne Boat Services who hopes one day to show it .

Edited November 8, 2011 by cuttsie

[bargemast]

Thanks very much cuttsie, for sharing the very interesting story of this period of your, and NIDD's life with us.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[cuttsie]

Thanks very much cuttsie, for sharing the very interesting story of this period of your, and NIDD's life with us.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

Cheers peter I wonder if there is any recent photo,s of Nidd any one.

[Bargenidd]

Hi everyone, sincere apologies for the delay in responding as I did not receive any e-mail notification that there had been activity on this thread until today. Many thanks to everyone for the great information about Nidd.

 

We are the current owners of Nidd. After buying her from Peter & Jenny White at St Jean De Losne France in November 2005, we moved in six months later and removed the kitchen units and the badly corroded Aga range cooker. We cruised Nidd down the Rhône & Saône rivers to the Canal du Midi at Homps, between Narbonne & Carcassonne where we stayed for five years cruising the entire length of the Midi and some of the rivers Lot & Baise. This season, we cruised back up the rivers and are now based near Strasbourg. The plan is to do a few circuits of Northern France over the coming seasons including Paris and then perhaps to cruise some of Belgium, Luxembourg and then Holland.

 

We have re-pannelled most of the interior and refreshed a lot of things. The TK Bedford engine is going strong although I cannot get the temperature sender & gauge to work despite changing both. The angle of the windows meant we had a battle to stop leaks when it rained heavily, but we have most now cured. There was hydraulic steering fitted by the previous owner so that helps. We dry docked during July and there were no patches needed. The little Kubota generator finally died last year. It was badly corroded and the two water pumps had been giving trouble for a while. I also fitted a wind generator to the mast and a small solar panel. A current chalenge is changing the alternator to a more powerful one, but the new one needs to have the same dimensions to fit the gap and also to allign with the other fan belt pulleys. In France especially, motor factors are set up to supply parts by car model etc, so when you say it is for a boat or you want a more powerful model; well they just cannot cope with that!

 

I will try to post some current pictures in the coming days. Thanks again.

 

Graham & Roz

[Alan de Enfield]

This thread just goes to show what a great place, and wonderful resource, this forum can be.

 

Well done guys & gals !!!!

Edited November 9, 2011 by Alan de Enfield

[cuttsie]

Hi there Graham and Roz, Glad to hear that Nidd is sailing well,Imagine! hydrolic steering what a luxury [she gave me muscles like pop eye when on tiller and then chain steer] . Sorry to hear the Aga and Kubota have gone i fitted them both.

As to the Bedford Engine its not a TK,its a TL, And came out of a Coal Board Lorry that had done 180,000 miles when we bought it for £300 at a scrap yard it never gave us one bit of trouble .

What water tanks are fitted now the original were very interesting as they were ex Government Rocket launcher containers [Thick Plastic] in a row of three in the forward small cabin.

Cheers ,Judd.

 

Hi Graham,

Sorry I've only just found this site! My ex-husband and I bought Nidd in 1999 (I think), we gave her her last cruise the length of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in 2000. We then took her to France (quite correct that she crossed the channel - with no problems). Went out at Boston and arrived in Calais. We did some research on her history at Gloucester docks, and, for me, the most exciting thing is that she was used as a training boat for woman, who would be taking cargos up and down the canal during the war. I loved living on her (for 5 years), she's a beautiful old girl, and was gutted when I learned that she was festering in St Jean de Losne after we had sold her. I'm so pleased that she is being used and hope you love her as much as I do!

 

Sally Garrington

 

I would love to see a picture of her (my husband took them all when he left!)

Hi Sal, How are you ,how is all the old gang from our days moored at Barton ,Andy and ? sorry forgot his girlfriends name and the rest.

 

Cheers George and June.

[bargemast]

Hi everyone, sincere apologies for the delay in responding as I did not receive any e-mail notification that there had been activity on this thread until today. Many thanks to everyone for the great information about Nidd.

 

We are the current owners of Nidd. After buying her from Peter & Jenny White at St Jean De Losne France in November 2005, we moved in six months later and removed the kitchen units and the badly corroded Aga range cooker. We cruised Nidd down the Rhône & Saône rivers to the Canal du Midi at Homps, between Narbonne & Carcassonne where we stayed for five years cruising the entire length of the Midi and some of the rivers Lot & Baise. This season, we cruised back up the rivers and are now based near Strasbourg. The plan is to do a few circuits of Northern France over the coming seasons including Paris and then perhaps to cruise some of Belgium, Luxembourg and then Holland.

 

We have re-pannelled most of the interior and refreshed a lot of things. The TK Bedford engine is going strong although I cannot get the temperature sender & gauge to work despite changing both. The angle of the windows meant we had a battle to stop leaks when it rained heavily, but we have most now cured. There was hydraulic steering fitted by the previous owner so that helps. We dry docked during July and there were no patches needed. The little Kubota generator finally died last year. It was badly corroded and the two water pumps had been giving trouble for a while. I also fitted a wind generator to the mast and a small solar panel. A current chalenge is changing the alternator to a more powerful one, but the new one needs to have the same dimensions to fit the gap and also to allign with the other fan belt pulleys. In France especially, motor factors are set up to supply parts by car model etc, so when you say it is for a boat or you want a more powerful model; well they just cannot cope with that!

 

I will try to post some current pictures in the coming days. Thanks again.

 

Graham & Roz

 

 

Hello Graham & Roz,

 

the last time I saw your NIDD was in St.Jean de Losne, when I visited friends on a pontoon next to NIDD who was the first barge alongside the quay infront of the H2O office.

She was still for sale at the time, so that was before you showed up and bought her.

 

Good to know that's she's still going strong, and I'm looking forward to the promissed pictures of her.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[bargemast]

After some serious surching, I found 1 picture of NIDD on the Canal du Midi at Homps on a Dutch site of bargee's, ex-bargee's and enthousiasts of which I'm a member.

 

The man that took this photo on his trip trough the Midi is Evert CadIJ.

 

 

Peter

[cuttsie]

After some serious surching, I found 1 picture of NIDD on the Canal du Midi at Homps on a Dutch site of bargee's, ex-bargee's and enthousiasts of which I'm a member.

 

The man that took this photo on his trip trough the Midi is Evert CadIJ.

 

 

Peter

 

The photo has made my day,The cabin is as we built it, the main steel top we welded on at Stanley Ferry at Wakefield Yorks,

All the works were done in reclaimed materials as we were permantley skint due to NIDD!

I have many photo,s , and old reciepts etc i can dig out but will have find out how to upload them onto computer as i am no wizz kid.

Cheers Judd and June.

[bargemast]

The photo has made my day,The cabin is as we built it, the main steel top we welded on at Stanley Ferry at Wakefield Yorks,

All the works were done in reclaimed materials as we were permantley skint due to NIDD!

I have many photo,s , and old reciepts etc i can dig out but will have find out how to upload them onto computer as i am no wizz kid.

Cheers Judd and June.

 

Here is a step by step guide to post pictures.

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1633&pid=477826&st=0entry477826

 

I remember that another forummember posted a video about posting pictures, but it's too bad I can't find his post.

 

Hope you'll manage after studying the text as I would really like to see your photos.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.