Format Change Aylesbury Rally News Autumn Gathering 2016 ... · taken the Autumn Gathering under...

Issue 88Winter 2015/2016

The journal of the Russell Newbery Engine Owners & Enthusiasts Club

www.rnregister.org.uk

Format Change Aylesbury Rally News Autumn Gathering 2016 Newsletter Revisited

Format Change Aylesbury Rally News Autumn Gathering 2016 Newsletter Revisited

2 RNR Newsletter : Winter 2015/2016

CONTENTSFront cover: Alvecote Traditional Gathering

[© Waterways Images]Back cover: A “smart” view of Shardlow Clock Warehouse

[Kevin McNiff]

3 CHAIRMAN’S CHAT FROM THE EDITOR

4 MEMBERSHIP MATTERS AUTUMN GATHERING GRAND JUNCTION ARMS

5 AWAY DAY UPDATE

6 AYLESBURY RALLY NEWS

7 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE “SMART” PHOTOGRAPHY “HUMAN OF THE WATERWAY!”

8 PICTURE GALLERY

10 FORMAT CHANGE

12 CAMSHAFTS EXPLODEDBy Graham Pearson

13 NEWSLETTER No.2

14 A T&M CANAL BOOK REVIEWBy Rob Davies

15 JABSCO WOBBLESUnless otherwise noted, Copyright © Russell Newbery Register, 2016

Next editionAll contributions for the Spring edition will be

gratefully received. Do not worry aboutformat — in true RN fashion the editorial

team can cope with [almost] anything!

Please supply photographs as separate JPEG or GIFfiles.

Copy deadline is 15th March 2016

WHO’S WHO

RUSSELL NEWBERY REGISTER LTD

President: Dr Ian McKim ThompsonVice Presidents: Lady Carol Stamp, Mrs Susan Gibbs,David Thirlby, Allister Denyer, Graham Pearson, EleanorPhillipsWeb site: www.rnregister.org.ukThe Russell Newbery Register is a non profit distributingcompany limited by guarantee.Founded: 1994 Registered in England No: 346943Officers:Chairman: Norman C Mitchellt: 01452 415420 [email protected]: Kevin McNiffm: 07866 424988 [email protected]: Jim Comerfordm: 07787 591905 [email protected] (membership, finance): Rob Davies55 Noddington Lane, Whittington, Lichfield, Staffs.WS14 9PAt/f: 01543 432079 m: 07801 [email protected] Editor: Kevin McNiff [email protected] Production: Andrew Laycock m: 07870 294580Administration (merchandise): Neil MasonHillcrest, Chapel Lane, Westhumble, Surrey. RH5 6AHt: 01306 889073 [email protected] Organisers: Bob Scott and Andrew [email protected]: Andrew Laycock [email protected]

RUSSELL NEWBERY REGISTER PROPERTY LTD

A non profit distributing company limited by guaranteeFounded 2004 Registered in England No: 5316384

Corporate Member

RN DIESEL ENGINE COMPANYProprietors: Dave Bixter (m:07812 039110) Deborah Bixter (m: 07966 403132)Showroom: RN House, The Locks, Hillmorton, Rugby,Warwickshire, CV21 4PP t:01788 578661Engineering workshop: 4 Oak House, Royal Oak Way North,Royal Oak Industrial Estate, Daventry NN11 8PQ t: 01327700023

Email: [email protected] site: www.russellnewbery.com

Field Engineers: Ian Crompton m: 07831 841108 Richard Milligan m: 07973 826260

Stop PressAutumn Gathering

Venue: Samuel Barlow,Alvecote Marina.

Dates: Friday 16th toSunday 18thSeptember.

3RNR Newsletter : Winter 2015/2016

From The Editor

Chairman’s ChatChristmas has been and gone with most unseasonalweather which has affected some of the canals andrivers under Canal and River Trust control. I do hopeall RNR members have been unaffected and theirboats have remained above the water rather thanbelow! To anyone who has suffered storm damageor inconvenience I extend my best wishes for aspeedy return to normality. To all our members I wisha Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year.The Rally this year has returned to June to allow usto visit the Aylesbury Canal and enjoy the facilities ofthe Aylesbury Canal Society and their new premises.We look forward to meeting up with you all at “CircusFields”, on the outskirts of Aylesbury.Down here in Gloucester the Gloucester WaterwaysMuseum is taking time off to permit floor repairs anda refurbishment project and will re-open around Julynext year with a whole new presentation courtesy of

the Heritage Lottery Fund; it should prove an excitingvisit for all interested in waterways. Whilst we do nothave an RN engine to display, we do have a National2DM which should feature with, hopefully, somedetail of its history.

A new year and a month already gone bythe time you read this! I join with ourChairman’s thought to those who havesuffered with extreme weather, both onthe land and afloat.

Behind the scenes, Andrew Laycock andBob Scott are busy finalising theAylesbury Rally event; Neil Mason hastaken the Autumn Gathering under hiswing and the season gets underway witha special Away Day in April, as reportedin the last edition.

We are also proposing a format change toA5, starting from the Spring Edition andwould like to have your feedback on this.

The move is designed to reduce ourpostage costs and space needed forstorage!

Contributions from members are dryingup; please don’t be shy, all input iswelcome! We will also continue to trawlthe archived newsletters to include moretechnical related items.

Now that winter weather “proper” hastaken over, time to think about theforthcoming boating season and meetingup with friends along the cut.

Rally entry deadlinePlease note that the deadline for receipt of completed entry forms for the Aylesbury Rally is

Tuesday 3rd May. This may be before you receive the Spring Newsletter.


Membership MattersNew memberships continue to arrive at a slow butsteady pace. Again, we have another 3 signed upsince the last Issue. A very warm welcome to:

Kevin Heathcote Sutton in AshfieldNB April Star

George Walker Melton MowbrayNB Ballroom Blitz

Chris Marshall SwindonNB Marquis

Autumn GatheringI am not sure how well the grape vine has beenworking during the winter months, but I guess someof you will by now have heard, that I have taken overthe organisation for the Autumn Gatherings fromAndrew and Bob.This year we are going to make a return visit to TheSamuel Barlow at Alvecote Marina. The date will beFriday 16th to Sunday 18th September. We will havean evening event on the Saturday with a buffet(there will be a small charge). For other meals youare welcome to book at The Samuel Barlow or doyour own thing. I am sure we will be making gooduse of the bar, during their normal opening times.I will be finalising the details with The Samuel Barlowwhen I visit them for our Spring Away Day, so fulldetails will be published in the Summer Newsletter.In the meantime, if you would like to book or if youwould like further details when they are available,please send me an email [email protected] [email protected]

[Neil is also working on the 2017 venue! Ed.]

He’s going AW[O]L!It is that time of year when Helen and I have to doour duty and visit our Daughter and family in NewZealand. Consequently, the RNR AdministrationOffice will be closed for business from 23 Januaryuntil 29 February.

No this is not a story about pubs, though there arequite a few with this name. (My particular favourite isthe Young’s pub at Harlesden.) Instead I’m reallyasking the historians amongst you why do we refer tothe branches of the the Grand Junction as arms? Onmost other canals, an arm was something up to a mileor two in length, anything over that was a branch. Ona similar vein, the very short appendages to the GJare docks, for example Maypole Dock at NorwoodGreen and the Military Dock at Weedon - elsewherethese would be called basins. Perhaps this is just anexample of regional language nuances. Or is thispersistence of the terminology that the Grand Unionadopted, they called the Hertford Union an arm!

The Grand Junction is really a multi armed canal, andwith a great diversity of arms. When, how and whyeach arm was built differs, so too did their fortunes. So,as our rally this year is located at (almost) the end ofone GJ arm; and we have detailed presentations ontwo (or three) others, here is a very quick summary,working geographically south to north.

Paddington Arm The longest at 13miles 4½furlongs.Opened in 1801, five years after the main line from theThames at Brentford.

Slough Arm The newest, dating from 1882. That isforty years after the GWR opened the railway toSlough. It is a “railway age” canal, straight and at onetime deep, dug primarily to connect clay fields to

supply brickyards after sources closer to London wereexhausted.

Wendover Arm Included in the original GJ Act of 1794as a navigable feeder. As it was never a commercialsuccess and actually lost water, navigation beyondTringford pump ceased around 1901.

Aylesbury Arm The one the GJ did not want to build,but politics and potential competition forced their hand.Opened in 1815, by which time the difficult situationwith water supplies on the Tring summit wasunderstood, hence the use of narrow locks. But whythe water wasting staircase lock at Marsworth? Nevercompletely closed, in part due to our rally hosts, theAylesbury Canal Society.

Old Stratford and Buckingham Arm Really twoarms, with the later strictly an arm of an arm! Openedin 1800 and 1801 respectively, but never busy. Tradeeffectively killed off in 1850 by the railway toBuckingham. By 1904 it was “barely navigable”according to Bradshaw’s directory, but official closurewas only in 1964.

Northampton Arm The GJ bypassed Northamptondue to political and geographical reasons. A tramwayconnection opened in 1805 and the connecting arm in1815. Short slightly built with narrow locks, it did seecommercial trade last long enough to prevent closure.

The Grand Junction Arms

mailto:[email protected]


www.statfoldbarnrailway.co.uk


Downton Abbey fans would have no doubtrecognised the Christmas special scenes that werefilmed at the Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire.

RNR members visited the museum in 2014,organised by Ian McKim Thompson and Betty Dobbs.

In Good Company!

[The booking deadline of 31st January has passed,but for new members, those attending and those whowere not quick enough to contact Ian, we haveincluded his organisation plan for the event. Ed.]

The Autumn Edition gave Members advance notice ofthis much anticipated event which will be a visit to theprivately owned Statfold Barn Railway nearTamworth, Staffordshire. Visits are only permissibleby invitation to enthusiasts, and 36 RNR membershave indicated that they would like to join the party.Because of insurance and security reasons, personaldetails of members attending have been collected sothat I can send a comprehensive list together with theentry fee of £10 which goes to cover not only essentialcosts but supports selected charitable causes. As therailway is strictly private and visits can only be madeby invited holders on a specific date, those alreadywho have indicated interest will be contactedindividually either by e-mail or by post for necessarydetails, and a request for their cheque. You will be inreceipt of your individual invitation(s) in due course,sometime in early March.

Space does not permit a full description of thewonderful facilities at Statfold, but in any case you willbe able to purchase the 80-page guide book andstock list. However, there will be a significant numberof working steam locomotives on the day. And therewill be a variety of locomotives awaiting restoration,diesels, railcars, rolling stock and vintage roadvehicles. The Field Railway operates on theStaffordshire/Warwickshire border. Traditionally theday will end with a cavalcade of all the locomotives

used during the day, usually more than a dozen. Thesite has its own loco shed and workshops and there isa dedicated Hunslet Museum.

Travel arrangements. The precise address of thevenue is:

Statfold Barn Railway The Grain Store Statfold Barn Farm Ashby Road, Tamworth B79 0BU.


If travelling by rail, the nearest station is Tamworth(well served mainline station) and taxi thereon. Byroad via junction 10 M42 or A5 connections and theAshby road is the B5493 out of Tamworth travellingnorth easterly approx. 2.5 miles off A513 on right handside.

Coming by boat, Alvecote Marina could not be betterplaced. I reckon 2.5 miles due north by footpath andabout 3.5 miles by road via the Alvecote pools andnature reserve on the River Anker. As already notifiedRob Davies has kindly volunteered to organisetransport for Alvecote moorers. Anyone who intendsto visit by mooring at Alvecote should make all theirarrangements through Rob whose contact details areat the front of the Newsletter (Who's Who).

2016 Away Day — Saturday 9 April 2016

In The NewsOur man Brian Jarrett is all over the waterways presslike a rash!

First off was in the CRT’s “Humans of the Waterways”in December [see page 7.] Now there is a 6 pagefeature article in the February edition of WaterwaysWorld delving into his new boat Autarky. Brianremarked that the reviewer, Mark Langley said it

made a pleasant change to be aboard a boat sodifferent from the “rest”.

Brian will be, as usual, available for guestappearances and public speaking events uponrequest!!

RN’s are still in vogueThe grapevine is alive! Member Keith Sarsby’s boat,The Caddy is undergoing a refit at Hillmorton with aDM2. All being well, he will be at the Away Day withthe boat. At Cropredy Marina, a chance comment tome “how much is an RN?” revealed that one of thestaff members had probably destroyed his J series

Kelvin 3 cylinder after a valve dropped in one cylinder.With spares being virtually non-existent for thismarque, I put him in touch with Dave Bixter and as aresult, he will be fitting a DM2 along with a PRMgearbox.





Plans for the 2016 Rally at Aylesbury are progressingwell. A printed Registration Form for members isenclosed with this Newsletter. This is also available asan interactive PDF on the Register’s rally web page, -www.rnregister.org.uk/rally.html. You can download it,fill it in then print it. Sorry, as we don’t yet haveInternet payment, the final step is to post it to Neil witha cheque.

For those of you planning to attend, please completethe form and return as soon as possible. This isparticularly important if you have any special requestsfor moorings. As the site is an off-side basin withexisting moored boats we do not have quite theflexibility as at other venues. Most boats will bemoored in the basin end on (stern against a bank),access to some will be across other boats. There willbe very few moorings with bank alongside thecomplete length of the boat. So the earlier you book,the more accommodating we can be. Late bookingsmay well be moored outside the basin. Pleaseremember to state your estimated arrival anddeparture dates. Aylesbury Canal Society have kindlyagreed to two weeks free non-residential mooring forrally attendees. Additional days are at the standardACS daily rate. So let us know your requirements andwe will liaise with ACS.

Unlike last year, there will be no opportunity for boatmovements during the rally days. So to compensatefor this we have arranged a Rally afternoon out. Thisis on the Friday afternoon and is a coach trip to achoice of destinations. First option is WaddesdonManor, the French Renaissance-style chateau built byBaron Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1874. The househas lavish rooms with a vast collection of art works,and an enormous wine cellar. The gardens andgrounds are extensive, including the iconic Parterrewith nearly 19,000 bedding plants and the Rocco styleaviary designed to be the gateway to the pleasuregrounds by Baron Ferdinand. The house and gardensare managed by the National Trust. As NT membershave free entry, we are NOT making a group booking,so the fee for this option is just the coach fare at £5.(For entry prices and full details seewww.nationaltrust.org.uk/waddesdon-manor.)

The second option is Bletchley Park, the central sitefor Britain's code-breakers during World War Two.This is where Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and ateam of leading mathematicians deciphered theGerman Enigma and Lorenz ciphers and developedthe forerunner of modern electronic computers. Thevisit includes the atmospheric huts where thecryptographers and linguists worked and where theBombe machines operated. We are arranging for agroup discounted entry, so including the coach farethe charge for this is £24 (£18 for children agedbetween 12 and 17). Take a look at the BP website

www.bletchleypark.org.uk for further information. Theentrance ticket will give you the opportunity to returnwithin a year; the site is fairly close to the GU at FennyStratford.

Please note that we have one coach covering bothoptions, so again please book early. We will run awaiting list if bookings exceed the capacity of thecoach. For those not partaking of the coach trip,Friday afternoon will be a good opportunity to enjoythe facilities of the ACS clubhouse or stroll intoAylesbury town centre.

Friday evening’s entertainment will be educational,expanding your knowledge of the past and future fortwo of the Grand Junction arms. For Saturday eveningwe have again arranged a cooked meal option, butthis year this is little more upmarket! It is a poshbarbeque, consisting of sausages, home madeburgers (or vegetarian options), rolls, coleslaw, fullgreen salad and a fresh fruit salad for pudding. Allserved with cutlery and crockery. We follow this witha musical evening featuring Mr Kite’s Benefit Band.Expect plenty of 1960s numbers, including those fromthe Sergeant Pepper album. One notable feature isthat the band’s fee is donated to the Rennie GroveHospice Care Charity.

By popular demand we will run the famous CylinderHeads workshop along with some other technicalitems. For the crafters, we will have two multi-craftsessions on Friday and Saturday mornings allowingan opportunity to try a variety of items at each. Pleaseindicate estimated numbers for these on the bookingform.

As usual we will have a comprehensive bar, actuallymore comprehensive than ever before as it will stockspirits and a full range of soft drinks. Another usualfeature is the raffle. Please bring an item or two asraffle prizes. Proceeds from the raffle will go to localwaterway charities. We have use of the excellent ACSkitchen so will provide breakfast rolls on Friday,Saturday and Sunday mornings and a Sundayafternoon tea. Booking for these not required untilarrival.

Together with Chris (chief bar steward) and Neil(habourmaster), we are looking forward to welcomingyou to the rally. In the meantime if you require anyfurther information please contact us, email [email protected] is preferred.

PS. Any offers of help with running the rally activitiesare still most welcome - nay, encouraged!

Aylesbury Rally Advance Information : Thursday 9th - Sunday 12th June

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/waddesdon-manor


http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/




www.rnregister.org.uk/newsletter.html



Complete Newsletter Archive now on the RNR Web SiteLast year,Jim Comerford completed the project to scan all the newsletters and they are currentlyavailable as a DVD. Now, Andrew Laycock has uploaded them onto the Register web site. Go towww.rnregister.org.uk/newsletter.html

To ensure data protection and privacy, membership contact details were redacted as the pages arein the public domain. Members wishing to make a contact should email Rob who will make themavailable.

“Smart” PhotographyAt the Rally last year, Andrew Laycock held asession on photography, demonstrating variousformats from 35mm right through to Digital SingleLens Reflex [DSLR] and in between.

The latest models of smart phones not only takeexcellent photographs, but they also includepowerful editing tools for free. With a 16Megapixel[MP] HD display, the phone is equal tomy Fuji bridge camera at 16.2. MP. More MPmake for sharper images especially when usedin a magazine or newsletter format.

The picture on the back cover of this edition wastaken using a Samsung S5 Galaxy and has notbeen modified in any way – a true point-and-shoot, demonstrating the low light level

capability. The cover picture on the autumnedition was also taken on the S5 but wascropped using the in-built editing software.

Three of our editions have a colour centre spreadwhile the summer edition is all colour. I’m surethere are some great photographs out there andwe would like to include some of yours!Remember if you do, send each file individuallyas most servers restrict the size.

A Human of the WaterwaysIf you subscribe to CRT online newsletters, youmay have seen this short piece about BrianJarrett in a section entitled “Humans of theWaterways”. Here is Brian’s self synopsis.

I was a workaholic - always busy, rushing aroundand under pressure. After a difficult divorce Ireached a stage where I was at breaking point. IfI didn’t make a change, the stress was going tobe the end of me. A friend took me on a canal tripon his narrowboat and something clicked. Foronce I wasn’t in a hurry and I had the time, and aplace, to relax. Not long after I retired I made themove from land and got my own boat to live on.I’ve never looked back.

It took me a long time to finally let go of myprevious life, but soon I realised what was reallyimportant – I minimised my possessions, sold myfast car and started appreciating what wasaround me. Everyone these days is so consumedwith making money to buy more things, but thebest things in life are free. I love nothing more

than pulling up a chair along the waterside andsitting for hours just watching the world go by. Weunderestimate the power of nature and theenvironment, but often the simplest things in lifeare the most beautiful.










Rally Afternoon out destinations

Picture Gallery

Nesting in Claydon Middle Lock[Kevin McNiff]

Beware Autarky with the underwater cutting edge![Kevin McNiff]

Curiously entwined tree at Tipton[Kevin McNiff]

South facade of Waddesdon Manor with some of the19,000 plants in the Parterre.

[Andrew Laycock]

The Huts at Bletchley Park


Rally Afternoon out destinations

Picture Gallery

Fred Heritage R.I.P [November 2015]

Maintenance in Banbury lock, December2015 [Kevin McNiff]

Seen at Llangollen Chain Hotel - you couldn’t make it up![Kevin McNiff]

Stopover at the Black Country Living Museum[Kevin McNiff]

The Huts at Bletchley Park[© Bletchley Park]

A French chateau in Buckinghamshire - Waddsedon’smain entrance.

[Andrew Laycock]


The current A4 newsletter format is to undergo its first change in layout.

The Spring 2016 edition will be reduced in size to A5, [for the non-secretarial types this means simply to fold A4 in half!].When the RNR Board met back in the autumn, it was decided to try and reduce the cost of postage and production coststo keep the overall Register administration finances in line with income from membership fees. Savings on postage alonewill be £180 each year as it becomes a “small letter" in postage parlance.

The A5 format has been used by other clubs and organisations for years. Boundary Post, the BCNS newsletter is a goodexample. Initial feedback from some members has been positive and it would save space and fit in with the otherorganisations publications on your bookshelves.

A change of format

Story text in 12 point.

On Monday 31st January 1916,nine Zeppelins took off from theirbases at Nordhoiz, Trondern andHage on the north west coast ofGermany, to attack different areasof England. The size of the airshipswas around 550 feet in length and60 feet in diameter and they had atop speed of 80 miles per hour. Theairship “Luftschiff No. 19” was toattack the industrial Midlands.

It was a misty cold morning whenCaptain Ode Loewe set off into theprevailing winds. As they passedover the North Sea, L19 ran intofog. Approaching the English coast,this changed to freezing rain whichiced over the covers; ground mistand fog further hampered theirnavigation.

Captain Loewe, commanding L19,crossed the English coast at 6pm,and headed for the Midlands. Hisfirst destination was to be Derbyand then onto Walsall, where hedropped bombs on a crowdedtheatre and a number of peoplewere injured including theMayoress of Walsall. More bombswere dropped on High Bullen,Wednesbury, damaging property.

At 8.10pm, the first bomb wasdropped on Bradley at PothouseBridge basin, sinking canal boats.At the time a tram was passing over

Pothouse Bridge, and a man onboard, hearing noise, panicked andran to the canal, jumped in and wasdrowned. At the parish rooms of StMartin’s Church, the local choir wasrehearsing when the terrific blastfrom the bomb shattered thewindows in all directions.

By following the moonlight reflectedin the canal, the next to be hit werea row of houses. One was entirelydemolished, and two or three morewere partially damaged and abouta hundred others suffered frombroken windows. The next morningshrapnel was found 300 yardsaway in Hill Street. The next bombwas dropped in the pumpingstation ash mound doing no harmat all.

The fourth and fatal bomb wasdropped on the towpath at the sideof Bradley Pumping Engine.Frederick Fellows (a delivery manfor Wardell’s Mineral Water) waskilled outright and Maud Fellows (abar maid at the Old Bush Pub) wasbadly injured. She was carried tothe Old Bush Pub where she diedsome time later.

The explosion and deaths arousedgreat shock in the close-knitcommunity. Their anger wasfocused on the home of a lady whomanaged a foundry opposite thepumping station, latter years knownas Mathews Foundry. It was

Headline in 14 point


On Monday 31st January 1916, nineZeppelins took off from their bases atNordhoiz, Trondern and Hage on the northwest coast of Germany, to attack differentareas of England. The size of the airshipswas around 550 feet in length and 60 feetin diameter and they had a top speed of 80miles per hour. The airship “Luftschiff No.19” was to attack the industrial Midlands.

It was a misty cold morning when CaptainOde Loewe set off into the prevailingwinds. As they passed over the North Sea,L19 ran into fog. Approaching the Englishcoast, this changed to freezing rain whichiced over the covers; ground mist and fogfurther hampered their navigation.

Captain Loewe, commanding L19,crossed the English coast at 6pm, andheaded for the Midlands. His firstdestination was to be Derby and then ontoWalsall, where he dropped bombs on acrowded theatre and a number of peoplewere injured including the Mayoress ofWalsall. More bombs were dropped onHigh Bullen, Wednesbury, damagingproperty.

At 8.10pm, the first bomb was dropped onBradley at Pothouse Bridge basin, sinkingcanal boats. At the time a tram waspassing over Pothouse Bridge, and a manon board, hearing noise, panicked and ranto the canal, jumped in and was drowned.At the parish rooms of St Martin’s Church,the local choir was rehearsing when theterrific blast from the bomb shattered thewindows in all directions.

shrapnel was found 300 yards away in HillStreet. The next bomb was dropped in thepumping station ash mound doing noharm at all.

The fourth and fatal bomb was dropped onthe towpath at the side of BradleyPumping Engine. Frederick Fellows (adelivery man for Wardell’s Mineral Water)was killed outright and Maud Fellows (abar maid at the Old Bush Pub) was badlyinjured. She was carried to the Old BushPub where she died some time later.

The explosion and deaths aroused greatshock in the close-knit community. Theiranger was focused on the home of a ladywho managed a foundry opposite thepumping station, latter years known asMathews Foundry. It was rumoured thatshe was of German origin and the storyquickly spread that she had been shininga light into the air to guide the low-flyingZeppelin on its bombing raid. It wasthought that several local factoriesincluding the Naval Gun-barrel works wason its target list.

An angry crowd gathered and stones werethrown at the house. Her adopted son wasinjured, but they were quickly rescued bythe police who took them to a localdoctor’s surgery and then on to BilstonPolice Station for questioning. The womanwas latter sent to Stafford Gaol.

From Bradley, the L19 proceeded toTipton where bombs were dropped onUnion Street. An examination of the arealater discovered that the raider haddropped his bombs in five areas.



Of course, changing the size means altering the page formatting and picture size. Plus potentially reducing the font sizewe use. Currently most stories are set in 10 or 11 point Arial font, but a few use slightly bigger point sizes. [This is 10point].

To that end, shown here are some samples of a page using different point sizes for you to assess which is the smallestsize your Mark 1 eyeball can comfortably read. Yes, a bit like an opticians test!

Please compare the samples and let us know if there is one that you prefer, no later than 1st March.


On Monday 31st January 1916, nine Zeppelinstook off from their bases at Nordhoiz, Trondernand Hage on the north west coast of Germany,to attack different areas of England. The size ofthe airships was around 550 feet in length and60 feet in diameter and they had a top speed of80 miles per hour. The airship “Luftschiff No.19” was to attack the industrial Midlands.

It was a misty cold morning when Captain OdeLoewe set off into the prevailing winds. As theypassed over the North Sea, L19 ran into fog.Approaching the English coast, this changed tofreezing rain which iced over the covers;ground mist and fog further hampered theirnavigation.

Captain Loewe, commanding L19, crossed theEnglish coast at 6pm, and headed for theMidlands. His first destination was to be Derbyand then onto Walsall, where he droppedbombs on a crowded theatre and a number ofpeople were injured including the Mayoress ofWalsall. More bombs were dropped on HighBullen, Wednesbury, damaging property.

At 8.10pm, the first bomb was dropped onBradley at Pothouse Bridge basin, sinkingcanal boats. At the time a tram was passingover Pothouse Bridge, and a man on board,hearing noise, panicked and ran to the canal,jumped in and was drowned. At the parishrooms of St Martin’s Church, the local choirwas rehearsing when the terrific blast from thebomb shattered the windows in all directions.

By following the moonlight reflected in thecanal, the next to be hit were a row of houses.One was entirely demolished, and two or threemore were partially damaged and about ahundred others suffered from broken windows.The next morning shrapnel was found 300yards away in Hill Street. The next bomb wasdropped in the pumping station ash mounddoing no harm at all.

The fourth and fatal bomb was dropped on thetowpath at the side of Bradley PumpingEngine. Frederick Fellows (a delivery man forWardell’s Mineral Water) was killed outrightand Maud Fellows (a bar maid at the Old Bush

Pub) was badly injured. She was carried to theOld Bush Pub where she died some time later.

The explosion and deaths aroused great shockin the close-knit community. Their anger wasfocused on the home of a lady who managed afoundry opposite the pumping station, latteryears known as Mathews Foundry. It wasrumoured that she was of German origin andthe story quickly spread that she had beenshining a light into the air to guide the low-flyingZeppelin on its bombing raid. It was thoughtthat several local factories including the NavalGun-barrel works was on its target list.

An angry crowd gathered and stones werethrown at the house. Her adopted son wasinjured, but they were quickly rescued by thepolice who took them to a local doctor’s surgeryand then on to Bilston Police Station forquestioning. The woman was latter sent toStafford Gaol.

From Bradley, the L19 proceeded to Tiptonwhere bombs were dropped on Union Street.An examination of the area later discoveredthat the raider had dropped his bombs in fiveareas.

The L19 returned over the English coast at6.30am on Tuesday morning. By now CaptainLoewe was experiencing engine trouble whichcaused him to fly at a lower altitude. Flying lowover the Dutch island of Ameland later thatafternoon, the Dutch soldiers had repeatedlyfired on the L19 before she finally vanished intothe mist.

The next sighting was at daybreak on Friday4th by the Grimsby trawler “King Stephen”. TheL19 was disabled in the North Sea, and partlysubmerged. The crew had been driven onto theupper part of the airship. The trawler carried acrew of nine and had no weapons. When theyheard voices calling out “save us, save us” theyleft the airship’s crew to perish in the sea.

Later during the war, Skipper Martin’s trawlerwas sunk by the Germans and his crew weretaken prisoner.

Some days later, a message from CaptainLoewe was found in a bottle washed up on the



On Monday 31st January 1916, nine Zeppelins tookoff from their bases at Nordhoiz, Trondern and Hageon the north west coast of Germany, to attackdifferent areas of England. The size of the airshipswas around 550 feet in length and 60 feet in diameterand they had a top speed of 80 miles per hour. Theairship “Luftschiff No. 19” was to attack the industrialMidlands.

It was a misty cold morning when Captain OdeLoewe set off into the prevailing winds. As theypassed over the North Sea, L19 ran into fog.Approaching the English coast, this changed tofreezing rain which iced over the covers; ground mistand fog further hampered their navigation.

Captain Loewe, commanding L19, crossed theEnglish coast at 6pm, and headed for the Midlands.His first destination was to be Derby and then ontoWalsall, where he dropped bombs on a crowdedtheatre and a number of people were injuredincluding the Mayoress of Walsall. More bombs weredropped on High Bullen, Wednesbury, damagingproperty.

At 8.10pm, the first bomb was dropped on Bradley atPothouse Bridge basin, sinking canal boats. At thetime a tram was passing over Pothouse Bridge, anda man on board, hearing noise, panicked and ran tothe canal, jumped in and was drowned. At the parishrooms of St Martin’s Church, the local choir wasrehearsing when the terrific blast from the bombshattered the windows in all directions.

By following the moonlight reflected in the canal, thenext to be hit were a row of houses. One was entirelydemolished, and two or three more were partiallydamaged and about a hundred others suffered frombroken windows. The next morning shrapnel wasfound 300 yards away in Hill Street. The next bombwas dropped in the pumping station ash mounddoing no harm at all.

The fourth and fatal bomb was dropped on thetowpath at the side of Bradley Pumping Engine.Frederick Fellows (a delivery man for Wardell’sMineral Water) was killed outright and Maud Fellows(a bar maid at the Old Bush Pub) was badly injured.

origin and the story quickly spread that she had beenshining a light into the air to guide the low-flyingZeppelin on its bombing raid. It was thought thatseveral local factories including the Naval Gun-barrelworks was on its target list.

An angry crowd gathered and stones were thrown atthe house. Her adopted son was injured, but theywere quickly rescued by the police who took them toa local doctor’s surgery and then on to Bilston PoliceStation for questioning. The woman was latter sent toStafford Gaol.

From Bradley, the L19 proceeded to Tipton wherebombs were dropped on Union Street. Anexamination of the area later discovered that theraider had dropped his bombs in five areas.

The L19 returned over the English coast at 6.30amon Tuesday morning. By now Captain Loewe wasexperiencing engine trouble which caused him to flyat a lower altitude. Flying low over the Dutch islandof Ameland later that afternoon, the Dutch soldiershad repeatedly fired on the L19 before she finallyvanished into the mist.

The next sighting was at daybreak on Friday 4th bythe Grimsby trawler “King Stephen”. The L19 wasdisabled in the North Sea, and partly submerged.The crew had been driven onto the upper part of theairship. The trawler carried a crew of nine and had noweapons. When they heard voices calling out “saveus, save us” they left the airship’s crew to perish inthe sea.

Later during the war, Skipper Martin’s trawler wassunk by the Germans and his crew were takenprisoner.

Some days later, a message from Captain Loewewas found in a bottle washed up on the Norwegiancoast. The letter was to his wife and child wishingthem goodbye.

This memorial plaque can be found at the site whereMaud and Frederick were killed. Two crosses can befound under the plaque on the old pumping stationwall at the Midland Regional workshops.

Vestibulum semper enim non eros. Sed vitae arcu.



General Arrangement of DM2 Inlet and Outlet camshaftsDrawn by Graham Pearson


From Little Acorns - part of the second RNR Newsletter in 1994


My introduction and involvement with the inland waterwaysbegan in 1979 when I joined the Trent & Mersey CanalSociety Committee. Later in the year we took a stand at theIWA National Rally (as it was named then) at Northwich. DrJean Lindsay’s book about the Trent & Mersey Canal hadjust been published and she attended for a day to signcopies on our stand. Her book covered the construction ofthe Canal and its Branches including the major engineeringworks required. However, the commercial element wasonly touched on.

Now we are treated to – I think it is safe to say – to the firstdefinitive commercial history of the Canal. This was noeasy task given that the canal company’s records weredestroyed in a fire at their HQ in Stone in 1950. This isprobably why this aspect of the canal’s life has not beenpenned before. Tom Foxon, canal historian and ex workingboatmen, has undertaken the task by looking from the‘inside out’. He has researched the canal’s customers,carriers and users, plus the connecting waterway records,thus we have a very well written account of the trade andtraffic on this canal over a 200 year period from 1770 to1970. The author also has personal experience to draw onfor, as a working boatman, in the 1950s he often travelledon the T & M. The detail, facts and figures that the authorfeatures is quite remarkable.

Perhaps not too surprising is the fact that the first half of thebook is devoted to the Potteries trade. Like all canals the T& M was built to carry goods and, although pottery beganin Staffordshire in the 17th century, it was a hundred yearsor so later that Josiah Wedgwood became a prime moverfor the building of the canal. The book explains therelationship between the canal and the industry that itserved, explaining how the canal trade was conducted. Sowe start with the main raw materials that were used in thepottery trade and formed the principal cargoes. ChapterTwo is devoted to canalside works and wharves in thepotteries with a clear sketch map of all the watersidepremises and locations. The next couple of chapters lookat potteries trade before 1840 and after 1840.

The author then takes us into the iron and coal tradedetailing the considerable loads that were carried. Thisaspect also takes us to the outer reaches of the canal,north and south. The Caldon Canal is also featured as aremany other connecting waterways. General merchandise,foodstuffs, building materials, salt, chemicals and liquidfuel were all carried on the T & M and the author againcovers these areas in great detail.

In the penultimate chapter the author deals with the in andouts of a working waterway. Like all other waterways the T& M had its own traffic arrangements and ways ofmanaging. In particular, traffic that originated or wasdestined for points on other waterways had to beconsidered. Again, the attention to detail provides a clearexplanation of the impact that this aspect had on T & M’straders. By 1913 the railways had all but superseded the

canals in moving goods and the final chapter looks at thedecline from this year up to 1970.

To complement the well written text the book includes asuperb, varied and large collection of illustrations, themajority being provided from the libraries of Basil Jeuda,Harry Arnold of Waterways Images, John Ryan and NeilParkinson. All enhanced by the glossy paper they areprinted on with the added ingredient of being in black andwhite.

At £25 it may seem a bit pricey but it is a high qualityproduction, both in content and presentation and, as such,well worth the price. It is a must have for historians andanyone who has an interest in the history and commerciallife of a waterway.

The Trent & Mersey Canal by Tom Foxon is published byand available from:

Black Dwarf Lightmoor Publications (ISBN: 978190359922 8)

Price £25 + p&p

Website: www.lightmoor.co.uk phone: 01993 773927 /01594 844789

Book Review

The Trent & Mersey CanalTrade and Transport 1770 – 1970

Reviewer: Robert Davies

This is Rob Davies’ 3rd book review and has beenreproduced with permission of Janet Richardson, editor ofTowpath Talk.

www.lightmoor.co.uk


Full range of of RN Spares and service items available from stock together with engines on display at Hillmorton.Full range of Boatyard Services including Engine servicing and repairs, Boat blacking, Full boat repainting service,

Boat building and repairs, Plumbing & electrics, Weld repairs.GBBS Hillmorton Ltd. & Russell Newbery Marine Diesel Engines

01327 700023 / 01788 578 661 mobile 07812 039110www.russellnewbery.com email. [email protected]

The demise of the Wobbly Wheel — hopefully!As I was preparing the old Newsletters for publication on theweb, I could not fail to notice the number of occasions thesubject of the Jabsco cooling water pump has beendiscussed. Mainly the discussion was on the loss of vanesfrom the impeller and various ways of preventing this. Theproblems I encountered were different.

The first pump ran for 21 years with no problem. But then Inoticed spots of water on the engine room walls, a quickfinger test showed it contained antifreeze. A check with theengine running traced the problem to drips from the waterpump, hitting the flywheel and being flung to the walls.Stripping the pump down at the works confirmed a wornshaft inside the seal, probably caused by rust from the skintank. So I fitted a filter in the cooling system to remove therust; and a new pump which has a dry seal.

Although the new pump fitted the original mountings, beingslightly shorter it required a bit of pipe rework. Fortunatelythe rubber connections made this easy, including thechange from new metric to old imperial sizes. But within ahour of running the new setup the pulley wheel failed, withone flange shearing off for nearly half of the circumference..Thinking this was an age failure, I obtained a replacementpulley. Whilst this was a bit more substantial, it was still analuminium fitting.

All fine for the next 550 hours running. Then I noticed thesafety cage was fouling the pulley which was exhibiting adecided wobble. As at the time I was on my way toHillmorton for some work, and as the pump was turning Ijust adjusted the cage alignment. I should have noticed thatthe pulley had shifted to the end of the pump shaft.

Part of the work was installation of a header tank, theoriginal setup on Antares was a completely closed system.In fitting this we noticed the cooling system has lost somefluid, so some overheating had occurred. After reassemblywith a new pulley and a new belt (the 25 year old originalwas retired) everything worked fine again.

But only 200 hours running later the wobble had returned.This time we investigated thoroughly. The root cause wasthat the alignment of the pump shaft was slightly out fromthat of the main engine shaft. So the belt was exercisingsome lateral force on the pulley. As the pulley is aluminium,the new belt just a bit tighter than the old, and the pulley isheld in place with a small grub screw against a tiny flat onthe shaft - we were getting severe wear on the insidesurface of the pulley. So on the post rally BCN cruise lastsummer we made a quick visit to CTS at Norton Canes for

a fix. This was the fitting of a cotter pin to hold the pulley inplace. As a “get you home” fix this was brilliant, it did get mehome and to the Autumn Gathering at Long Itchington andnearly all the way back again.

But on the last trip of the year approaching ShrewleyTunnel I noticed a strange smell, then a quick look at thethermostat showed 120C and steam was coming out of theheader tank. Yes the pulley wheel had wobbled right off!Fortunately we were able to arrange a tow back to base, soI was able to spend time considering the fix. Dismantlingthe pump showed no damage, except to the gasket on thecover plate. Fortunate, as Jabsco pumps are not cheap!

I did consider the ultimate solution as adopted by SteveBurt on Brasso, replacement by a 240v central heatingpump. But with no mains inverter that was not on. A searchfor a suitably robust 12v electric pump was fruitless.

What I have done is to remount the pump with slightly undersize nuts/blots. Before tightening these up, I fitted a newsteel pulley with a taper lock bush. I obtained the pulley andbush from Bearingboys of Norfolk (bearingboys.co.uk). Ifitted the belt, then turned the engine by hand beforetightening the taper lock screws to ensure best alignment.Then I fully tightened the bolts securing the pump. Finally Irefitted the pipework. So far the engine has run for 3 hourson test, cooling seems perfect (54C maxiumum observed).To make it obvious if rotational or lateral movement of thepulley occurs, I painted a mark on the shaft and bush.

Hopefully this is the end of the saga. If not the next step willbe to machine a keyway in the pump shaft and to fit a keybetween it and the bush. Check with me at this year’s rallyfor the outcome!

Left, the broken original pulley. Right, the new steel pulley withtaper lock bush. Note the paint mark to spot any movement.

www.lightmoor.co.uk

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