Steam Power

[canaldrifter]

Percy (Perseverance) was the steam dredger used in the restoration of the Basingstoke Canal in the 70s and 80s.

She was bought from the Kennet and Avon Trust and did stalwart work in her time. She was a wood burner. She was used to load silt on to floating hoppers that carried it to grateful farmers fields, where a RB dragline was used to spread it.

She is now rotting away in the Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. A promised restoration of her never happened. Sadly the Basingstoke Canal is now partially closed again too, through lack of funds from the county councils in whose care it was put.







Tone

[redleicester]

Wow, I could do with that here!

[Holger]

Great!

[jcb4cx]

i can remember seeing it in action ,possibly at the bridge at Pondtails Fleet ,or the bridge on the Reading road south
shame its now rotting away

[canaldrifter]

i can remember seeing it in action ,possibly at the bridge at Pondtails Fleet ,or the bridge on the Reading road south
shame its now rotting away

It was seeing her from a bridge at Odiham in 1974 as I drove over in my truck that got me involved in the Basingstoke restoration. I pulled over and took a walk down the towpath and met Frank Jones, who was leading the project at the time. I offered to help. He asked me what I did. When I told him I was a low loader driver, with access to a hiab wagon he nearly kissed me!

Apart from wielding shovels, driving plant and shifting coping stones I spent many a weekend up to my neck in Basingstoke canal mud.

If I was running empty during the week I'd phone Frank and see if there was anything he needed picking up near where I had delivered. They were using a narrow gauge railway to haul bricks and cement down the towpath. I collected quite a bit of rail for them from all over the place.

One Easter weekend we borrowed a brand new Leibherr 921 and an MF50 from a site and took them down to lock one at Woodham. We built a damn to keep the river Wey out, and cleared out the lock chamber for them. I'll try to find some images.



Loaded for home





Tone

[jcb4cx]

i had a wander out across the fields years ago by The Chequers Pub Crondall where the barges of silt were being unloaded via crane ,there used to be a couple of clamshell buckets in the canal carpark opposite the pub too
i only live 5 mins from the canal at Odiham
are you still around this way tone

cheers graham

[bigkit]

Do you reckon she'd be for sale and salvageable! In need of a project and have space to spare. DONT tell the wife!

[canaldrifter]

i had a wander out across the fields years ago by The Chequers Pub Crondall where the barges of silt were being unloaded via crane ,there used to be a couple of clamshell buckets in the canal carpark opposite the pub too
i only live 5 mins from the canal at Odiham
are you still around this way tone

cheers graham

The Chequers was our favourite drinkinghole in those days, but that was long before it was modernised. It was like drinking in their livingroom. Wwe used to camp in the garden of the New Inn at Odiham. I think it's now the Waterwitch or something similar.

I reckon those buckets were the ones I swung about.

No, I'm not in that area now, though I did run a restaurant boat and trip boats from Mytchett, near Farnborough for four years, 2002-5. Giving llve commentaries to the passengers on the canal I helped to reopen was magic!

I live on an old narrowboat. I'm on the Chesterfield canal again now, but I winter on the Yorks Derwent. Can't see me going that far south again for some time. Love it up here.

Tone

[canaldrifter]

Do you reckon she'd be for sale and salvageable! In need of a project and have space to spare. DONT tell the wife!

I reckon they'd bite your fingers off if you offered to buy it. they are strapped for cash. Mind you its a big old lump to haul. About 40 tons if I remember right. I think it did break down into smaller bits though.

If you are serious and you have the room why not give John Inch a call?

http://www.nwm.org.uk/Contact.html

Tone

[canaldrifter]

I've uploaded a couple of these images to illustrate a song I've recorded, written by my mate Colin Bargery, celebrating the lives and the work of the waterway navvies. It's called 'Ghosts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asdm3YNI2dE

Tone