IWA Welcomes Government Funding Deal for New Canal and River Charity

IWA Press Release

ISSUE DATE: 31st January 2012

IWA WELCOMES GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEAL FOR NEW CANAL AND RIVER CHARITY

The Inland Waterways Association today welcomed the announcement by DEFRA that it had reached a negotiated settlement with the transition trustees of the Canal & River Trust over the amount of Government funding that it will receive when it takes over responsibility for the management of the waterways currently run by British Waterways in England and Wales.

Commenting on the settlement Clive Henderson, IWA national chairman said:

‘We welcome the CRT transition trustees’ announcement that they are now in a position to launch a sustainable charity to run the waterways. This is a big step towards realising a vision held by IWA for over 60 years to have a single independent charity running the waterways for the benefit of all.

The settlement looks considerably better in general terms, and is substantially more than was first put on the table. We are particularly pleased to see that many of the issues that IWA raised and lobbied for through our supporters and Members of Parliament have been addressed and that the original settlement has been substantially increased from £390million over ten years to potentially, £800m over the full 15 years if you add indexation. There is also the full property portfolio of commercial premises and land worth an additional £460m.

Wolverhampton Top Lock

The issues that IWA lobbied for and that have been addressed are:

Increased funding- Starting in 2015/16 there is an extra £10 million per year conditional grant, (capped in the last 5 years); and a further one off repayment of national loans of £6.2 million payable immediately.

Indexation to protect the funding from inflation- There is now indexation on the core grant.

A longer contract term- This has been increased by a third, giving financial certainty for 15 years.

Additional resources to address the past service pension liabilities- This has been addressed in part with a government guarantee of last resort for 19 years and a one-off payment of an additional £25 million grant for this year.

He went on to say:

‘I would like to thank all of our supporters for all of the time and care they took in contacting and briefing their MPs so that they could lobby government during the negotiations and I believe this played an important part in the improved settlement. We have seen the initial funding offer move from £39 million to potentially over £70 million this year. I hope that they will join me in supporting the CRT by providing volunteer support and assistance at local and national level. This will be especially important in the critical first three years before much of the additional funding kicks in’.

‘The next stage for IWA is to identify and help to resolve any issues that go beyond early teething problems and to ensure that these are fed into the Government’s second year review. IWA will also wish to see Defra provide a detailed programme for the transfer of Environment Agency navigations into the CRT as promised in 2015/2016, so that this process is little more than a formality for the CRT trustees.’Wolverhampton Railway Arches – Derek Pratt

1876 Johnson 2-4-0

Midland Railway

Illustration: No. 20204, the last of the 7’ 0” engines to run in service, as rebuilt with Belpaire boiler.  It was scrapped in 1941.

 S.W.Johnson’s first main line engine for the Midland Railway came out in 1876.  He seemed undecided at first whether to adopt a leading bogie for express work, as although some thirty 4-4-0 engines appeared, he also built at the same time a number of2-4-0s, and continued this type until 1881, during which period a considerable number were put into service.  From 1992 onwards, however, he concentrated on engines with a leading bogie, and built not only a large number of 4-4-0s, but also his famous bogie single wheelers.

Midland 1070 was the first of the Class 1070 locomotives built under Johnson between 1874 to 1876. This was developed from Kirtley’s 890 class, and had inside frames, 6ft 2in diameter driving wheels and 17in x 24in cylinders. The class as a whole were renumbered 127-56 in order of building in 1907   ahisgett flickr

His 2-4-0s were of four varieties, varying in the size of the driving wheels.  There were ten 6’ 3” engines, which after the 1907 renumbering became Nos.147-56, forty with 6’ 6” wheels, Nos. 157-96, Sixty five 6’ 9”, Nos. 207-71 and twenty seven-footers, Nos. 197-206 and 272-81.  He also rebuilt the later engines of his predecessor Kirtley to conform to his own design, and the classes eventually became almost indistinguishable.  These again consisted of two varieties, Nos.68-126 with 6’ 8½” driving wheels, and 127-46 with 6’ 3” wheels, corresponding generally to the 207 and 147 classes.

From about 1920 onwards a large number of the Johnson engines acquired Belpaire fireboxes with Ramsbottom safety valves in place of the Salter valves in the dome, but this was the only major alteration to the class.  Many remained in their original state and the modification was not applied to any of the rebuilt Kirtley engines.

A few engines disappeared before the grouping, but the majority passed into the hands of the LMS.  About 1934 it was desired to utilise the number group for new engines, and such of the 2-4-0s as still remained in service were placed on the duplicate list by the addition of 20000 to their numbers.  Only about twenty engines were involved, including three of the earlier Kirtleys, all the rest having been scrapped.  Three survived to be taken over by British Railways in 1948, Nos. 20155, 20185 and 20216, and although they were allocated new numbers, Nos. 58020-22, they never carried them.  No. 20155 ran until December 1960.

Driving wheels – 6’ 3”,  Cylinders – 18”x 24”,  Pressure – 140 lb.,  Tractive effort – 12338 lb.,  LMS power Classification – 1

Driving wheels – 6’ 6”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 140 lb.,  Tractive effort – 12770 lb.,  LMS power Classification – 1

Driving wheels – 6’ 9”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,*  Pressure – 140 lb.,  Tractive effort – 12376 lb.,  LMS power Classification – 1

Driving wheels – 7’ 0”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 140 lb.,  LMS power Classification – 1

* The rebuilt Kirtley engines had 18”x 24” and a lower tractive effort.

 2-4-0 Warwickshire Railways

Cannock Chase Mining Historical Society

Diary Dates For 2012

Monday 6th February – AGM at the Museum of Cannock Chase, commencing at 11.00am prompt.

Quarterley Meetings for 2012

Wednesday 7th March – Sinking of Lea Hall – Speaker – Alan Dean

Wednesday 16th May – Licensed Mines – Speaker – Brian Rollins

Wednesday 4th July – History of Bridgtown

Wednesday 3rd October – Life and Times of Robert Smillie

All talks will be held at the Museum of Cannock Chase, Valley Road, Hednesford, WS12 1TD,  starting at 3.00pm and are open to the general public – admission free.

Special Date

Saturday 28th April 2012

The Dedication Ceremony of the extension to the original Miners’ Monument in Hednesford Town Centre, will take place.

The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch will officiate and music will be provided by the Rugeley Power Station Band and the Cannock Chase Orpheus Male Voice Choir.

Saltburn Miniature Railway

Miniature steam railway, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Runs from Cat Nab Station by the beach for about 1/2 mile inland to Forest Halt, where there is a woodland walk and gardens © Copyright hayley green and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 The Saltburn Miniature Railway is a 15 in (381 mm) gauge railway at Saltburn, in Redcar and Cleveland, England.Engine Shed for the Woodland Glade Miniature Railway, Saltburn

© Copyright Michael Steele and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

 History

The railway opened in 1947 as a tourist attraction. It was originally a simple out-and-back line with a station at each end. During 1953 the line was adapted to allow the simultaneous operation of two trains, though without the provision of a passing loop. Instead, a single siding was provided into which one train had to reverse to allow the other to pass by.

During the 1980s the operation of the railway was taken over by an Association of supporters, all of whom are volunteers. A decision was made to extend the railway, relocate one terminus completely, and provide new sidings and engine sheds. This major project, known on the railway as ‘The Big Transformation’ took place between September 2000 and April 2003.Miniature railway shed, for miniature railway, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

© Copyright hayley green and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

 Route

The line runs north from Cat Nab Station (by the beach) for about ½ mile inland to Forest Halt, where there is a woodland walk and gardens.[3] There is a run around loop at each end of the line and an engine and rolling stock depot near the mid point.Flickr  The 15in gauge Saltburn Miniature Railway was well-known in being owned and run by the local bus company, Saltburn Motor Services. it passed to Cleveland Transit on take-over in 1974, but is now run by volunteers.

‘Prince Charles’ is a 4.6.2DE, built by H N Barlow of Southport in 1953 and was obviously inspired by the Gresley A4 Pacifics. Seen at Cat Nab station in June 1996.

Waterscape

Montgomery Canal east of Llanymynech Taken from the trip boat on the Montgomery Canal.  © Copyright Christine Johnstone and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

News

Biodiversity grant for Montgomery Canal

26th Jan 2012

A rare floating water plantain is getting the chance to thrive on the Montgomery Canal, thanks to a biodiversity grant from the Welsh government.

The Montgomery Canal is one of the world’s leading sites for the Luronium natans floating water plantain. The canal is already a Site of Special Scientific Interest for almost half its length and a Special Area of Conservation for its entire length within Wales.

The £60k award from the Ecosystem Resilience, Diversity and Compliance Fund will allow British Waterways’ ecologists to improve the canal habitat. Work will include dredging near Brynderwyn Lock and trial management of in-channel nature reserves. A downloadable wildlife interpretation trail for visitors will also be created, covering the stretch of canal from Welshpool Town Wharf to the nature reserve at Whitehouse Bridge.

Protecting rare plants

Stuart Moodie, ecologist, British Waterways said: “This is a great project to improve the ecosystem and increase understanding of the importance of the wildlife on the Montgomery Canal. The canal is already a well-loved attraction. The funding will enable us to carry out vital dredging works. This will improve and protect the natural habitats along the canal, which provide safe havens for its rare creatures and plant life.”

Water pool with wildlife  Nice natural pool on a sunny May weekend.  © Copyright John Carver and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

As the steady restoration of the canal progresses, British Waterways and partners are committed to the carefully managed use of the waterway to ensure a sustainable future for these rare communities of flora and fauna.

IWA walk at Kingsbury Water Park

02 February 2012

Dog & Doublet

Dog Lane

Bodymoor Heath

Sutton Coldfield

West Midlands

B76 9JD

Related Waterways

 Lock on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal

This lock, known as Curdworth Bottom Lock, is close to the Heart of England Way and to Kingsbury Water Park.  © Copyright Angella Streluk and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Birmingham & Fazeley Canal »

Join the IWA Lichfield Branch for a walk around Kingsbury Water Park and the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.

Meet at 10.30am for 10.45am start at the Dog & Doublet Inn car park. Optional lunch at the pub afterwards. Contact Mike Moorse on 07799 140068 or email lichfield@waterways.org.uk for more details.

 Echills Wood Railway

A 7 1/4 inch Gauge miniature railway at Kingsbury Water Park.  Established in 1972 at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire: re-established here in 2005   The railway is operated by a group of 7 1/4 ” gauge railway enthusiasts and takes its name from the word ‘Echill’ derived from ‘Eche being an old English word meaning “a piece added or set aside”, which dates back as far as 1000 AD hence the name Echills wood = a small copse that has been set aside.

© Copyright Andy Stephenson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

News

Volunteer lock keeper campaign proves popular

24th Jan 2012

British Waterways’ volunteer lock keeper campaign has got off to a flying start with over 300 people enquiring about the roles in the first week.

Last week saw Brian Blessed don a life jacket and take to the Kennet & Avon Canal to open lock gates and help out passing boaters. Launching the organisation’s campaign to attract new volunteers to the waterways he said: “Ever since I was a child I’ve loved our canals and rivers, going off exploring on my bike and looking for wildlife.

“They’re unique places so I would urge people with a real passion for their local waterway to get involved as a volunteer lock keeper. They meant so much to me as a child so I think it’s important we all do what we can to help protect them for our next generations to enjoy.”

Huge number of applications

Brian’s enthusiasm for the role has infected the public, as the British Waterways volunteer team reports a huge number of applications for the role. Ed Moss, national volunteering manager explains: “The campaign is stirring up a high level of interest because so many people want to help. The role of the lock keeper is such an iconic role that appeals to people to get outside, work the locks and help their local community.”

British Waterways is currently rolling out the volunteer lock keeper scheme to over 60 new locations. Volunteers don’t need any previous lock keeping experience although enthusiasm, people skills and an interest their local area will come in handy.

For more information about how you can get involved visit www.waterscape.com/volunteerlockkeeper.

Lock on the Caldon Canal

Devon

A day out to look forward to

Seaton Tramway Terminus

Southern end of the line from Seaton to Colyton.

© Copyright Chris Coleman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 The Seaton Tramway is an 838 mm (2 ft 9 in) narrow gauge electric tramway which operates over the route of a a former British Railways branch line in Seaton, Devon. The line was converted between 1969 and 1971 by Claude Lane, who had bought the line from BR and had successfully operated trams in Eastbourne as a visitor attraction.

Tram number 2 leaving Seaton

© Copyright Sarah Charlesworth and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 The 3-mile (4.8 km) route runs through East Devon’s Axe Valley, between the coastal resort of Seaton, the small village of Colyford and the ancient town of Colyton.

Thirteen tram cars are part of the visitor attraction which sees about 80,000 visitors per year. The tram cars are half-scale (1:2) replicas of classic British tram cars from various cities.

 Never mind the weather! Our trams run every day throughout the season. See wildlife and discover Devon’s hidden secrets, find out about our history and travel in our “time machines”! Start your journey at Seaton and ride inland to Colyton, one of Devon’s hidden jewels, or start at Colyton and arrive at Seaton, the gateway to the Jurassic Coast.End of the line, at Colyton

The Seaton Tramway terminates at this point, though the old Seaton railway branch used to continue north to Seaton Junction.

  © Copyright Roger Cornfoot  and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons License .

Visit our Gift shop at Colyton Station an Aladdin’s cave stocked with a variety of exciting gifts to suit all pockets and interests.

The Tramstop Restaurant – a fantastic choice of freshly home-cooked food using local produce to suit all tastes and ages.

Discount for families and groups; pre-booked groups welcome all year round. Wheelchair accessible (advance booking necessary). Drive a tram, lessons available. Bird watching, Santa Specials, Classic Car Show, Children’s Birthday Parties. Family discounts available – there must be 1 paying child travelling in the family group.

Look out for  special events during the year.

Trams at Seaton

Open topped double decker and open sided ‘toastrack’ type trams at Seaton

© Copyright Chris Coleman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1876 – Barton Wright– 0-6-0ST

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway

No.11470, as running in the late 1920s

Barton Wright’s standard goods engine for the L&YR of which 280 were made between 1876 and 1887

When Aspinall became CME at Horwich he introduced his own design of 0-6-0, these also being constructed in considerable numbers, and as there was an acute shortage of shunting engines he proceeded to rebuild most of the earlier Barton Wright engines with saddle tanks.  Between 1891 and 1900 the whole of the earlier members of the class had been thus dealt with, but the final fifty remained as tender engines.  All of them, both rebuilt and unrebuilt, passed into LMS hands in 1923, the saddle tanks becoming Nos. 11393-11532, and the tender engines 12015-64, 96 of the former and 25 of the latter were still in service at Nationalisation, many surviving to have 40000 added to their numbers.  The last 0-6-0, No. 52044, did not disappear until 1959, at which time there were a fair number of the saddle tanks still working, being amongst the oldest engines still in the service of British Railways.

ftptrainsim.com

Dimensions

0-6-0 tender and 0-6-0ST

Driving wheels – 4’ 6”,  Cylinders – 17½”x 26”,  Pressure – 140 lb.,  Tractive effort – 17545 lb.

0-6-0 tender  Weight – 39 tons 1 cwt,  L&YR Classification – 25,  LMS & BR Classification – 2F

0-6-0ST   Weight – 43 tons 17 cwt,  L&YR Classification – 23,  LMS & BR Classification – 2F

1875 – Johnson – 0-6-0

 Midland Railway

No.58246 (formerly 3175) as running in 1948, when first renumbered by BR in LMS style.  To a great extent still in its original condition, it was the last of its class to carry the old Johnson-type boiler, which it did until scrapped in 1959.

S.W Johnson. Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1873 to 1903, who designed some of the most beautiful engines ever built

S.W.Johnson’s standard freight engine for the Midland Railway, of which the first 140 were turned out in the space of three years, from 1875 to 1877.  The class was thereupon multiplied at intervals until 1902, when a total of 865 engines had appeared plus a further 25 built for the Somerset & Dorset Railway, and another sixteen for the Midland & Great Northern Joint.  They were not all quite identical as some of the earlier ones had 4’ 10” driving wheels in place of the late standard size of 5’ 3”, and cylinder dimensions, etc., were slightly increased as time went on.  The basic design with modifications was continued from 1903 under Deeley’s superintendency, the main difference being the use of a considerably larger Class 3 boiler, and a further seventy were built to this pattern.  Subsequently, about half of the earlier Class 2 engines were rebuilt with these Class 3 boilers, including nearly all of the later built ones.  The middle group eventually became more or less evenly divided, but none of the earliest built ones below 3130 was ever altered to Class 3.  The number of the whole class after 1907 ran from 2900 to 3834, and if one accepts variations and regards them as one class, then this total of 976 engines (including the S&DJR and M&GNJR ones) must take pride of place as the most numerous ever constructed in this country.  Purists, however, might award the claim to the LNWR Dx goods with its total of 943 engines (86 of which were L&YR) as these were to all intents and purposes identical.

No.3333 as running with a Class 3 Belpaire boiler in 1929.

From 1917 onwards most of those remaining Class 2 gradually acquired Belpaire boilers of similar dimensions, with Ramsbottom safety valves, although one or two managed to retain their Johnson type boiler with Salter valves on the dome till the end, in one case as late as 1959.  The more commodious type of Deeley cab was also provided in most cases, but not invariably.

Johnson Class 2 0-6-0 No.1365, a class of which several hundred were built, with a mixed train comprising three Pullman cars.

The Class 3 engines, originally round topped, all later received Belpaire fireboxes, and in these forms there are a number of survivors of both Class 2 and 3 still in service in 1959.  The Class 2 engines include about forty of the original 120 built in 1875-6 and as such constitute by far the oldest engines still in service in any considerable numbers, although there are about half a dozen other miscellaneous engines which antedate them.  The complete class remained intact until 1925, after which they began to be taken out of service, but 197 of Class 2 and 398 of Class 3, survived to be taken into BR stock in 1948, the latter figure including nine engines taken over from the Somerset & Dorset in 1930.

One of the very last jobs (early 1964) of the ex-Midland Railway class 2 0-6-0 goods engine was a Leicester (West Bridge) to Desford goods.  On 7^th July 1962, No. 58148 leaves Glenfield Tunnel.  P.H.Wells

In 1934 Nos. 2900-84 became 22900, etc., to make way for new engines, and the same thing happened in 1947 when 3000-18 were similarly renumbered (Nos. 2985-99 were left unaltered).

On becoming BR engines the surviving Class 3 engines had 40000 added to their numbers in the usual way, but the Class 2s were completely renumbered into a new series 58114-58310.

No.58148 arrives at Rately Crossing on 27^th July, 1962.  G.D.King

Dimensions

Nos.2900-3019, 3130-89 – Class 2 Boiler

Driving wheels – 4’ 11”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,

Tractive effort – 19420 lb.,  Weight – 40 tons approx.

Nos. 3130-89 – Class 3 Boiler

Driving wheels – 4’ 11”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,

Tractive effort – 21240 lb.,  Weight – 43 tons 17 cwt.

Nos. 3020-3129, 3190-3764 – Class 2 Boiler

Driving wheels – 5’ 3”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,

Tractive effort – 18185 lb.,  Weight – 40 tons approx.

Nos. 3190-3774 – Class 3 Boiler

Driving wheels – 5’ 3”  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,

Tractive effort – 19890 lb.,  Weight – 43 tons 17 cwt. – BR Classification – 2F.

Nos. 3775-3834 – Class 3 Boiler

Driving wheels – 5’ 3”  Cylinders – 18½”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,

Tractive effort – 21010 lb.,  Weight – 46 tons 3 cwt. – BR Classification – 3F.

Nos. 2900-3129 originally had 17½”x 26” Cylinders

Some Class 2 engines had a reduced weight of 37tons 12 cwt.

Posted by Waterway Watcher on January 20th, 2012

Caldon Canal – David Jackson

 Parliamentary Waterways Group on Future Of The Inland Waterways

THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY WATERWAYS GROUP COMMUNIQUE ON THE FUTURE OF THE INLAND WATERWAYS

The All Party Parliamentary Waterways Group held a hearing on 8 December to provide the Waterways Minister, Richard Benyon MP, with the opportunity to respond to the Group’s Memorandum – “The Future of the Waterways”.

This was published and submitted to the Government in July, focussing on appropriate governance and financing for the Canal & River Trust which is planned to come fully into being in April 2012, inheriting responsibility for British Waterways’ inland waterways network.

The Memorandum was prepared after two hearings into these issues in order to provide a Parliamentary response to Defra’s consultation “A New Era for the Waterways” on the Government’s proposals for moving inland waterways into a new charity in England & Wales.

The hearing also gave the Minister and the charity’s Transition Trustees the opportunity to provide a broader report on progress to deliver a fully operational charity in 2012.

The hearing was chaired by the Rt Hon Alun Michael MP and attended by a number of MPs and representatives of a wide range of organisations which play important roles in relation to our canals and other waterways.

This communiqué has been approved by the All Party Group as an accurate summary of the discussion and the Group also approves its publication and distribution to waterways stakeholders and other interested parties.

Anglesey Basin, Chasewater – Wyrley & Essington Canal

Government Statement

Key issues covered in Richard Benyon’s statement, as a response to the All Party Group Memorandum, were Canal & River Trust governance and financing, and waterways classification.

Governance: the Minister reported that progress had been made on what both Government and the Trust’s Transition Trustees believed was the right model on governance for the Trust to begin life.

There was now a target for 50% of the Council to be elected over time. On membership, the Trustees had decided that the charity should not have a membership for fund-raising purposes, believing that other means of raising funds and stimulating voluntary giving were more effective for fundraising than a formal membership.

Funding: Richard Benyon could not say what government funding was going to be for the Trust since negotiations had not yet concluded. But he acknowledged that the negotiations were complex, including the issues of adequate maintenance of the canal network, mitigation of possible future liabilities arising from environmental or other legislative requirements and the staff’s pension arrangements.

He stressed that the Government was committed to a sustainable and prosperous future for the waterways, and that it wanted to give the Trust the best possible start that it could. He expected to be able to make announcements in the New Year.

Waterways classification: this had become an issue. The Inland Waterways Association had raised concerns about the proposed amendments to the system for classifying waterways in the Transport Act 1968 because it was concerned that the Trust would seek to reclassify “cruising” waterways to “remainder” waterways.

He gave an assurance that any application from the Trust to reclassify a waterway would be subject to a full cost benefit analysis and wide consultation with those likely to be affected as required by the Transport Act. In addition, he was sure that the Trustees would consult the charity’s Council and the relevant Waterways Partnership before embarking on such a significant course of action that would impact on a large number of its users. These mechanisms would help to ensure a robust and transparent process on a re-classification of any of the charity’s waterways.

In answer to specific questions from Members of the All Party Group present, Richard Benyon added:

• He did not want or expect to see closures of any waterways, as that would not be constructive. The Government wanted to ensure that in the medium term there was scope for a reduction in the percentage of assets that were in poor and very poor condition. He added that the Government wanted the existing network to be both maintained and enhanced.
• On ownership, in response to the suggestion that part ownership of a charity under for example, co-operative arrangements, delivered local ownership and commitment, Richard Benyon commented that he could see that possibility, locally and as a part of natural evolution.

CRT Transition Trustees

Some Transition Trustees were present, including the chairman, Tony Hales and Lynne Berry who chairs the governance committee of the Shadow Board.  The Chief Executive of British Waterways, Robin Evans, was also present. The All Party Group invited them to comment.

Tony Hales said that that the Trust would be reviewing it’s governance in 3 years and that would be the time to reflect on the suggestions made with regard to ownership.

On finance, he said that commercial activity would be the most significant contributor, and that the Trustees were comfortable about the future prospects for this commercial activity.

The Trustees were also confident about the forecasts for the contribution for voluntary income and donations, which were expected to reach £6-8m after 10 years. There were also potential contributions to be made by other government departments, local government and bodies such as Transport for London and the Olympic Delivery Authority.

It was a question of determining the benefits they receive from the network so that they recognised that a contribution was justified.

However, he reiterated the view of the Trustees that the £39m per annum offered initially by central government was not enough. The finance package overall needed to be enough to secure the network’s assets in the long term and ensure that day to day maintenance was carried out together with network dredging; and to ensure that pensions were safeguarded.

He recognised the duty of  Trustees to be in a position to satisfy the Charity Commission that the Trust was sustainable.

Lynne Berry reported on public benefit. It had been evaluated at around £500 million but that didn’t fully reflect issues such as the social return and the well being benefit etc. Trustees were currently developing the public benefit model to embrace these wider issues.

Specific issues raised were:

• What mechanism there was to secure heritage with the new charity? The Heritage Lottery Fund needed to become engaged so that grants could be explored for heritage issues. There were serious challenges for the museum’s archives which were under pressure from both users and historians whose needs might be different.
•  Had potential new income streams been identified for the Trust?
• Was the valuation of the British Waterways property portfolio [£450 million] realistic?
• What incentive was there for the Trust to change its governance in the future?

Gloucester Museum

The responses were as follows.

Heritage: there was a museums representative on the Council, who would report on developments for museums and visitor attractions. The archives were regarded as a serious issue. They represented a major cost and storage and accessibility of paper archives was a problem but no less so for electronic archives which were still a significant cost. The Trust would continue to aim to make the archives available and it was an issue that needed to be settled for the future.

Income: at this stage the Trust’s long term commercial plans had to be subject to an element of confidentiality. But there was future potential for water cooling for buildings sited near the network, especially as many now had to make a 20% renewable energy contribution. In addition there were opportunities from micro power generation at weirs and locks.

Property Valuation: the property values were assessed annually according to the “Red Book” and this assessment is reviewed by Grant Thornton (the British Waterways auditors). It was regarded as a robust valuation.

Trust Governance: it was thought that the volunteer-led Trust would lend itself open to future evolution as necessary.

Close

The hearing closed with an offer from Richard Benyon to return to the Group to give a further report when the financial negotiations were concluded.

The offer was welcomed by the Group and it was thought that this future hearing was likely to take place early in the New Year.

Alun Michael closed the proceedings commenting that it was not unheard of for charities to go wrong, volunteer led or otherwise. It would not be an easy transition. It was going to be very challenging and there was profound interest from MPs on all sides of the House, and there was general support for the proposed model. The transition would be scrutinised with great interest.

Some Early Lines

The History of the Wotton Tramway

R.A.Ives

From The ‘Mercian’ March 1970 

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

The line was opened by the Duke of Buckingham as a private venture in 1871 to convey workers on his estate to Wotton.  Construction started at Quainton Road being opened as far as Church Siding, in 1871 and one year later further extensions took the line to Brill after the townsfolk had petitioned for a passenger service.  This was duly inaugurated and two Aveling Porter geared locomotives were purchased from the makers for motive power over the line.  These curious machines were more like traction engines with flanged wheels, each had a single overslung cylinder 7¾” X 10” connected through the countershaft and pinion to further pinions on the axles.

Nos. 807 and 846 Aveling & Porters

The first to arrive was No.807 in 1872, and No.846 followed later the same year, the cost being £400 each.  Their maximum speed was about 8 miles per hour.  The early timetables show a time of 95 – 105 minutes for the 6½ mile journey, this being an average of no more than 4 miles per hour.  The trains were mixed and ran daily and there were additional freight trips if required.  Watering facilities were in the Church Sidings and turntables were situated in Quainton and Brill, and on the Kingswood Branch.  The engines seemed to have worked more satisfactorily chimney first.  Horses were still used for shunting and light duties, they also worked the three short branch lines.

Aveling Porter No.807 – IRS

In the month of December 1876 a new engine arrived, this was an 0-4-0ST named ‘Buckingham’ built by Bagnall’s Ltd. of Stafford, it was followed a year later by another 0-4-0 ‘Wotton’. Buckingham was that first loco on Bagnall’s lists.  It was very unlikely that either were ever built at Stafford because facilities for standard construction were not available at the factory at that time.  Little is known about these locomotives and their purchase at a total cost of £1,240, as for the Aveling & Porter locos, these remained in traffic until 1894, as traffic on the line never justified four locos, and with such a tiny wooden engine shed at Brill.

When it was proposed to extend the line from Brill to Oxford it was announced that the name would be ‘Oxford, Aylesbury and Metropolitan Junction Railway’.  It was then altered to ‘Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad Company’.  At one stage of the proceedings electric traction was thought of, but this fell through. The Company then bought two new steam locos, these being supplied by Manning Wardle Ltd.

Manning Wardle locomotive Huddersfield at Quainton Road railway station: the photograph was published in The Locomotive Magazine Vol III, No. 35, November 1898, and on p. 168 of the compilation

 The first, ‘Wotton No.1’ was originally named ‘Huddersfield’ and was built in 1876, the second ‘Brill No.2’ was bought new from the makers and had a covered cab, in place of the weatherboard on the sister loco.  In 1899 the loco was replaced by a new Manning Wardle named ‘Wotton No.2’.  The inside cylinders were 12” x 17” and with 3’ driving wheels, the weight of the locos in working order was about 18 tons.

The two newest locos remained in service on the line when the Metropolitan Railway took over in 1899, these two together with two coaches and one wagon cost the Company £2,375.  The two Manning Wardles were sold, one of them surviving for many years in the stock of a Civil Engineering Contractor, and replaced by Sharp Stewart Tank locos.  The Aveling Porter locos were withdrawn in 1894 and were sold to a brickworks at Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire.  No.846 failed its boiler test soon afterwards and was dismantled for spare parts for the other loco which survived until 1940 on the closure of the brickworks.

It was then rescued by a band of enthusiasts in 1951 and went to Neasden Works where it was restored to its original condition by London Transport.  No.807 now rests at Clapham Museum as a reminder of the early days of the line, once part of the ‘Underground’ system.

 Photograph taken at Quainton Road station in 2006 of original locomotive used by Brill Tramway.

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