Union Branch and Albion Interchange

Union Branch

December 2024

The location of the lost Union Branch remains confusing no matter how many times you look at the map, zipping back and forth across Telfords New Main Line.

The reason for this is that the branch predates Telford's canal and was in fact a branch off Brindley's 1767 original canal connecting Birmingham with the collieries of Balls Hill. The New canal sliced right through the branch in two places creating several loops and arms in the process.

Pudding Green Junction area

To complicate matters further the Albion Railway Interchange Basin was built next to the branch's entrance to the Wednesbury Old Canal.

Not easy to understand but well worth the effort expended in the process.

Union Branch and basins off Wednesbury Old Canal

Union Branch west of New Main Line

Union Branch Entrance 1951 Britain from Above

Union Branch mid section 1951 - Britain from Above

Albion Interchange Basin 1951 - Britain from Above

Sally Meadow Basin 1934 - Britain from Above

Entrance to Sally Meadow Basin - Hugh Potter 1974

The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).

The Old Izon Turn

The Old Izon Turn

December 2024

The creation of Telford's New Mainline Canal criss crossed Brindley's 1767 original canal, carving off great loops along its way, taking a much straighter course towards Wolverhampton.

Among these loops there is what I tend to call the Old Iron Turn on account of its proximity to the lost Izon Branch near Pudding Green Junction. This name may be inaccurate and I stand ready to be corrected.

These days you go north from the bottom of Spon Lane Locks / Bromford Junction and then the original Brindley route veers to the east but when originally constructed the Birmingham canal swerved in a loop to the west, smoothing the turn east towards Balls Hill and the coal deposits.

This loop continued to serve the adjacent industry but in time the central section silted up and by the 1940's just the northern end remained in water, playing host to a boatyard with a side slip on its western shore.

1948 - Britain from Above

1948 - Britain from Above

Boats on Izon Old Turn 1961 - HE Evans CRT

Pudding Green Junction from Izon Old Turn 1961 - H E Evans CRT

Pudding Green Junction 1948 - Britain from Above

Pudding Green Junction 1961 - H E Evans CRT

The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).

The Butty's beginnings

The Butty's Beginnings

July 2024

Seeing people eyeing up the butty is something of an everyday event, and it's often a prelude to a jam sale, but today a couple appeared on the towpath paying particular attention to the stern.

I wandered over to say hi and much to my surprise another layer of the butty's history emerged.

The gentleman started by asking if the elum (tiller) was an original and I promptly launched into my "the back cabin including the elum were, i think, built in the 1980's" only to be told "I know, I built it". That pretty much stopped me in my tracks at which point three photos were produced showing the stern as a boat called Reliance and the unmistakable shape of the tiller there on its pintles.

Montgomery's stern with its original back cabin when it was Reliance

It turned out that the butty had a history before is was acquired by Keith Ball and this is the chronology as far as I can recall from a rather brief discussion.

A 40 foot butty was built by a Mr John Rickerby (AB Boat Builders) and named Reliance in the 1980's. This butty was towed behind his short wooden tug boat and both craft would fit into a single lock.

Two side profiles of Montgomery's stern as built

Reliance was sold to Keith Ball who cut off the bows and it then became a 50 foot (ish) houseboat with a generator under the stern deck (probably called Montgomery). Ultimately the extended bows were removed and converted to a motor boat and the back cabin was rendered redundant, becoming a tool shed for Industry Narrowboats.

As you can see from the photos, the back cabin has undergone some changes. The overall profile looks the same but the recessed side panels have gone, replaced by flat steel sides with a porthole on both sides. Maybe the original cabin was in wood which rotted? Its hard to tell and I never asked... Certainly the old roof was much flatter that the barrel profiled roof we have today.

Montgomery AKA The Jam Butty today

My guess is that the old back cabin was replaced by Keith / Industry Narrowboats, built on the base built by Alan Rickarby. 

Way back in 2018 I remember being hailed by a boater as we travelled upstream to Leicester telling me that he had built our butty so we had a quick look back and lo and behold we took a snatched photo of the Rickarby's. In this case age has treated them kindly.

The Rickarby's in 2018

So back to that elum. It looks like it is a case of triggers new broom with many parts renewed over the years. I know that Industry Narrowboats replaced at least two of the planks 10 years ago using nothing better than scaff boards! I have since replaced part of the board nearest the boat (using a planed down elm base plank from Cannis) plus I replaced the tingles last winter in Iroco, which were completely rotten. It appears that the stem post is original, as adze shaped by Alan 45 years ago, plus the metalwork which was already second hand. Then there is the removable tiller arm - this is exactly as made in the 1980's and came from a bent branch found in a sawmill.

Its funny how layers of history emerge.

Parker Branch Canal

Parker Branch Canal

October 2023

The Parker Branch is little more than a long basin which left the Mainline  to the west at Bromford Junction serving the Oldbury Railway Carriage and Waggon Works.

Entrance to the Parker Branch under L&NWR Railway 1956 - G Wyton Worcestershire Archive

Inside the Parker Branch 1956 - G Wyton Worcestershire Archive

The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).

New Main Line north of Pudding Green Junction

Tame Valley Canal

 Tame Valley Canal

A handful of archive photos from the Tame Valley Canal

Aqueduct over the River Tame carrying the Birmingham and Fazeley at Salford Junction - BCNS Archive

The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).