When coal was King – Part 2

As I hinted at in part one, I was one of these young lads who did not like school and sort every opportunity to ‘wagg’ off and explore things that I was more into – canals – I have said before that I think that this was a result of following my elder sister through school. She was the studious one becoming head girl, a prefect and then going on to become a teacher herself until retiring a couple of years ago. It did not matter how hard I tried at school, all my teachers, who had also taught my sister, just used to say to me “your not a patch on your sister” “your sister would have done better” etc. until by the age of about 13 I believed them and so gave up! And so by this time I would cycle to school along the canal via the Birmingham New main line and the Toll End Communication Canal to school, if I met or passed any boats I knew, my bike would be thrown on at the next bridge ‘ole and a days tug and joey boating was on the cards. Some days I wouldn’t even attempt to go to school but just ride round the cut on my bike until I found ‘something’ going on.

At this point I feel that there is something that I must mention. Those who know me well know that I am a devil for detail and get uptight when I hear people misquoting names or descriptions like cabin roof instead of cabin top or forward and reverse instead of astern and ahead. Well another of my pet misquotes is the term Joey boats. You read things like an event at the Black Country Museum where they might have a ‘tug weekend’ where you will be able to see tugs towing joey boats around. Sorry WRONG - tugs towing ‘B.C.N day boats’ or ‘railway boats’ but not joey boats. Joey boat is the term that is reserved for the basic design wooden narrowboats where the rudder or ‘ickey’ as B.C.N. folk called them, could be hung from either end to save winding and sometimes with a very basic cabin about 5foot long with two bench seats and a bottle stove. With that off my chest I will get on with the blog

Born and bred long distance boating stock were very suspicious of people ‘off the land’ and, until accepted, interacted very little with them. Children at bridge ‘oles or lock sides would either be ignored or told in no uncertain terms to go away. So to shout “gizza lift mate” to a Thos Clayton tar boat was a complete waste of time and breath. However most of the people who worked on the B.C.N. were not of the same boating stock but simply people ‘off the land’ who simply worked all their lives on the cut and as such tended to be a little more approachable, like Harry Arnold (anybody from Tipton knows the Arnolds – a very big hard family) who used to horse boat slack from Sandwell Colliery to Ocker Hill Power Station.

A fairly typical ‘day off’ for me would be – up at 7.30am, dressed in school uniform, (luckily black trousers, grey socks, black shoes and black blazer) breakfast and off. Sandwiches into satchel, satchel fastened over bike cross bar, kiss, tarrah and away. Cycle down to the end of the street and up ‘the banks’ onto the towpath of the Birmingham New Main Line opposite Dudley Port railway station. Look into the distance in both directions to see if any boats were visible and I’d be off in that direction, if none about then I would decide which way I was going to go, left or right.

Left. I would head off towards Factory Junction, under the sounding bridges, over Puppy Green akerduck then onto the cross brige over the rivet factory arm then along the long straight to Watery Lane Junction where the Tipton Green three locks went off to the left, then on up to the bottom lock of Factory three. Over the split bridge and up the flight to Factory junction at the top, if no boats about then I would retrace my route but on the opposite towpath so back down the flight. Next to the bottom lock at Factory used to be a tiny brick building. Many hours were spent in this hovel talking to the BWB. Employee who I only ever knew as Jack. This short but rotund lock keeper, looked after this and other lock flights in the area. He rode what I can only describe as a ladies shopping bike with large white bulbous tyres on small diameter wheels and a huge carrier over the back wheel. In this he kept a windlass and a can of oil for lubricating the paddle gear. The hovel itself contained various canal paraphernalia including spares, boat hooks and a keb. Which he used for removing rubbish from the locks which would then be burnt on the lock side. Off again towards Birmingham past the arm to Lee Howel pump factory under Owen Street Bridge and then past the disused railway interchange basin which was to later become Caggy Stevens yard when he moved from Whimsey bridge. Next to Watery lane Junction then a left turn onto the Ocker Hill Communication canal and down the flight of Toll End locks to the back of Tipton County Grammar School, and another boring day with the ‘masters’.

Right I would head off towards Birmingham over the old Dudley Port ackerduck then on to Dudley Port Junction and the Netherton Branch, or as we called it ‘the cross bridges’. At this point I would cross over to the opposite towpath, unless looking towards Dunkirk stop, Matty’s chemical boats were unloading at the marl hole, if not continue on to Albion Junction and left turn down the Walsall canal , past R B Tudors coal yard with their little Ricky motor boat Albion (Antaries) and their Joey’s Stroud and Endeavour. On to then Riders Green Lock flight, which were known as ‘the greasy eight’ , down the flight to the junction of the other end of the Toll End Communication Canal and on up to school.

At any point I could meet any number of local ‘boaters’ who would let me on, if for no more than setting locks or helping bow hall the joey’s through the locks and pounds.

C W Mitchards Had a wharf on the inside of the tight turn by Owen Street bridge, opposite the Tipton Slashers old pub The Fountain. They had a powerful wooden tug called Jubilee about 45 foot long. I was told by the tug driver that it was made from the old Dudley Tunnel tug George. This was a double ended tug with a bolinder mounted in the middle with a propeller at each end. When no longer needed for the tunnel it was bought by Mitchards and they had the one counter cut off and a bow put on. One thing I do remember was it’s bright paintwork in green, red, and yellow lining which made a change from the many ‘tatty’ boats about the B.C.N. The other thing I remember about Mitchards was difficulty in getting round the sharp turn sometimes due to the many loaded unloaded joey’s randomly zig zagged across the canal.

Mick Davies: was a big man, I always remember being fascinated by his huge hands and his ability to hand tie even the smallest of fishing hooks! He was employed to unload joey boats at B. Masters coal yard at the end of the Ocker Hill Branch. Himself and another guy, who I can’t remember his name, would unload a fully laden joey in a day. A joey boat would be loaded with about 25 tons of house coal. This would be loaded into three piles called ‘rucks’ between the cross beams, and armed with nothing more than a No 10 coking shovel, would work all day throwing the coal out onto the wharf. Mick used to say it was a bugger to start off with until you had cleared a spot down to the boards, then it was easy. All the years took it’s toll though for in the 1980’s he would always be seen either wearing or carrying a gabardine Mac to disguise his huge hernia. Sadly not long after having it ‘fixed’ when he was well into his eighties, he died and so another B.C.N. character was gone, in fact there are probably only a handful of people left who I would have known at that time, such as Geoff Bennett who worked for Caggy Stevens, but that’s another blog perhaps, so until then as always,

Don’t bang ‘em about

Blossom..