photo as tug No 2

Her hull is made from riveted iron plates and she once had an elm bottom, now replaced with steel. She has a pointed bow with a raked curved stem, and a counter stern. The current engine is an inboard Lister diesel; model HB2, with two cylinders and twenty-two horsepower, made in 1960.

ANTLIA worked for GUCCCL between 1936 and 1941. She was then commandeered by the Ministry of War Transport and was used on the River Lee as a fire fighting boat until 1945. After the war, she worked as a maintenance boat until 1949 for the South East Division. In 1950, she was transferred to Gloucester via the Kennet and Avon Canal and was among the last six boats to use the canal before it closed.

She went on to become a maintenance boat for the South West Division until 1956, when she was chopped in half. Her stern was taken by the tug TARDEBIGGE and the bow by WATER VIXEN; a British Waterways holiday boat. The two ends were re-joined in 1994 and she has since been restored to cargo carrying condition. 

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From September 1935, she worked for the GUCCCL in the London Docks taking zinc ingots, steel bars and other cargoes to the Midlands and returning with coal. She may have been laid up from 1938 to 1947 in London. From September 1947 to January 1989, she was a maintenance boat on the Bridgewater canal.

The current owner bought her in 1989, after she had sunk for three months the previous year, due to corrosion and lack of maintenance. A complete restoration was undertaken between 1990 and 1993 at Ellesmere.

MSC Co Works Tug No 2

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Cabin built by
Malcolm Braine was camper 72 - 80 80-96 in private ownership Extensive partial restoration was carried out by Martin Cox, boatbuilder, during this time which accounts largely for Almighty's (GRUS / CECIL) survival and relatively good condition.

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Prior to 1939, she was transferred to a subsidiary group known as the Erewash Canal Company. In the late 1940s, after nationalisation, LACERTA went on to be used as a maintenance boat on the Erewash Canal and River Stour. By 1962, she was in a poor state and was taken to a repair yard at Newark where twenty six feet of the straight plates were removed from her length and the elm boards were replaced with steel. She continued to work on maintenance duties until 1989, when British Waterways put her up for disposal by tender.

 was at Stourbridge 10/00

She was built as a cargo carrying vessel and was part of the British Transport Waterways fleet. They converted her for pleasure use between 1958/60 and at that time she was named WATER BUCK. A steel top was added in 1977 and she was then renamed PERSEUS.

RADIANT is in good condition and has retained her original cabin with only a few modifications made in the 1950s. Her hull is constructed of riveted steel plate and she has a pointed bow and counter stern. She has a towing mast and her current engine is an inboard Lister HR3, with three cylinders and forty-three horsepower, made in 1971. Her engine room has been extended to take a three inch Gwyne water pump. She still works as a loaded pair and was re-united with her butty REGULUS in 1994.

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She was sold by GUCCC to Stanton & Staveley Ironworks at Ilkeston in 1942; sold to Stuarts & Lloyds at Coombeswood Tube Works at Halesowen in 1947. She was afterwards taken to Harris at Netherton and shortened to tug length and used to tow day boats in and around Birmingham.

Name changes have followed changes in ownership and include VESTA NO.96, STANTON 61 and TUG NO.3. She is currently based at Shardlow, Derbyshire.

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She was a well travelled cargo vessel, working on the Grand Union Canal, Regents Canal and the River Thames as well as the Bridgewater Canal and the Birmingham area in her later working years. Since 1962 she has been used as a pleasure boat but since 1975 has been kept in the form of a cargo carrying vessel with camping space under the sheets. She is based at Moore, Cheshire.

WILLIAM belonged to the Royalty class which were the prototypes built for the recently enlarged Grand Union Canal in 1931: these were larger than any other canal boat and carried a number of experimental features.

Her hull is made of riveted steel, with the boatman's cabin constructed of tongue and groove planks on an oak frame. Her bow is pointed with a counter stern. The current engine is a four stoke diesel, with two cylinders and 20brake horsepower, made in 1958 by Petter PD2.

From 1936 to 1948, ALTON worked for the GUCCCL carrying general cargos such as timber, grain and packaged goods. Following nationalisation, she was taken over by the British Transport Commission and used for cargo carrying, including coal, until 1964. Willow Wren CTS Ltd. then employed her until 1970 and, during this time, she carried grain, aluminium and copper ingots, also coal. From 1971 to 1994, she worked for the Narrow Boat Trust Ltd. carrying coal and was fitted with a new bottom in 1971.

She was purchased by the present owner in 1994 and is now being restored to carry minor cargos. She is in good overall condition and care is being taken to preserve her original appearance and features. She is the only narrow boat of her kind known to have retained a planked wooden boatman's cabin.

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The engine is a Petter PD2, with two cylinders and twenty horsepower at 1500rpm, made in 1958.

ALDGATE was built as a pair with ANGEL, but entered service with ASTON in 1937 at Rickmansworth. She remained in service with GUCCCL until 1947, then both vessels passed to the British Transport Corporation, before being transferred again to Willow Wren Carriers, then George Matty of Oldbury and latterly the Colne Valley Carriers. Due to maintenance and repairs the boats were occasionally separated, but were finally re-united in 1994 by their current owners.

The vessel is in full working order and was re-bottomed in 1995. She has recently carried a variety of cargoes including coal, timber, beer, concrete, medical supplies, boat trailers, marquees and a prefabricated building. In 1995, ALDGATE and ANGEL were part of a thirty-one boat flotilla that crossed the channel (on a ferry) to promote British Waterways in Flanders, Belgium.

BATH�s history is as follows: 1946 sold to Flixborough Shipping Co. of Horninglow, Burton, then at an unknown date, sold into private ownership to John Wallis and converted to a private residence; 1953 converted from screw propulsion to a form of jet propulsion at Ted Jones yard at Glascote. (The experiment was unsuccessful and she was sold to Samuel Barlow who reconverted her back to screw propulsion.) 1955 registered as PRINCE by Coronet Canal Carrying Co; 1957 bought by Samuel Barlow and renamed BENBOW; 1961 bought by K H Turton, Wolverhampton 1960s? bought by Tardebigge Boat Co. and converted to a luxury hire boat 1979 bought by John Wilkinson and later that year by D & I Turner whilst the boat was semi sunk and without an engine.