British Transport Commission British Waterways. The Calder & Hebble Navigation booklet, c1960
A large proportion of Britain's canals were nationalised in 1948 and indeed many were already owned by the railway companies. Under BTC a Docks and Inland Waterways Executive was set up and when the Commission was abolished in 1962 the waterways were moved into the British Waterways Board, now the Canal & River Trust. British Waterways effectively saw a transition from canals as freight arteries to more leisure based uses and this booklet highlights this. It was one of a series of similar publications, this detailing the West Yorkshire Calder & Hebble Navigation.
At the time this canal came to a dead end in Sowerby Bridge with the Rochdale Canal, at the time abandoned and oddly still privately owned. In one of the great turnrounds of the canal restoarion movement the early 20th Century saw the restoration and reopening of the Rochdale. Issued to promote a summer cruising programme along the 21.5 miles of navigable water the booklet notes that some freight, such as coal, is still carried but describes the scenery that was still in places quite industrial! It also gives a guide as to "how a lock works" - as you'd navigate through 26 of these that was probably a good idea!
The booklet is very much in the tradition of the BTC that had high standards of graphic design and typography and it is a shame no designer nor printer is shown. The wavy blue lines and the BW version of the LT 'roundel', that echoes a life ring, are all rather neat.
British Transport Commission British Waterways. The Calder & Hebble Navigation booklet, c1960
A large proportion of Britain's canals were nationalised in 1948 and indeed many were already owned by the railway companies. Under BTC a Docks and Inland Waterways Executive was set up and when the Commission was abolished in 1962 the waterways were moved into the British Waterways Board, now the Canal & River Trust. British Waterways effectively saw a transition from canals as freight arteries to more leisure based uses and this booklet highlights this. It was one of a series of similar publications, this detailing the West Yorkshire Calder & Hebble Navigation.
At the time this canal came to a dead end in Sowerby Bridge with the Rochdale Canal, at the time abandoned and oddly still privately owned. In one of the great turnrounds of the canal restoarion movement the early 20th Century saw the restoration and reopening of the Rochdale. Issued to promote a summer cruising programme along the 21.5 miles of navigable water the booklet notes that some freight, such as coal, is still carried but describes the scenery that was still in places quite industrial! It also gives a guide as to "how a lock works" - as you'd navigate through 26 of these that was probably a good idea!
The booklet is very much in the tradition of the BTC that had high standards of graphic design and typography and it is a shame no designer nor printer is shown. The wavy blue lines and the BW version of the LT 'roundel', that echoes a life ring, are all rather neat.