Danny's tale
The steamship 'Daniel Adamson', moored on the still waters of the Weaver Navigation at Sutton Weaver, catches a bit of sun as she rests up between duties. Meantime, the 9.53am Manchester Piccadilly - Holyhead train (1D34) passes above.
Built at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead in 1903, this coal-fired steam powered tug was originally named the 'Ralph Brocklebank' and designed to tow long strings of barges laden with goods from the inland towns of Cheshire and The Potteries to the mighty sea-port of Liverpool.
With the decline in canal freight traffic after the First World War she was eventually sold to the Manchester Ship Canal Company in 1922 where, amongst other things, she commenced carrying passengers between Manchester and the canal entrance at Eastham, as well as being used for ceremonial duties for visiting foreign dignitaries.
In 1936 she was given a refit with an upper deck and two saloons added boasting an elegant art-deco finish - more in keeping with her new duties - and renamed the 'Daniel Adamson'.
With container traffic making rapid inroads, the fortunes of both the Manchester Ship Canal and the Port of Liverpool declined and the ship, now 80 years old, was retired in 1984 and moved to Ellesmere Port Boat Museum as a static exhibit. However, successive funding cuts resulted in her condition showing signs of neglect and, with some vandalism too, she was earmarked for scrap in 2004.
When word got around of her imminent demise a campaign, spearheaded by Mersey tug skipper Dan Cross, saw supporters emerge who were willing to provide help and funds to get her operational again. A further and substantial award of £3.8m was received from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2015.
Today, visitors can enjoy guided tours around the elegant interior as well as take cruises along the local navigations. To find out more about this fascinating boat's story, go to www.thedanny.co.uk
Note: this is the second time I've bagged this shot in the last few days with the expectation I'd catch the usual Skip, and also the second time the loco+carriage set has been substituted for a pair of two-car DMUs. Given the unusually still water conditions I figured I'd process and upload this version anyway and, in fact looking at it, I've a feeling a red DB liveried Skip might just steal attention away from the real star of the show! For the record, the units are 150217 and 158819.
10.42am, 19th November 2018
Danny's tale
The steamship 'Daniel Adamson', moored on the still waters of the Weaver Navigation at Sutton Weaver, catches a bit of sun as she rests up between duties. Meantime, the 9.53am Manchester Piccadilly - Holyhead train (1D34) passes above.
Built at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead in 1903, this coal-fired steam powered tug was originally named the 'Ralph Brocklebank' and designed to tow long strings of barges laden with goods from the inland towns of Cheshire and The Potteries to the mighty sea-port of Liverpool.
With the decline in canal freight traffic after the First World War she was eventually sold to the Manchester Ship Canal Company in 1922 where, amongst other things, she commenced carrying passengers between Manchester and the canal entrance at Eastham, as well as being used for ceremonial duties for visiting foreign dignitaries.
In 1936 she was given a refit with an upper deck and two saloons added boasting an elegant art-deco finish - more in keeping with her new duties - and renamed the 'Daniel Adamson'.
With container traffic making rapid inroads, the fortunes of both the Manchester Ship Canal and the Port of Liverpool declined and the ship, now 80 years old, was retired in 1984 and moved to Ellesmere Port Boat Museum as a static exhibit. However, successive funding cuts resulted in her condition showing signs of neglect and, with some vandalism too, she was earmarked for scrap in 2004.
When word got around of her imminent demise a campaign, spearheaded by Mersey tug skipper Dan Cross, saw supporters emerge who were willing to provide help and funds to get her operational again. A further and substantial award of £3.8m was received from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2015.
Today, visitors can enjoy guided tours around the elegant interior as well as take cruises along the local navigations. To find out more about this fascinating boat's story, go to www.thedanny.co.uk
Note: this is the second time I've bagged this shot in the last few days with the expectation I'd catch the usual Skip, and also the second time the loco+carriage set has been substituted for a pair of two-car DMUs. Given the unusually still water conditions I figured I'd process and upload this version anyway and, in fact looking at it, I've a feeling a red DB liveried Skip might just steal attention away from the real star of the show! For the record, the units are 150217 and 158819.
10.42am, 19th November 2018