"Steaming Up" - Issue 9 - April 2003

News of the return home to Black Country Living Museum

President at Windmill End

From the Editor of Steaming Up - Simon Nuttall

What a day! On Saturday 29th March the blades turned for the first time in “anger” since September 2000. I apologise for the delay in sending this out, but I have also had a major event – the birth of twins to my wife Rachel – 15 weeks early, so a bit of a surprise.

This issue is essentially a pictorial record of the day’s events for those who weren’t able to be there. As some who was there we had a wonderful day. It was great to be down in the engine room with the sights, sounds and smell of steam. I am pleased to report that all basically went well with the steam plant. I will be asking Dave Stott to give me a full report for the next issue of “Steaming Up” .

Now the boat is back at the museum preparations can be made for the new boating season. Please complete your crewing forms and send them back to Richard. If you have lost yours then further copies can be downloaded from the website. Very happy Steaming.

Simon Nuttall

The Journey Home Saturday 29th March - by Simon Nuttall

When I arrived at 6:00 pm on Friday night it seemed impossible to believe she would be able to go on Saturday. There were tools everywhere, people rushing about with paintbrushes, welding gear and various other tools. There is a saying that without the last minute nothing would get done. It wasn’t quite like it but to the untrained eye, it looked like chaos. As the last to arrive I was deemed the gofer and spent the evening ensuring everyone had the right equipment to complete the job in hand. In addition Dave Stott was warming the boiler through which I was able to help with. By about 8:30 the hunger bug was striking. I therefore volunteered to visit the local chippy, as I joked with the staff I was not local so did not fully understand the intricacies of ordering Doner Kebabs. It was just as well therefore that Marion Kemp gave me a fully detailed order (in writing) with their requirements. The FoP brigade (the two Daves and I) stuck to more traditional “fried fish fare” But after a late night – we eventually hit the sack just after midnight it was almost finished.

The formal handover from Ian Kemp ( centre ) to Dave Powell ( right ) with Dave Stott ( left )

The original plan had been to stay on ‘Kildare’ however a last minute change led us to the Village hotel. The hotel has a very good arrangement for Friday and Saturday nights (and possibly Sunday). It allows you to book at the last minute “stand by “rooms at the rate of £30 per room – per night. This includes twin rooms and breakfast. It also has the added bonus of both the Village pub and residents bar! Both of which had only brief custom from the now weary FoP crew, as the alarm call had been booked for 6:00. The crew for the day consisted of David Powell, Dave Stott, Brian Empsall, Nick Haynes, John Byham and I. The plan was that it would take about 8 hours to get back to the museum. Hence an eight o’clock departure would see us back around four. In the end it was just after ten when we left... Before doing so there was a ceremonial handover of the tiller pin.

It didn’t take long for us to fall back into our normal habits – as we hit the bottom on the first lock! We also hit the bottom on most of the rest up the Stourbridge sixteen and the Delph. When we reached Factory locks the middle pound was down by about 2 feet – although this is fairly routine. We eventually reversed into the museum arm at about 7:00 and once again had to do battle with “THE” bridge. By this time we were down to four crew, Brian and Nick having left us in the early afternoon. However, there were other boaters to help with the bridge which had even been greased. We eventually tied up by 7:30 and left for home at 8:00. A tiring 24 hours but wonderful all the same – and what’s more she’s back!

Simon Nuttall