Thursday 26th April 1990

The schedule said this is departure day for the trip to London. However, because the long refit and new boiler commissioning was not quite complete, we had already realised we would not leave today, and perhaps not even tomorrow.

Maurice Parker phoned last night, having been out on the boat as far as Factory Junction during the day. The day had gone well, but he had a gloomily long list of things to be sorted before we left.

The crew for the first 2 days was just 3 - Andrew Flack, Malcolm Nixon and myself (Tony Millatt). We were joined for the day by Nigel Jackson and Paul Wooldridge from the Museum, and Dave Stott. Nigel put the doors back on the engine hole. Paul, Dave and Andrew spent much of the day sorting out problems in the engine hole; Malcolm and I concentrated on making sure everything was on board, in the hold, where it could be found, and not left behind in the Bolinder shed. It rained. Trevor Hale arrived to paint the rusting new cabin top. We moved the boat under Broad Street bridge, and with a fire in the boiler it dried enough to paint. Rain poured in through leaks in the boatman's cabin roof and sides - hope it doesn't rain this trip...
The man from the Birmingham Post arrived to take our photo - we were not sure we wanted to see him, but put on a brave face - and the photo sitting on a wet boat in gloom under the bridge turned out very well.
Put water in the 4 large barrels in the front of the hold to bring the bow down.

We compiled a long shopping list of things essential for the trip. Paul disappeared with it and the Museum did a great job of satisfying our requests - we much appreciated it later in the trip when some of the items became essential.

Dave and I paid a visit to William Rounds to pack 21 sacks of their timber offcuts ready for collection from their wharf in the morning - I think this is enough to get to London on wood.

Evening came, along with the Chairman bearing goods and encouragement, and Tony Gregory and Bob Derricott from the Canal Panel to make sure we weren't stuck for anything. We reluctantly decided to steal Nigel Jacksons pretty red aluminium kettle - on the basis that we had no other that held water. Dave Powell was appointed to try and make the peace with him.

10pm cleaned up in Brook Street, and up to Dudley for a burger. At the end of the day, despite having no coal bunkers fitted, a worrying vibration with the engine running, many leaks of varying intensity ranging from the weed hatch to steam pipes and water pipes, enough coal for about 2 days etc etc., - we decided we would leave in the morning.

Friday 27th April 1990

Up in good time, boiler lit 04:45. Andy adopted a leisurely approach to raising steam while we got on with other jobs. 7:30 we moved down the arm through the lift bridge, and at 8:07 we left, with only Trevor Hale to see us go. About 50 psi on the clock. 21 bags of wood loaded at Rounds - then along to Factory Locks and the New Main Line.

Sun shining, kettle boiling, and on the move at last - a great feeling after 18 months wondering when (and sometimes if) the boat would move again. The boat ran reasonably well - we were still burning the old coal with a lot of slack in it. A lot of the day was spent with the pressure around 50 psi and by the end of a long day, we had used eleven 55 pound bags of coal. With no coal bunkers yet, we put about 5 bags in the engine room beside the boiler. and tipped them into a box as required. The weed hatch was still leaking. The vibration from Wednesday was absent - was it just rubbish on the blades?

We found the bottom several times. At 1pm we had a brief stop at Old Turn to acquire some lunch, but otherwise we just tried to keep going. As the day progressed it became clear that we would not make The Boot at Lapworth by nightfall. We ploughed a furrow through Earlswood - full power and about half a knot.

We knew we would have a reception committee somewhere, but Sean Neill was the first to find us - on his bicycle he did not have the benefit of the infernal combustion engine, so he could hear us coming long before he met us at Waring's Green.

21:15 aground in middle of channel at Hockley Heath.
21:30 dark - moored by bridge 26. Many people waiting for us - even the Police arrived after 10 minutes to see what we were doing. 'Vulcan' - our other home for the trip - was down at Kingswood Junction, so we had a car trip down there for the first of many warm welcomes from Pauline and Alan Pease. Andy stayed to look after 'President'.

On the move: 12 hrs 45 mins, 11 bags of coal (old stock), 3 locks & 24.75 miles

Saturday 28th April 1990

Back to the boat by 8am to meet the coal lorry. Cloths off, barrels pumped out and hold cleared. 4 tons of Deep Navigation Welsh Dry Steam small nuts arrived on the back of a lorry. It was in 55lb bags, packed in a rush the night before and kindly supplied by Charringtons Fuels. We raised bridge 26 (fortunately a lift bridge), moored 'President' in the bridge hole, and backed the lorry up to the edge. Most of the coal was put in front of the towing mast - in the end the weight was too far forward and the counter too high out of the water, so we later moved some aft. Less than an hour to load the coal, with Sean Neill and Dave Goodman to help, but a further hour and a half putting the rest of the contents back in the hold and putting the cloths on.

Excited by a visit from all the family, Andy fell off the gunwhale and cracked a rib - it made him a little sore for the rest of the trip, but he still claimed to have thoroughly enjoyed himself.

10:50 - on the move at last. One more lift bridge, and then down Lapworth locks, accompanied by more helpers and friends. Malcolm, trying to avoid anyone setting locks more than one ahead, reprimanded the kind gentleman who had set the next 7 locks for us - and then discovered it was Dave French, the lock keeper. A warm sunny day.

13:40 Out of the locks and round Kingswood Junction. 'Vulcan' fell in behind, and we relaxed and enjoyed the sandwiches Pauline had delivered two locks back.

'Vulcan' - a near sister to 'President' - is our support for the whole of the trip to London, Etruria and back to Dudley. Accommodation on 'President' is a bit limited and rather intimate for more than one, so we enjoyed the comfort of 'Vulcan' along with Pauline's cooking. It was very nice at the end of a long day to know that you could collapse onto 'Vulcan' and everything would be ready for you.

A bad omen - Andy escaped from the engine hole and was to be found steering, AND ENJOYING IT. He was there for most of the rest of the day, leaving Dave Goodman to become thoroughly familiar with the the new boiler. This was, after all, a training run.

15:30 Hatton Top Lock - 'President' and 'Vulcan' breasted up. Andrew Laycock and Bob Jervis also with us to help down the locks.
17:50 clear Hatton Bottom Lock.
19:10 stopped on the railway aqueduct before Leamington waiting for steam train 'Clan Line'. It was late, and we gave up waiting.
20:00 moored below Radford Lock for the night.

On the move: 9 hrs 30 mins, 7 x 55lb bags of coal (new stock), 42 locks & 15.5 miles

Sunday 29th April 1990

05:30 Boiler lit, range lit, and the first of many cups of tea on the go.
07:00 tested the boiler water. For the new boiler we are regularly testing the water to ensure that it does not get acidic and the total dissolved solids do not get too high. Nalfloc have very kindly donated the testing equipment and enough water treatment chemicals to last us for quite some time. Testing the water is thus becoming an early morning ritual.

08:00 Breakfast in the open air - going to be another beautiful day.
09:00 Maurice Parker and Sean Neill arrived for the day, and we set off up the locks. The schedule for the day was easy, so we stopped for lunch at Stockton - time to look at the boats there and for some to visit the Sunday market. Up Stockton, Calcutt and along the windy curvy bit with its interesting blind bridge holes to Braunston.

17:20 At Braunston we were invited into Braunston Marina and given a warm welcome and a nice mooring on their water point by Tim Coghlan. We were very close to the old FMC transhipment shed - often 'President's destination in former days. More importantly, we were loaned a key to the SHOWERS.

On the move: 7 hrs 30 mins, 7 bags of coal,23 locks & 14 miles

Monday 30th April 1990

06:00 ashes ashore and boiler lit. They use ash to seal the stop planks for the two dry docks here, so there was even a special box for them. We added some of 10 litres of the A514 treatment to the boiler, and cleaned the new fine filters in the canal water inlet line. Maurice Parker and Dave Goodman left last night, and David Upton joined us this morning.

09:00 departure, with myself in the engine room and Andy determined to get us round the turn, watched by the very critical Braunston audience on the Blue Line bridge. A fill of diesel for 'Vulcan' and then eventually into the bottom lock. For Braunston Tunnel we sent 'Vulcan' ahead - it gave us something to steer by, and avoided 'Vulcan' being lost in a cloud of steam. We had a battery driven light on the foredeck - a concession to the penetrating quartz-halogen lights coming the other way.

At Buckby Top Lock we were inspected by Mr Green, whose father had FMC's wooden motor 'Daffodil' for most of its life. It had a Bolinder, and had once been down the London tideway as far as Woolwich Arsenal.

14:00 clear of Buckby Bottom Lock - sandwiches on board and another late lunch. A nice long run to Blisworth now. Malcolm enjoyed himself round the sweeping curves before Weedon and then handed over to David Upton. Time to catch up on a few jobs - paint the cabin chimney and slide. Another hard scrubbing of the wood on the counter which was still suffering from 18 months worth of dirty boots at the B.C.M. Andy painting in the engine room. Will the brilliant white steam pipe lagging stay white for long? Much of the smoke box was painted yesterday - an interesting operation as it was fairly hot at the time.

1500 Weedon & tea. 17:25 Gaydon and stewed tea. 17:55 Blisworth. 18:45 moor by the museum at Stoke Bruerne. We had done an average 3mph over the long pound from Buckby. Welcomed by David Powell, and soon visited by Alan Orton from Cochran's to see if his boiler had made it. We were pleased to assure him that it was going well, and our only concern was the various knocks from the engine.

On the move: 9 hrs 30 mins, 7 bags of coal, 13 locks & 20.25 miles

Tuesday 1st May 1990

5.45 boiler lit. Andy took cylinder heads off looking for knocks - and had to tighten nuts holding the piston. Bob Sawyer sat on the picnic benches at the museum making new gaskets at 7am. 7.50am departure down locks (still no time for breakfast). Stopped in Lock 19 for a date with the Harlesdon Heath Garden Centre lorry and 2 more tons of coal. Loaded it as far aft as possible and left the top clothes off for the rest of the day.

10am on the move - long pound to Cosgrove, a brief meeting with FMC 'Linda' and then along through the miles of Milton Keynes. At Stoke Hammond Peter Chalk appeared from the bushes. Up Soulbury, Leighton and moored 20.30 at Linslade. Top clothes put back on in the dark. Crew changes - Daves Powell and Stott arrived, and David Upton left (by a late train). Andrew Flack left next morning.

On the move: 11 hrs 15 mins, 7.5 bags of coal, 14 locks & 25.75 miles

Wednesday 2nd May 1990

The story is familiar but some of the characters have changed. Boiler lit before 6, breakfast at 7.30 and on the move at 8.30. Warm weather, milk gone off and the hobnobs melting. Several locks to keep us occupied. Lunch by the White Lion at Marsworth. Then Marsworth flight, Tring, Dave Powell doing some painting along the summit, and Cowroast at 4.15pm. This was our objective for the night, but we wanted to keep going to try to get to Little Venice for the Friday night. The bicycle was brought into use for the spread out locks descending through Berkhampstead. 19.35 moored at Winkwell. Put the boat to bed, ate, and time for a late drink in the Three Horseshoes.

We tend to let the fire die down overnight - it is usually low at the end of the day, and should not be generating much steam. The boiler can cool gradually overnight, and there are usually a few psi left in the morning.

On the move: 10 hrs 7 bags of coal, 33 locks & 17.25 miles

Thursday 3rd May 1990

The Chairman put the hot sooty kettle down on the cabin slide he had painted yesterday afternoon. He was not pleased. However, the brass is definitely improving and the boat is looking a bit smarter. Stopped at Apsley to use the BW facilities and to clean the boiler water filters. The new fine filters pick up the fine mud that previously got into the boiler - but the result is they need regular cleaning.

Just before lunch a valve rod bent on the Worthington Simpson feed pump, putting it out of action. Contacted Worthington on the phone (the modern technology on 'Vulcan' has its uses) but they no longer stock spares (it is pre-1900 and they make the spares as required). Decided to keep going - the injector is working well so we still have one means of getting water in the boiler. The injector is new (the old one was cracked) and is somewhat bigger than before. Turn it on and forget it for more than a minute, and you have a LOT of water in the boiler.

Below Batchworth we gave the 'resting' hull of 'Sultan' a whistle - she must have met 'President' and 'Vulcan' many times in days gone by.

18.40 moored by the Fisheries Inn below Copper Mill Lock. Fed Daves Powell and Stott and sent them off. Then painted 'President's gunwhales in the dusk. John Connett joined us.

On the move: 8 hrs 15 mins, 6 bags of coal, 25 locks 14 miles

Friday 4th May 1990

Another hot sunny day. By Uxbridge we had met the first boats that were also going to Little Venice. At Bulls Bridge we met the steam launch 'Spray', also about to set off. The plan was to stop at Sainsbury's at Kensal Green to stock up with food and traditional lemonade for the weekend, and we joined a few other Little Venice-bound boats with the same idea. Sainsbury's did not comment on the presence of fully-kitted-out steamer crew wheeling shopping trolleys around, but it did add to the atmosphere there. They do, after all, have their own canal basin on the site.

Most of the boats at Little Venice were moored end-on in Brownings Pool. We were directed towards Paddington Basin - a nice bit of green on the left. The boat suddenly stopped about 6 feet out from the bank. Perhaps not such a good mooring after all, but some fishing with the shaft produced a B.R. Paddington Luggage trolley - not to be removed from Paddington Station. Having sorted that problem, we could get nicely alongside, and moor 'Vulcan' on the outside. George Naldrett arrived with 'Viceroy' a little later, 'The King' was further down the Arm, and 'Colonel' was in the Pool - we could have held our own steamer rally.

On the move: 8 hrs 7 bags of coal, 5 locks & 23.25 miles

The trip from Dudley to London via the Northern Stratford is 155 miles and 158 locks. It had taken 8 days, with 77 hours on the move, and we had used one and a half tons of coal which puts the cost of the coal at about a pound a mile.

Saturday 5th May 1990

We were in London for the Canalway Cavalcade organised by the London IWA. It was a good event - well organised, lots of boats, lots of visitors including many non-boaters, a good mooring for us, and good weather.

A lot of the Saturday was occupied by the Pageant of Boats - we left the moorings at 11.30, winded in Paddington Basin and made our way back to Kensal Green to wind and return to Farthing Bridge for the start. We were joined by Bob Bossine's steam launch 'Spray' - a teak ex-Admiralty cutter built in 1906 so just a little older than 'President'. She has a water tube boiler built by Bob - raises steam in 20 minutes - and a 2 cylinder oscillating Vee engine, also built by Bob.

Loitering on the towpath were more 'Friends' with an impressive very positive approach to fund raising. They supported us throughout the Little Venice visit.

We were at the tail end of the pageant, following 'Spray' and with 'Vulcan' behind us. We went through the Pool, down to Camden Lock and back to the moorings. It was a very slow trip, mainly because the tunnel is one way only. We had the paraffin light boat lamp mounted on the cratch, and were quite disappointed that we could not create a good fog in the tunnel.

Getting back to the moorings was entertaining - the Pool was now very congested, and the approach to Paddington Basin even better. The berthing master had it calculated not to waste any of the water area. Moored at 17.37, after a long exercise in drifting with occasional touches of the engine.

One of the modern boats at the rally - Tony Gould's 'Foxglove' built for FMC in 1947 - could not find a berth in the Pool and joined us on the outside. She has a Bolinder, so we now had a nice mixture of steam, Lister JP2 and Bolinder. I have to confess that some visitors were as interested in the JP2 or Bolinder as they were in the steam plant.

Sunday 6th May 1990

Steam all day, but did not leave the mooring. Bob Bossine from Kew Bridge Steam Museum was asked by the Black Country Living Museum to look over the engine to try and diagnose the source of the knocks we had had all the way down. He spent the morning with us, and raised several points.

We were invited to help judge the boat handling contest, so in the afternoon Alan Pease went off to perform this pleasant duty. LBC Radio had arrived and did an interview. We were presented with a cheque for £1,000 from the IWA towards the boiler fund. We had lots of visitors.

In the evening the illuminated boat procession gathered alongside us and at the last minute yours truly was invited to steer the leading boat. Interesting, as it was dark and the instructions were vague. It all finished with a firework display.

Monday 7th May 1990

More sun and visitors. We left the moorings at 14.30 - Ian Walden and his wife arrived 2 minutes later, but we managed to get them on board. Winded in Paddington Basin, paid our respects to 'The King' and back to the Pool. Moored alongside 'Spray' to discuss the engine and fixing it. Then away down the Regents Canal to Battlebridge Basin, and moorings for 'President' and 'Vulcan' for the next two weeks.

We had many 'Friends' helping us in London, including Celia and John Byham, Jenny and Peter Chalk, John Connett, Malcolm Nixon, Maurice Parker, Pauline and Alan Pease, David Powell, Bob Sawyer, Jenny and Richard Thomas, Ian Walden.

Tony Millatt