I finally remembered to take my camera on one of my school talks at the National Waterways Museum in Gloucester docks.
Forty new pictures of a big Fielding & Platt (includes recovery pics), Widdor, Gardner, Thorneycroft, Petter S and other marine adaptations of stationary engines. Even a few hot fog engines too. Look for the new album at
Kim Siddorn
Very nice pictures Kim. The museum was a great source of assistance to me when I first acquired my S-type. I was instrumental in the museums acquisition of the 25hp Bolinder they have on display and I like to think that in some ways I was helping them in return.
Sadly the Waterways Trust who now manages the group of Inland Waterways museums is in a state of flux at the moment with some of the key staff having been made redundant and with them a wealth of knowledge. In particular the archives held at Gloucester and the collection of boats at Ellesmere Port are points of concern. This is unfortunately what seems to happen when you hand responsibility to a body that is run by lay people with little specific knowledge or direct interest in the subject. This is in no way a criticism of those people but a bad reflection on those who decided to follow this path in the first place.
All that said the engines at Gloucester are well presented as is the rest of the museum. I would reccomend a visit to this or any of the other museums in the group.
Regards,
John
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