Tom Pudding - Background

Background

The use of trains of boats to move bulk products has a long history. In the 1760s, the Third Duke of Bridgwater developed the Navigable Levels at Worsley, which were a series of underground navigable tunnels serving coal workings. They were linked to the Bridgwater Canal, and two sizes of boats were used both underground and on the canal. 'M' boats were 53 by 6 feet (16 by 1.8 m) and carried 10 tons of coal, while 'T' boats were 50 by 4.5 feet (15 by 1.4 m) and carried 7 tons. They were pointed at both ends, as they could not be turned below ground, and were made up into trains of six to ten for transfer along the canal to Manchester. More similar to Bartholomew's eventual design were the tub boats used on the Shropshire Tub Boat Canals, which were rectangular and 20 by 6.3 feet (6.1 by 1.9 m). Tubs on the Ketley Canal carried 8 tons, but those on the Shropshire Canal were not as deep, and carried 5 tons. The locks on the Shrewsbury Canal were designed so that four tubs could fit into them, and although Thomas Telford, the engineer for the canal, stated that the locks had intermediate gates so that one, three or four tubs could use them, there is no evidence that the middle gates were ever fitted.

The Aire and Calder Canal Company opened the broad canal from Knottingley to Goole which was designed to circumvent the difficult lower reaches of the River Aire in 1826. They had been experimenting with steam-powered boats since 1813, and had introduced steam paddle tugs in 1831. Thomas Hamond Bartholomew, the canal company's engineer, was also experimenting with a steam-powered fly boat in 1852, but died later that year. The post of chief engineer was then given to his son, William Hamond Bartholomew, who continued to innovate. He introduced two types of tugs, both of which used propellers, rather than paddles, and the larger type was able to tow ten keels, carrying a total of 700 tons of cargo. Problems were experienced at locks, where the keels had to be worked through individually, and so in 1859, Bartholomew decided to lengthen the locks so that the trains of boats could pass through more easily. Pollington lock was lengthened to 206 feet (63 m) in October 1860, and Whitley, Bulholme, Ferrybridge and Castleford locks followed. The stage was now set for Bartholomew's next major innovation.