Gridlocked. Radio 4 documentary on use of canals, and BW

[BrendanS]

Caught this while driving home. Interesting documentary with British Waterways under attack. Well worth a listen if you are interested in commercial use of old wharves vs redevelopment for marinas or residential or office blocks. The Thames and London area features about 25 minutes in.

Listen to it online here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/pip/r8b7c/

"Gerry Northam asks whether canals built in the 18th century can provide sustainable transport for the 21st. The government wants to get freight off roads and onto waterways wherever possible. But commercial barge owners say vital wharves are being sold off to property developers, and feel that British Waterways is not interested in freight. British Waterways vigorously defends its record."

 

[byron]

Very informative and interesting programme.

 

[oldgit]

Many years ago all the paper pulp used at the Aylesford,Snodland and Tovil(Maidstone) paper mills was unloaded at Rochester from Finnish,Norweigan and the odd Russian ship.The cargo of reels or pulp was loaded into lighters and towed the remaining 10 or so miles upriver to the wharves outside the mills.One small tug could pull six barges carrying about 180 tons each.The lighters would only be unloaded as and when required.Around 1980 all the pulp was transfered to road transport which would have to go right through the middle of 3 or 4 small villages.If each lorry carried 30 tons? estimate it needed 36 lorry movements to move same amount.
The Tovil mill is now a housing estate and the Snodland mill is just about to go the same way.
A large area of Rochester water front lay derelict for far too many years and it really did need sorting out including the removal of a gasworks that had been there since the late 1800s but the boatyard and wharves opposite are staying for boat renovation and importation of forestry products
Quite a few of the much loved Thames trip boats are tarted up down here.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

A very early memory is my grandfather taking me to the Baltic Saw Mills in Tonbridge to see a boat with trees in it. As a small child I didn't grasp the significance of "the last one" Mid 60s I guess, so I would have been 3 or 4 and never knew if that was the last of a regular run or a one off for some reason.

 

[oldgit]

going back even further the river was used to transport timber from the weald to the dockyard at Chatham because the cart tracks were unable to carry the baulks of oak etc due to size.

 

[BrendanS]

Did you listen to the programme tho?

 

[Nauti Fox]

Have you seen Freds wireless Brendon?

 

[boatone]

[ QUOTE ]
Have you seen Freds wireless Brendon?

[/ QUOTE ]

When Fred was a lad...........

 

[Nauti Fox]

Actually...that is a remarkable resemblance, perhaps he was a male model in his earlier years?

 

[oldgit]

B............x. If that me then its no good looking for photos of B1 cos they were still using charcoal to scrawl mammoths on the roofs of caves when he was a lad.