On the evening of 16 March 2019, 34 VMMA members squeezed into the Woodland Lounge to enjoy a very interesting talk by Nick Haynes from the Black Country Living Museum, who spoke about the life and restoration of ‘President’.
President is a former Fellows, Morton & Clayton steam powered narrowboat which, along with the butty Kildare, is now owned by the Black Country Living Museum. Originally built in 1909, President was a steamer capable of carrying cargo but also able to pull several unpowered butties to increase capacity. Steamers usually worked ‘fly’, that is day and night, on the canals between London, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. President changed hands several times during her career, ending her working days with the British Waterways maintenance fleet. In 1973 her derelict hull was purchased and restored to full working order by 1978. The Black Country Living Museum bought President in 1983 and the Museum is assisted in operating the boat by the ‘Friends of President’, a group of dedicated volunteers who assist with maintenance, crewing, and also attending events to support fundraising.
The intention is that President and Kildare leave the Museum during the year and travel around the inland waterways to promote the Black Country Living Museum and the inland waterways in general. However, in 2016 during routine testing of President’s boiler, it was found to have serious problems that were uneconomical to repair. Fundraising is underway to help with the cost of replacing the boiler and as a result, President is currently confined to the Museum.
Following Nick’s talk, there was an opportunity to ask questions and then members enjoyed cheese and wine to finish the evening.