The Pinkerton's Progress

TRIP BOAT REVENUE All proceeds go towards maintaining and improving the canal.   1978 The first season (24 weeks) nearly 10,000 passengers. Income = over £6,000   1985 Full season - over 14,000 passengers. Income = £14,000   1990 Income = £20,500   1999 Since 1978 nearly 200,000 passengers carried; total income over the period - more than £200,000 (in today's money)   Crewing the boat The trip boat is entirely run by volunteers. New crew members are always welcome - and needed. Would you like to take part? more

THE IDEA IS BORN Even during the years of dereliction, the Hampshire pound of the canal had remained in water, and was largely navigable. The idea of a passenger boat, which would increase public awareness of the canal, and also provide much needed income for the Canal Society was mooted early in 1977. Peter Youngs who was then the Society's Treasurer together with Peter Fethney put the proposal forward, and were the first to actually donate money to it. A loan scheme was then floated amongst Society members, partly donations and partly interest free loans, none of which have been reclaimed in fact, and with that money and some money from the Society, boat builders Hancock & Lane at Daventry were approached and a deposit placed. As the price of steel was rising alarmingly at the time Hancock & Lane suggested that we actually buy in the steel which they did for us and held until we had sufficient funds to complete the construction of the boat. The boat was delivered to the wharf at Colt Hill as a bare hull, in red oxide actually, nothing but the steelwork and was launched in the summer of 1977. Throughout the autumn and winter of that year Canal Society volunteers worked on it and fitted it out - fitting the windows and the decks and the galley and so on. In 1978 on the 20th of May, we had our opening cruise under the patronage of Lord Montague of Beaulieu. [more about the maiden voyage] Lord Onslow the President of the Canal Society was also there together with several other guests, with Robin Higgs, Chairman of the Society on the right of the group and Lord Montague on his left. From then on during each season the boat has continued running, 5 days out of every 7, sometimes as many as 3 trips per day, until the present time. THE WHAT? There was quite a bit of controversy about the name of the boat in the early days. It was suggested that it be called The Basingstoke, but Peter Fethney felt that it should be named after a person. The name of John Pinkerton was chosen as, although Jessop was the engineer, John Pinkerton was the contractor wholly responsible for the actual building of the Basingstoke Canal. The first trips were to start from Colt Hill Bridge, Odiham, and proceed westward along the canal to St Johns Castle at North Warnborough.

THE LIFT BRIDGE The old swing bridge at Crookham The bridge at North Warnborough was originally a swing bridge, exactly like the old one at Crookham. But in 1954 Hampshire County Council decided to make it a hydraulically operated lifting bridge. At that time it was manually pumped, a straightforward hydrolic pumping system which took as much as 25 minutes to raise. It was realised of course that if you wanted to put a boat through there you couldn’t possibly use such a slow manual system, so a member of the Society, a naval officer called Roger Caesley put forward a proposal for an electro-hydraulic system, and this was adopted by the County Council, modified slightly and then installed in time for us to start our operation in 1978. Lift bridge (1958-1988) New lift bridge at North Warnborough After 30 years of use, operation of the bridge became unreliable and the hydralic rams which raised the bridge defective so a new lift bridge was installed in 1988. Counterbalanced at one end, it is manually operated by means of a windlass. The winching mechanism, designed by a Hampshire County Council bridges engineer, is probably unique to inland waterways. However, to operate the windlass, one has to bend double..... For the first two years the trip boat's journeys had been westward from Colt Hill to St John's Castle at North Warnborough and back, but it had always been intended that eastward trips should be introduced when it was possible, after the necessary dredging and bank clearance had been carried out. Turning at the St John's Castle winding hole By Dogmersfield Park On 26th August 1980 the 'John Pinkerton' started its first passenger carrying trip east from Colt Hill, around the wooded Dogmersfield Park and to the Barley Mow Inn at Winchfield. Since that time the 'John Pinkerton' has been providing public and charter cruises every year, bringing the delights of a canal trip to many thousands of people, as well as being an ambassador for the preservation of our waterway network. At Ash Lock NEXT - Highspots in the story BACK

Last updated March 2000