October 2024
For our meeting on 26 October our Treasurer, Ken Lowe, gave his epic presentation on ‘The Manchester Ship Canal’ illustrated will his own images, some black & white back in the 1960s, to his more recent colour ones. His talk traced the journey on various ships he had sailed on from the Eastham Lock all the way to the Docks at Manchester. We were treated to a full narrative from Ken with some ‘then & Now’ shots of the various quays on the way. Companies that once operated the Canal such as Harrisons, Blue Star, United States Lines and of course Manchester Liners were highlighted. Members of the Branch had been surprised how busy this waterway once was and of its paramount importance to imports arriving at Manchester Docks. We were shown how cargo ships’ masts and funnels[ in some case] were shortened in order to negotiate the low bridges. Also some archive shots of the Runcorn Transporter Bridge that used to cross the Canal prior to being replaced by the Runcorn Railway Bridge. A very comprehensive expose of this once industrious Canal, sadly now being allowed to descend into neglect. Ken’s interesting talk coincided with his recent book ‘The Manchester Ship Canal’ published by Coastal Shipping.