March 29 2003 marked another significant day in the history of the ex-Fellows, Morton & Clayton steam powered narrow boat President. On a grey misty morning and with no fuss or fanfare the newly-restored boat was poled gently away from her moorings at Dadfords Yard in Stourbridge. Alan Barnes reports.

In full steam. President on the Stourbridge Canal.

In a very simple ceremony, Ian Kemp, the owner of the boatyard, presented the polished brass tiller key to David Powell, Chairman of the Friends of President and the historic vessel left the crowded yard and returned to the ‘cut’. A major re-fit, which had taken over two years, was now almost complete and today the narrow boat would be returning along the Stourbridge and Dudley Canals to its home base at the Black Country Museum.

Built in 1909, President was one of 31 steamers built and operated by Fellows, Morton & Clayton between 1889 and 1931. The compound steam engine developed by the company and its coke fired boiler took up so much room that carrying capacity was only 12 tons and compared unfavourably with the 25 ton capacity of a horse drawn boat. Carrying valuable cargoes which included spices, tea, wool and spirits they were used primarily on the Birmingham-London trips running day and night with an average journey taking around 54 hours.

The lack of space for both cargo and crew was eventually solved by the installation of a new Swedish Bolinder crude oil engine which was tested by the company in 1912 and the conversion of other steamers soon followed. In 1925 President’s original engine and boiler was replaced by a 15hp Bolinder and she re-joined the fleet as a motor boat. With cargo capacity increased to nearly 20 tons she worked services along the Grand Union Canal and to new destinations which included Liverpool and Manchester.

In 1946 President was sold to Ernest Thomas, a Walsall based coal carrier and two years later she went to George and Matthews of Wolverhampton and was again used for coal shipments. Following the nationalisation of the canal system in 1948 she ended her days with British Waterways as part of their maintenance fleet based at Northwich where she could be seen on the Trent & Mersey, Macclesfield and Shropshire Union Canals. With her working life over she was finally abandoned and left to sink in the River Weaver near Northwich.

She was advertised for sale by British Waterways in 1973 as a derelict hulk and was bought by Nicholas Bostock and Malcolm Braine who intended to restore the now sorry looking narrow boat to its original condition including her conversion back to steam power. The two enthusiasts formed a partnership by the name of ‘The President Steamer Company’ and the remains of President were purchased in early 1974. The hulk was duly towed to Norton Canes Dock where restoration could begin. The hull bottoms were replaced with 3in thick elm and a new oak keelson was fitted and the wrought iron platework repaired. The foredeck, bulkheads, gunwales and counter deck were replaced and the old cabin stripped off and rebuilt to the original steamer specifications.

By this time all the original Fellows, Morton & Clayton engines and boilers had been scrapped and so the search for a suitable alternative began. In late 1976 the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust announced that they were to dispose of Leviathan, a former Birmingham Canal day boat. The boiler from Leviathan proved to be a near replica of the Ruston-Proctor original and was made in 1928 by Muir and Finlay of Parkhead, Glasgow and had been re-tubed in 1974 at the British Rail workshops in Swindon. A twin cylinder steam engine originally from a Thames launch was also installed and the boiler was fed with filtered canal water by a 1927 Worthington Simpson horizontal steam pump. Restoration was completed by 1978 and for the next few years President was operated all over the canal system as a working museum piece. In 1983 she was bought by the Black Country Living Museum and the Friends of President was formed in October 1984 to help operate and maintain the last remaining steamer. The engine provided good reliable service until the late 1990s when it became apparent that a major overhaul would soon be needed. Indeed the Muir and Finlay boiler had already been replaced in 1990 by a Cochran dryback return flue boiler and the matter of what to do about the engine was becoming a priority.

Despite constant searching both in the UK and abroad, the Friends have had no luck in locating an original FMC engine and the sad conclusion was that they have all been scrapped. One solution is to research and design a completely new engine based on the original FMC specifications and to this end an engine appeal was started in 1992 but this is a very expensive and long term project. With the need for a major overhaul looming and the existing engine becoming more and more tired the decision was taken to buy and install a new engine.

The engine, a single cylinder Sissons, was used during the 1950s as a training engine for the Merchant Navy Training College and was in excellent condition. In the autumn of 2000 President herself went to collect the Sissons from Waltham Abbey and took it back through the canal system she used to work on to the Black Country Museum. While moored at the museum in January and February 2001 the running gear was stripped off, the ballast and coal removed and the boiler and engine taken out. At the end of February she was towed to Dadfords Shed and almost immediately lifted out of the water and the cabin removed.

You can visit the 'Friends of President' website at www.nb-president.org.uk