Tug deck fittings?

[waldenmodels]

Hi Stuart -
Since I've been looking into this for a while, here are my two bits:

- Deason published a plan for the "Anglia" in his book "Cardboard Engineering" I did my first design of the Anglia on this plan and have since found it to be complete and utter rubbish. The hull is that of Deason's Cambria, square counter and all. The proportions of the deck house etc. are all wrong. The wheelboxes are inaccurate etc. etc. I then got a hold of the plans from Thomas' book. The hull seems more believable, but again the deck house and the wheelboxes are wrong. The plans show the forward edge of the deck house protruding outside the bulwark. It's really odd - they examined the one photo that seems to exist of the Anglia so well that they saw the boiler enclosures were not square boxes, but at the same time they completely missed the fact that the bulwark runs flush with the edge of the deck house. Very strange...

Bottom line: I would (and did) use Thomas' plan as a starting point, but vet each and every detail against the photograph. A nice, clear version of it is published in "Victorian and Edwardian Merchant Steamers"

Cheers,


Oliver

[Stuart Badger]

Hi Oliver

Now here's the mystery! I have all of the Wain Research books including British Steam Tugs by Thomas and - there is NO PLAN of Anglia any where in it! There is a rather nice half tone (taken I think from the photo you mention - of which I have a copy).

I have the plan from model boats by Pollard, the Illustrated London News article and a few 'imaginative' illustrations trawled from the web.

Is the Thomas plan you have from another source? I have to say that I have found some innacuracies in Thamas's research in the past - but who am I to criticise as the man did more than most to preserve the information available!

My problem is more 'psychological' - I used to be a professional model maker and worked nearly always from builder's drawings - I think I can make a stab at a 'reconstruction' but it sort of goes against all I have been taught!

Deck fittings and components aren't too much of a problem as much can be gleaned from other tugs of the period but there are certain thngs on the existing drawings that make one wonder. For instance did she have feathering floats? did she really have a STEAM windlass? I also suspect that the bulwarks were flared fore and aft of the paddle boxes to accomodate the deck houses that contact the paddle boxes - as this was comon practice at the time and would account for the odd perspective in the photograph. The drawing I have shows the sponsons close-planked - most unlikey I think. Ah well I shall keep researching and see whether I make a start on the model - she is a delicious subject.

congratulations on your efforts - I downloaded your little model of Cleopatra - wonderful!

I would be building Anglia at 1/24th scale so I need to fill in an awful lot of disputed detail!

All the best

Stuart

[Walter Snowdon]

Hi folks.A model of Angla was sold by Bonhams Auctions, Knightsbridge in their Maritime sale no.15822 on 23rd September 2008. Lot number 279. Describes as " detailed model diorama of paddle tug ANGLIA, size  12.5 inches x6x10.5 inches. They may well have a photograph in a back catalogue There is no mention of when the model was built. Regards, Walter.

[waldenmodels]

Sorry - the plans I mentioned are not from the Thomas Book at all! I wrote an unrelated note at the time when I obtained them, and that confused me. In fact these plans are the same posted here on the site  Shame on me.

Either way, here's the current state of my Anglia project. I have progressed from the virtual model to what's known as the "white build" in the card model trade. It serves as a quick check to detect mistakes and ill-fitting parts so you can make all necessary corrections before you go through the trouble of coloring the parts. The quality of the build is a bit shoddy for the same reason. Ususally I toss these after the "real" model is built. (Though I hear white builds from some famous card model designers are quite sought after - perhaps I should keep it )

Note that I haven't put on the "wings" on the forward sponsons, so the roof parts are just flapping in the breeze. The formers for the underwater hull are separate so that the model can be built waterline as well. Some folks put little magnets on both base plates and so can detach the underwater bit when it suits their fancy. 

And here's another question: Stuart, you write that it was common practice to flare out the bulwark on the sponsons. Would the "inside" bit of the sponson have been planked over, or would it have had a grating like the outside? I planked the front sponson over entirely, but it doesn't look right to me.

Cheers : Oliver

[Stuart Badger]

Nice work Oliver!

and thanks Walter - I found a photo of the Bonham's model diorama, it won a gold medal at the Model Engineer Exhibition - it's beautiful, but tiny and you can't make out any detail. I am going to do a trawl for the guy that built it.

Oliver, it was usual for any area of sponson external to the deck to be 'slatted' rather than close planked inside of the bulwarks would have been planked as the rest of the deck. Many early passanger/tramp paddlers had the bulwarks flared at the leading AND trailing edge of the paddle boxes. I can only presume this was to improve sea-keeping capabilities ie. so that heavy weather broke against the bulwarks rather than a deck house? This would also, to me explain why the side houses on Anglia have a pronounced forward slope as she was designed as an ocean going tug.

I have to say that your 'white build' looks really promising and very attractive, I'm going to be really cheeky and ask if you could forward me a set of your projected hull sections, otherwise I'm gonna have to wait and buy me a kit when it's available!

all the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

I stumbled across this when browsing earlier today, don't know if it's of any help?

Regards
Eddy

[waldenmodels]

Thanks, Eddie - that's the picture I keep referring to.  It appears to be the only one in existence, though I do hope there might be pictures out there that show the Anglia as a "bystander" rather than the subject.  I didn't post it myself because I'm not sure how copyright issues are handled in the UK...

[Eddy Matthews]

Just as a quick update, Walter Snowdon has found some drawings of various tug fittings in some old magazines - Things such as towing bits/hooks, towing hoops, binnacles, ect ect...

A few of these parts are directly referenced to Anglia and Cumbria, so they may well be of some use to you Oliver?

Walter is going to put the items together and then he'll give them to me for scanning - Hopefully they should be posted in a week or so, maybe less?

Eddy

[waldenmodels]

Walter, Eddy - thank you so much! That is great news, and timely, too! I'm looking forward to seeing what you found. I'm doing my second white-build right now and haven't started coloring any parts yet, so it's still easy to change things around.

Cheers,


Oliver

[waldenmodels]

So here's a question guys - should the forward companionway face fore or aft? The attached rendering shows it facing forward, and I was about to glue it down when I realized that it wouldn't make much sense to have the door face forward and have the green seas come pouring in if the doors were left open. I checked a couple of paddle-tug pictures and find that the forward companionway faces backwards in all of them. Yet the Anglia plan shows it facing forward. Who do I believe?

Puzzled,

Oliver   

[Stuart Badger]

Oliver

I have looked at all my tug plans, and without exception the companion way faces towards the stern.

Stuart

[waldenmodels]

Thank you very much, Stuart! I'll turn it around

Cheers,

Oliver

[Dinosaursoupman]

Oliver,

Here's something you might be interested in;
http://www.charlesmillerltd.com/Catalogues/MS290409/lot0264-0.jpg
At a 1000-1500 pound estimated price range, (  ) someone here might just be taking this home! 

Randy