In this blog we focus on two of our long-time supporters who work on our project even though they live many miles away, Duncan Moore who researches the lost lengths of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and James Derrick who updates OpenStreetMap with details of the Lichfield Canal.
When I think of people who restore canals I think of people clearing undergrowth or digging out the channel or rebuilding locks and bridges. This is not encouraging if you can’t contribute much to the physical work or you live a long way away. But it takes all sorts of people to resurrect a canal: Administrators, fund raisers, communicators, engineers, negotiators and so on. A completed restoration requires all of these parts and more.
As a teenager I was involved in the early days of the LHCRT, writing reports, drawing plans and giving presentations, trying to inspire people with what could be acheived. But after completing my studies work sent me to Newcastle upon Tyne, not just a long way from the West Midlands but a long way from any canals at all. Nearly 30 years later my interest was rekindled by seeing a post from LHCRT on Facebook so I rejoined the trust. For the last 2 years, along with Andy Tidy, I’ve been researching to try and find old images of the lost lengths of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
Over time we
have built up a fairly comprehensive picture of many of the lost canals, including
the lengths the trust is trying to restore. If you’re interested, the contents page of
the blog containing the images can be found here:
https://lostbcnimages.blogspot.com/2020/04/contents.html
By posting on local community websites we can raise the profile of the canals
and not just ask people to imagine what a restored canal might look like, but
show them. I may not be able to help with the heavy lifting of the building work,
but I hope in a small way I can help raise awareness of the canals and play my
part in seeing them brought back to life. Here are some of the images we found:
Have a look and see what will one day become a reality again.
Duncan Moore
All images coloured from black and white originals.
See more in the Lost BCN Image Library.
I've been updating OpenStreetMaps coverage with detailed features
around Lichfield for several years after having a boat based at Streethay.
Most of my edits are remote these days as I live in the North East, and
haven't managed to make it down to Tamworth Road with a GPS receiver to
survey the many recent developments.
My background is as a Chartered Engineer specialising in telecoms and
complex solution architecture for large clients, which many years ago
included a UK national mapping authority. This started an interest in digital
mapping, which continues today into Open Street Map.
I read with interest about the efforts of Shaun Greatrix to create a map base
for planning and development (CBW104). Sadly, the open nature of OSM
limits the dimensional accuracy below that of the 10mm he's aiming for. OSM
volunteers typically use a £200 consumer GPSr, rather than a £25k Total
Station required for that level of datum accuracy. On the other hand, almost
all GIS (digital mapping software) systems use OSM as a base-layer and OS
Open Data can be used to align cadastral parcels.
Once mapped, open source web visualisation toolkits like Leaflet JS are
ubiquitous (e.g. https://switch2osm.org/ ) and can be heavily tailored.
The open license of OSM is designed exactly for the sort of communication
and public engagement your latest YouTube video shows.
When helming or on the towpath, OSM is great for finding foot paths to shops
and pubs on a phone or tablet. As the map is open and free, you can
download the map data in advance or simply use the OSM website when you
have a data connection. Unlike most maps if you find something has
changed, you can improve the map yourself or create a note for another
volunteer to fix. My favourite canal planner is https://canalplan.org.uk/ which
uses OSM map data, although nothing can replace the eclectic history of
Pearson’s Canal Companions. My claim to fame is a past Pearson’s has a
full page photo of our crew working a lock!
(The Lichfield Canal is on Canalplan here)
I’ve recently taken early retirement so hope to visit Lichfield and see your
progress with my own survey GPSr at some point! :-) All the best, and thanks to all for the progress made, and to come...
James Derrick
As Duncan says, it takes all sorts of skills to resurrect a canal. Can you help us with our restoration project, even though you may not be local?
See more on Volunteering with LHCRT here.
