BIAS Photos
Please send favourite photos to Maggie.Shapland@bristol.ac.ukTriton Tug
15 June 2011: This is the tug Triton in 1944, registered at Falmouth, she's 120ft stem to stern post, about 130ft overall. She had triple expansion steam engine, with the unusual metod of going from forward to astern which is normally done by a piston or ram mechanism. On the Triton a small steam engine controlled by a 30inch dia wheel was spun C/W to move the valve linkage to the position req'd. to stop the wheel the engineer pressed his thigh against the the wheel to act as a break.
The deck was teak yacht planking, not the normal steel or iron. She was operated by the Fairplay Towing Co at Avonmouth right through the war years, they were originally from Hamburg, the Borchards escaping sometime in 1939 I believe.
I worked on her as a stoker for 3 or 4 years, 24 on and 24 off, quite arduous at times as we spent up to 18 hrs moving ships around so that they could be discharged of deck cargoe from opposite sides of the ship. Cranes being unable to reach right across many of the ships. American oil tankers carried huge deck loads of planes and we were able to move them from the oil dock to the eastern arm to effect oil discharge and deck cargoe removal within a 24 hour period, and then tow them out on the next tide. Exciting times!!
The tug astern of the Triton is King's Bristolian. The wartime livery of grey paint had just been abandoned and we were back in our original colors as can be seen by the Bristolians funnel,black red & white.
Hope the foregoing is of interest.
Edwin (Ted) Howell
Once of Sea Mills now in Calgary Alberta Canada.
Commander Tambling docks photos
March 2010 (updated 11 December 2011): Peter Tambling, Cdr RD* & Master Mariner, Retired Port Manager & Harbour Master Weymouth.Steam pilot boats and dredgers, and the Passat 1948 onwards.
Bristol Sand & Gravel are rarely mentioned in historical records as they were the pioneers of Sand Dredging 1912 as start of their operations under Mr. Fred. Peters ownership. At the 1996 festival of the sea in Bristol when he was in command of Waverley, he flew the BS&G House Flag on Waverley's anchor halyard.
Peter's Photo Gallery
New Cut
July 09:Pictures of a trip down the "new Cut" as part of Harbour 200 celebrationsCumberland basin lock gates
The repair and replacement project at the docks consists of three phases, costing about £11m.28 March 10:
New flood defence gates weighing 50 tonnes each are due to be installed at Bristol's historic docks in the next few days. The steel back-up lock gates, known as leaves, travelled 1,000 miles from the Deest shipyard in the Netherlands. They arrived in Cumberland Basin this evening. The gates will replace 140-year-old Victorian wooden lock gates at Junction Lock. They were specially built by Dutch shipyard and construction company Ravestein. They will be taken into Junction Lock by pontoon barge before being lifted into place by a 500-tonne crane. Work is expected to finish on Wednesday.
Being towed by New Ross |
New Ross |
Bristol City Council vessel Dourdreck nudging the gates |
Passing the Brunel Swivel bridge and the open Cumberland Basin bridge |
Couple having a picnic on an anchor
Bristol steam crane lifting sherman tank
 |
 |
Stothert and Pitt crane
Martin Bodman Docks photos
Bristol Docks pictures 1968.Martin's Photo Gallery
Clive Moore Docks photos
These show the city docks while still working and were taken by him or his father over a long period of time. Such as pictures of the 'Harry Brown' sand dredger on its first trip out to sea, pictures of the city docks with shipping, avonmouth docks, and various shots of industry around bristol. Many of his stories revolve around the brewery and the pubs of bristol, his father and his family were all publicans etc. so trips to the brewery were not uncommon. He can even remember the Georges greys.Clive's Photo Gallery