Tug boat preservation society in bid for lottery funding

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk...ty-in-bid-for-lottery-funding-92534-28812683/

From todays Daily Post:

A LOTTERY grant of £2.8m could finally allow a Mersey group to fully restore Britain’s last steam tug tender.

Members of the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society have been working to restore the steam powered tug boat since 2004.

They are now just one step away from achieving their dream of seeing the vessel carry passengers.

Next week, they will bid for £2.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

If granted, the money would pay for a full refit in a Mersey shipping yard to make the tug river worthy.

But, before they can be awarded the cash, the society must raise £200,000.

Dan Cross, chairman of the society, told the Daily Post about the plans.

He said: “The boat will go to a shipyard on the Mersey, either Cammell Laird at Birkenhead or Mersey Heritage Ship Repairers at Bromborough for the final fitting out.

“This is the end of a long hard slog.

“It is seven and a half years since we saved the ship from the breakers, and there is now light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Daniel Adamson was built in 1903 and is a tug-tender, meaning it was equipped not only for towing duties, but also for carrying passengers.

It was originally called the Ralph Brocklebank and used on the Shropshire Union Canal before being bought by the Manchester Ship Canal Company in 1921.

It was renamed Daniel Adamson, after the company’s first chairman, in 1936.

After being sold to Manchester Ship Canal it become a directors’ inspection vessel and was refurbished with a two-deck art-deco passenger salon.

It came out of service in 1984 and is now one of only two tug tenders left in the country and the only one powered by steam.

In 2004, she was going to be scrapped but the efforts of the society saved her after buying the tug .

She is now in Sandon Dock, and already 70,000 volunteer hours have been spent making her fit for the waters again.

The society has several events set up in order to raise money to meet their match funding commitment.

On June 18 they will be running a coach trip to the Llangollen Railway and the Dee Valley, and on July 30 they will charter a Mersey Ferry for a cruise which will give passengers a chance to view the Daniel Adamson at close quarters.

On September 3 they will be holding an open day at the dock before a dinner at the Hillcrest Hotel in Widnes where Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury, patron of the society, will give a talk.

Mr Cross said: “We have had great support from charitable foundations, local authorities, port owners and utility companies to save the vessel and provide a berth, but now we really need to do the shipyard job and have to raise a serious amount of money.”

FOR details, email kevin.price@danieladamson.co.uk or ring 07882 425 674

 

Nice to see some good, or at least fairly optimistic maritime heritage news. As a tender it would make her a valid day-cruiser - could even hire out for parties and suchlike. I'd certainly make the effort to see her, always had a soft spot for Tugs.

 

"Nice to see some good, or at least fairly optimistic maritime heritage news."

Thanks Jamie, you appear to have hit the nail on the head....optimistic because the Daniel Adamson is of a manageable size both in terms of restoring, cost, ongoing running costs and ability to carry passengers in modest enough numbers to be financially self-sustaining.

 

Best of luck with the grant application, Dan.

You've all done very well.....

and if Stanegate Restorations can do anything help?