Sailing On The Canal

A Memory of Thorne.

Canal traffic changed over the years. I recall seeing horse drawn barges - now restricted to the narrow canals elsewhere - hence the towpath on the south bank. Then came powered barges, often towing an unpowered one behind. One spectacular sight was the barge powered by sail. The crew really did have to earn their pay as they passed Thorne. As eleven and twelve year olds, we spent a lot of time around the canal and Ashfields and had a good warning of the approach of the sailing barge well before the sounding of the hooter to alert the lock keeper. We would dash along the towpath to watch the crew reef the sails and step the mast as they approached the railway bridge on the Hull line to the west of the town, reset the mast and sails to pass Stanilands yard, reef the sails to pass through the lock, reset the sails for the passage past Dunstons and through the notorious swing bridge before stepping the mast to get under the bridge on the Grimsby line. I don't think there were any more bridges before Keadby and the Trent, which would be a relief. I do not recall seeing one of these barges travelling westwards back towards Doncaster, but presumably they must have done so. It is an interesting comment on the cheapness of labour in those post-war years that such a man-intensive method of transport was economical.