BCN Tugs
The "Primus" an early Motor Tug
Martin 0'Keeffe continues his research on early BCN Tugs with the W.H.Bowater Ltd tug, PRIMUS powered, this time, with a Kromhout hot bulb engine
One of the earliest tugs to enter service on the BCN was the W.H.Bowater Ltd tug "Primus". ( Photographs of Primus can be found in the BCN Tugs section of the Gallery)
Bowater's were a large Birmingham based company of coal factors with offices in Stephenson Place. They held contracts to supply coal to a number of large industrial concerns in the Birmingham and Black Country area. The business had started in a modest way and in the late 19th century they had a coal merchants business operating from the BCN's Old Wharf at Paradise Street. By the 1910's they had grown considerably having branches in various parts of the country and a large fleet of boats. The BCN gauging tables list around 250 boats belonging to the firm.
During the First World War not only was there concern for the shortage of man power but also for horses. Large numbers of animals were required to work for the armed forces and many were killed so perhaps the shortages caused by the war was the impetus for Boater's bringing the 'Primus' into use.
'Primus' which was built in 1917 was a wooden boat fitted with a Kromhout hot bulb engine similar to a Bolinder but of Dutch origin, supplied through their British Agent Perman & Co Ltd. It was a single cylinder engine of 26hp type RO.
It is thought to be around 50 feet long. The engine was centred admidships and there were simple cabins either side of the engine room each fitted with a stove by the doorway. Bowater's had three boat docks, in Walsall, Great Bridge and in Birmingham. The Birmingham boat dock was at the end of Brookfield Road near Hockley Port. With these facilities they were able to build a tug themselves. It may be at the Birmingham dock that 'Primus' was built, as one of the pictures shows her on what appears to be the Winson Green Loop. She was used to bring coal down from the Cannock Coalfield, certainly from Hednesford Basin which was served from East Cannock Colliery. The BCN allowed Bowaters to use one of the cut off arms of the Wyrley and Essington by Forest Footbridge in Goscote where the old route was replaced by an aqueduct when the railway was built as a layby for the tug and boats. This would only be a short walk from their boatdock at Pratts Mill Bridge.
It is likely that the colour scheme was the 'BCN' colours of red and green. As can be seen from the photographs 'Primus' was lettered with large block shaded characters. There was also some decoration which looks very much like that on a coronation mug and there is what appears to be a 'bunch' of flags. Perhaps this is a petriotic gesture given the war.
The doors were blocked out with 'castles'. The picture from the Kromhout catalogue shows less decoration.
Perman & Co Ltd had been established in 1904 by Archibald Perman a Yacht Broker from Balham in London. In comparison to James Pollock & Co who were the British Bolinder agent Perman & Co were a much smaller business.
Whilst it would appear that they had a workshop they never had the same facilities that Pollock had by way of a boatyard and operated from various office addresses in London including 82-83 Fenchurch Street London EC. Never a large concern in 1905 they advised the Registrar of Companies
that they hadn't registered some shares as their 'finaces were at a low ebb'. Perman & Co Ltd went into voluntary liquidation in the 1950's after the death of Mr Perman and at that time the principal assets of the company were engine spares, these they sold to Harland & Wolff and the Docks & Inland Waterways Executive.
Whilst Bolinder supplied engines directly from Sweden, Perman and Kromhout had engines built under licence by the engineers Plenty & Son Ltd in Newbury and these engines were referred to as British Kromhout. Perman & Co also quoted for the supply of an engine for the Gosty Hill tunnel tug. There was always a Dutch involvement in the company and Daniel & Jan Goedkoop Dyn of Amsterdam were principal share holders along with Mr Perman.
What happened to 'Primus'? Well that is something that I have yet to discover, W.H.Bowater Ltd over extended themselves after the war opening overseas branches in France and New York. In the late 1920's Barclay's Bank forced them into receivership being owed 250.000 pounds and the business was liquidated. The fleet of boats were sold many going to firms such as Tailby & Co Ltd, Worsey Ltd, and J.Yates. Previous to this a tug had been advertised in the canal press with a similar specification to 'Primus'. Perhaps having got into financial problems they started to sell assets and the 'Primus' was put up for sale?
For photographs of "PRIMUS" see the BCN Tug page in the Gallery Section of this site.
