Ellesmere Port Boat Museum

It was the model boat day at the boat museum today so my dad and I went down to look around. I went to see the big boats, he went to see the little ones.
Here are a couple of photographs.

Museum Mile Markers

Mile Posts

The Ellesmere Port Boat Museum has some interesting displays. One is a collection of wooden patterns for metal items like lock gate hinges, and mile posts. The milepost pattern is adaptable, the places and numbers could be changed for each mile. 

The patterns were made out of different woods, yellow pine, box wood, lime wood or jelutong. These woods were easy to carve and could be given a sharp edge and a smooth finish. 

The patterns would be usually in two parts and slightly bigger than the size of the finished casting. They would be put into a mould box full of sand and the sand mould created with their impression. 

Mile post pattern with changeable numbers and place plaques

As well as the patterns there are examples of different metal boundary markers and mileposts. 

Mile posts were important for calculating tolls. 

Boundary markers marked out the extent of canal company property. There were often disputes with local landowners or locals using canal property as tracks or for grazing. 

An old original mile marker showing 28 miles to Lancaster, 15 to Garstang and 2 to Preston. 

more Ellesmere Port Photos

Scorpio

L&L Wide/Short Boat

A Raised Wreck

L&L Barge

Ellesmere Port Boat Museum

Today there was a model boat meeting at Ellesmere Port Boat Museum. The good thing about this was the reduced admission price to the museum, £3.00. When the model boaters played with their little boats I walked around and had a look at the big boats. 

Bigmere by the little boats

Bacup looking very smart

Mossdale looking a bit tatty

the bones of a boat

cabin door

Ethel