Today's photo is the Flying Kite, a tug built by Bow McLachlan & Co, Paisley in 1929.Specification details are available here. ...
With my other non-work hat on, I've written a post for the UKLON Cultural Heritage blog about the benefits of using web 2.0 tools like blogs and flickr in an archive. Part of my post discusses the benefits we've gained by using a blog and joining flickr at the Ballast Trust.If you'd like to read about it, the post is here. ...
Today's photo is of the FLYING FULMAR. Built as the EMPIRE ASH by John Crown & Sons Ltd in Sunderland in 1941.She became the FLYING FULMAR in 1946 when she was sold to Clyde Shipping Co Ltd. She ended her days as the SEA ALARM.I had originally struggled to find anything for this ship as she is labelled the FLYING FULMER in our...
I've spent a lot of time this week wrestling with graphic design to prepare a publicity leaflet for the Ballast Trust. I'm off to pick them up from the printers this afternoon but a pdf version of the leaflet can also be downloaded below.Ballast Trust leaflet I've spent a lot of time this week wrestling with graphic design to prepare a publicity leaflet...
Jimmy Reid, a Scottish trade unionist and journalist died this week (several obituaries are available here, here and here). He is famous for leading the upper clyde shipbuilders work-in in 1971 which helped to keep Govan, Linthouse and Scotstoun shipyards going. The records from some of companies in these yards have since been processed by the Ballast Trust.There is a good post on...
Today's photo is a bit of a mystery, I know its called the Flying Falcon and is obviously a tug but I can't track down who built her or where. Suggestions are welcome if people have them?I think I have discovered that she was one of the tugs used to escort the QUEEN MARY from the Clyde in 1936 (info from NLS here)....
It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of Graham Robinson, a volunteer with the Ballast Trust. Graham had worked as a volunteer for 10 years and was a valued colleague and friend.During his time with us he applied his many technical skills to the identification and listing of the Grahame E Langmuir collection of railway photographs which is...
Colonel Michael Cobb, compiler of the Railways of Great Britain - a historical atlas has died. Colonel Michael Cobb, compiler of the Railways of Great Britain - a historical atlas has died. ...
Welcome to accession BT.2010.004!This is our first new big accession and at nearly 40 linear metres it is probably now the second biggest collection we have to process.It is a collection of drawings and plans from the Edinburgh City Council's City Engineers' Office so includes plans of roads, bridges, housing schemes, transport projects and improvements.These pictures are from when it first arrived, it...
August already! A new month means a new batch of Dan McDonald photographs and we're now onto the 'Fs'. So, today's photo is of a tug called the Flying Hurricane.She was originally built by Clelands (Successors) Ltd at Willington Quay-on-Tyne and launched as the Empire Thistle in 1941. This picture shows her working for the Clyde Shipping Co Ltd when she was renamed...
The Business Archives Council (BAC) Cataloguing Grant awards 2010 were announced today and they have gone to two collections close to our hearts here at the Ballast Trust (railways and paddle steamers).The Dorset History Centre - to catalogue the archives of Cosens of Weymouth, Paddle Steamer Company."Operating out of Weymouth, Dorset for nearly 150 years, Cosens’ fleet of pleasure paddle steamers were once...
At last our new shelves are in place and look nice and shiny and very new. My hands smell of metal still but I'm sure that will fade.From The Ballast TrustYou can see here that we have put them are at the back of the work room, behind some older, smaller shelves which are getting moved. And we'll be extending the two runs...
