Paul Steane's Photography Pages

Saturday 16/04/2020. A cruise on steam tug "Daniel Adamson" from Ellesmere Port. The cruise was "The Lord Stalbridge", named after the Dock within the Garston Docks complex we were going to visit, also the name of one of the directors of the historic London & North Western Railway. We travelled from Ellesmere Port, along the Manchester Ship Canal through Eastham Locks and into the River Mersey; then via the Eastham Channel and the Garston Channel into Stalbridge Dock at Garston on the north side of the river; returning via the same route, but continuing the short distance to Stanlow before returning to Ellesmere Port.

The tug was built in 1903 at Birkenhead as the "Ralph Brocklebank" for the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Company, and worked towing trains of boats between Ellesmere Port and Liverpool, also carrying some passengers. By 1936 this work had ceased and the tug was bought by the Manchester Ship Canal (MSC) Company, rebuilt and renamed "Daniel Adamson" after the first Chairman of the MSC company. Disused by 1984 it was left to rot before being bought for preservation in 2004.
See The Danny website for full details, and also lists of future cruises.