Loopy visitors.

We were meeting up with a couple of old friends today so were anticipating their arrival this morning.

Here is our mooring on the Oozells Loop close to the Sealife Centre and take note of the red and blue brick style of the walls. It is probably the quietest mooring in Birmingham city centre as the tow path is not a route to anywhere. The private development of apartments on the right is built on land that was once, at the turn of the 1900's was the Albion Tube Works.

Our visitors arrived on time and we were soon taking them for a little cruise up the cut. Stephen and Marva have been out with us before so we thought we would take them to check out the Old Line Loops. We are just arriving at the eastern entrance to the Icknield Port loop. In the 1905 map there is a towing path on the right hand bank of the loop, but there is none now. Part of the towing path had disappeared by 1950's but most was still marked on the map.

As we enter the loop we see some of the buildings that acted as wharfs for the factories that were present. This was still a Brass Tube Works until the 1950's

This cofferdam is installed to allow new shuttering to be put in place. The land to the right and closest to the New Main Line was an old oil, chemical and varnish works in the 1930's but by the 1950's it had already been largely cleared. In the middle of the picture would have been a basin off the canal loop to the Birmingham Corporation Wharf and the buildings still up must have been part of the refuse destructor that narrow boats brought to the site.

On the left bank here were a glass works and a tube works. The tube works later became a cycle factory, and after the refuse destructor was another tube works. It is interesting to see that history has brought a temple to the street view in the distance too.

At the head of the loop is the dam of the Rotton Park Reservoir. This was once a small expanse called Roach Pool but was expanded by Thomas Telford to supply water to the Birmingham level canals between 1824 and 1829. The dam is 330 mts long by 10mts high. It is now normally called Edgbaston Reservoir and amongst the feeders for it is a run off from Titford Pools that is at the head of the Titford Canal near Oldbury. There is also a C&RT depot under the lee of the dam.

In 1905 the next part of the loop was home to metal refineries including nickel and cobalt. There were several bedstead factories as well as a corrugated iron works and more tube mills. By 1950 nickel alloy was still been refined here but metal bashing works had taken much of the factory space I think this was the tube factory space. Near the Main Line was a new paint factory. The area has been largely cleared and the long drawn up plans for an inner city 'village' is starting to be built on the site. With the idustries that were once here it must have cost a bit to clear the site safely and dispose of the soil etc.

As we we approach Rotton Park Junction the date on the over bridge is 1854 so was added later. The New Main Line does not seem very obvious as we approach it to cross straight over on the 'Old' Main Line that is now the Soho Loop.

As wepassed round the loop there were plenty of this type of picture of people and plants. I first thought it was brilliant graffiti but it is actually a paper picture stuck on the wall. She is pointing the way in.

On the left in the early 1900's were a series of smaller tube and rolling mills where as on the right there was a nail factory that was serviced by a small basin below the bridge. By the 1950's before the basin was a non ferrous metal works as well as a bedstead maker called Excelsior which I think may have made some of the beds for the Titanic! Beyond the bridge was a hinge and rivet maker as well as a metal pressings company.

Just before Spring Hill Bridge is this little piece of ghost writing. I can make out 'wire mills' at the bottom but this factory in 1905 was actually a German silver works. German silver is actually not silver but is 60% copper, 20% Nickel and 20% zinc so contains no silver, called nickel silver due to its colour. By 1950 it was more properly termed a nickel silver works!

Behind the walls in 1905 was the Atlas Engineering Works that included a tramway to move items around the site. Next was a wire and rolling mill. The chimney was serving a varnish and colour factory and after that was another bedstead works and then a mineral water maker. By 1950's the Atlas works had become a cardboard box company, bu the wire and rolling mill remained a rolling mill. The chimney still was a varnish and paint works. Bedsteads had given way to toys but mineral water was still being made! Inside the 'island' made by the loop and the new main line. Just on the right was Brookfield Wharf that remained in 1950's.

Further round was the Soho Branch that went up to Soho Wharf that was close to Matthew Boulton's house Soho House. Boulton was one of the big guns of Birmingham's manufacturing with James Watt. His house still stands and is a museum. before the end of the arm are three basins off to the right that were railway transhipment basin, one of the docks was mainly covered and they made up the Hockley Goods Yard.

This is part of Winson Green, or more recently Birmingham Prison that has been in the news recently as a failing establishment. On the right bank is now a lovely open area that in 1905 was the City Fever Hospital and the City Lunatic Asylum. By 1966 they became All Saints Hospital, but is now open area. Above is the third institution in the area, the prison. I'm not sure whether the over bridge was to take prisoners in and out or just to bring coal etc to fire the boilers or other stores. On the left bank was also a place for institutions. It must have been out in the countryside when they were all built as it was the workhouse and infirmary. By 1960 they were called the Dudley Road Hospital and the Summerfield Hospital for the chronically ill.

As we headed back towards Old Turn out from the Icknield Port Loop popped the  tug and tow of Nansen and Leo. It was some promotion of C&RT as they were picking people up at the round house and taking them round the Oozells Loop then the Iknield loop and back again. Mind you it did seem to be a labour intense as there were plenty of volunteers aboard. The pair are the tug Nansen II that was built at Yarwoods Yard in Northwich in 1951. She was built to tow strings of coal butties from the mines to Birmingham factories. The Butty Leo was a small star class butty that was built in the same yard but in 1935.