I wonder if anyone can give me information on the floodlight (I assume it is) in the attached image. It's in the Canal Museum in Stoke Bruerne - we have just rescued it from the basement! We think it may have been used by the maintenance engineers when inspecting the nearby Blisworth Tunnel. Other than it is made by Tilley and still has its mantle intact we know very little about it but would like to learn as much as possible. Is anyone able to offer any assistance?
Do a search on FL6 and you will be flooded with information. The flowers are not original but still very nice.
Anthony - thank you. The painting is typical Canal Art - Roses and Castles - thank you for the FL6 ti - I shall go searching. Any idea of the age of it - 1960s?
That is going to depend on the size of the pump but older than you think. FL6 was first on the market 1936. This is from a 1937 catalogue.
A nice find. With the additional artwork it may have been used as a headlight for a barge or canal boat. With a little work it could be brought back to full working order, possibly just needing a new set of seals.
Yes, the brass plate suggests, I think, 1938-39, unless it has the long, thin pump which would make it one of the very earliest from around 1937. I've never been a big fan of canal art (rosemaling?) on Tilley products but on, for example, watering cans, buckets and anything else, I quite like it...
I was thinking that too David but I noticed it does not have the two piece case (riveted on back). Would this add a year or two ?? Edit I guess if we knew if it took an XN control cock we would know.
Kathryn. Nice old Tilley and it looks to be in fair shape. If you fancy a bit of a drive we can have a try to make it live. Likely just an afternoons work to fettle it. ::Neil::
Thank you to everyone for this - as it is an accessioned museum exhibit we'll need to get permission. If anyone would like to see it let me know and I'll make arrangements with the museum. And as Mackburner says the Boat Inn serves a good meal and a good pint.
I've got one of those riveted-on back FL6s but I've been unable to put it in the timeline. I think this may have been the one that came to light last week - I didn't really look too closely at it so I need to go and check now...
Interesting history, thanks for sharing !... A nice part of the world... Is the museum open yet, Kathryn?
Sady I don't think the Museum will be open until the spring of 2021 - there's a huge amount of work planned over the winter and I just cannot see it being ready before April. Sorry.
Hi Kathryn...I'm sure it's the same for all museums, everyone has had to cope with the effects of the freeze of the lockdown, so i wish you well, good luck with everything, and i hope you manage to get it all ready
Just managed to go into the Museum and take some more images just in case it helps with the expertise on the site in identifying it further. I suspect the glass is original - is that correct?
Personally I don't think a maintenance crew would paint flowers on a tool, which the lamp in fact is. So I assume floodlight like these where use by canal boat owners to use on the boats. I do not know if canal boaters are travelling at night. I think not, why would you ?. Is the lamp part of the museum exhibit ?
Wim - it was in the basement in storage - I don't think anyone really knew anything about it so I decided to do what I could to give it a story; thank you to all for their feedback it's been enlightening and most interesting! We pulled it out to do a pop-up museum outside whilst the main museum is closed due to COVID-19 and some major alterations this winter. I tend to agree that it wasn't in industrial use when the Roses and Castles were painted. Who knows what it could tell us if it could talk......
From, Jet propulsion in Standedge Tunnel The glass is original but needs to be turned 90`. The nut on the pump handle is not but does the job fine. These things indicate 1937 to about 1945. The welding on the box between the case and the tank. Having the back part of the case a separate piece attached. The label is a brass plaque rather than a water transfer. If you show the inside like the picture below we may get better.
All the parts of the SMG (Science Museum Group) are now open - Locomotion at Shildon where I volunteer was the first to resume in early July with the other four museums following suit as the month wore on. That's the short, fat pump so around 1938-39, I'd think. Yes, the glass is original. I think it's better positioned so the expansion gaps are vertical - then no piece of glass has to bear the weight of the others and push them upwards to expand when the lamp is in use. To get there quicker? Barges also have to travel through some long tunnels where a headlight is not only useful but mandatory in some places. No doubt Kathryn can fill us in on the details. You're correct about the 'canal art' - this will almost certainly have been done by a barge owner. They're prone to doing this to keep their boats and equipment looking smart. I think if it stays still long enough, it'll end up getting painted! I seem to recall Mick Emm had a black VL1 which was similarly painted - perhaps that had been used on board a barge...
@David Shouksmith ..Thanks for an update there David! @WimVe ..They most certainly did travel at night...The canals were built for trade, they were the railways of their age, and special boats called 'Fly Boats' would carry perishables, travelling 24/7 with relief crews to make sure the goods got there..mostly horse power too (1 generally )
Ah off coarse I was just thinking of the boat owners today which travel for fun not the old days working men.
