Forum Topic

STOP PRESS:  Giant tanks roll into Isleworth!!

Two giant tanks..abnormal loads..were seen rolling down the Great West Road at 11pm Monday evening..last night...under Police escort thankfully...and making a charge down Syon Lane!!A classic view of them doing a right turn in front of the Gillette Building was missed by me..as I was in Hammersmith for the evening...teaching one of my picture posting students!!If you get a move on this morning (;0) you will see the huge tanks near the London Apprentice from dawn..awaiting for the crane to be erected..and the big lift operation onto two barges at about 9am.It's like Concorde all over again!More info to follow!!

Jim Lawes ● 7341d44 Comments

Nobody told me that the Guinness Factory in Park Royal NW10 had closed down after all these years..and that most of the Brewery had been demolished. Did you know?Recently some 10 or 12 giant booze tanks have been dismantled..and these second hand items are  being sold to an enterprise in ANGOLA!!  Apparently, according my gallon sized contact,the plan was to take the giant tanks to Southampton Docks but there were problems..and therefore good ole Isleworth was chosen as the best bet.So two barges are currently lined up on the riverbank in Old Isleworth and then the action will begin early in the morning..but not too early as residents don't want noise!The tanks lay in wait overnight nearby!!

Jim Lawes ● 7341d

Although these booze tanks really do look big ..they are apparently quite light..17-18 tons..and are thus quite easy to manoeuvre. The giant loader lorries can cope easily. My pint sized contact told me that when they call into a Shell to fill up with diesel (when unladed) the 800 litres costs over £700!! The Shell Garage managers are often quite generous and give them a free coffee as a tip..but don't tell anyone!!

Jim Lawes ● 7341d

The spectacle down there by the River in Church Street will be repeated on Tuesday and Wednesday morning this week ..and then again next Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday.The lorries and their two big loads leave Park Royal under police escort..at least 4 bikes and a car...at around 8pm ..having been loaded up during the day.  They proceed down the A40 to the A312..and no vehicles are able to overtake ..as the load is too wide etc.The convoy arrives at Gillette sometime after 10pm ,I understand, and arrive down Park Road at 11pm ish. The four drivers/mates sleep in their cabs and are unable to get to anywhere for a kebab and other food because they need to stay by their loads!  SO: If you deliver bacon sandwiches to them in the morning (7am +) you will earn yourself much appreciation. Josephs will be open won't he be?Then the crane will be brought into position and secured and I'm told by my half-pint sized friend that the action will start at 8am -9am..and be finished soon after then.The two barges will take their bulbous loads to Tilbury where no doubt a cargo ship will be waiting to take them to Angola.

Jim Lawes ● 7341d

It was dark down here tonight!

Jim Lawes ● 7341d

Excellent pictures Jim,thanks for posting them.

Paul Fisher ● 7340d

When you said 'Tanks' Jim, for a moment I thought that a 'coup' was taking place in that constituency!! Good pictures.

Colin Vaughan ● 7340d

Ah the Guinness building! I grew up in West Twyford across the fields from that building. In those days (1960s) they had a farm and the cows grazed opposite my house and the cow man (Ken) would walk them to milking in the afternoon passed our school playground. They also owned lots of playing fields so although we were surrounded by the North Circular and the Park Royal Estate it was quite rural.Whenever the council "suggested" building houses Guinness would get more cows and say they needed the land. If you drive down the North Circular about opposite where the Chinese supermarket is you can see some overgrown land and crumbling buildings - that was the Guinness farm.My mother would never put her washing out if we could smell the hops 'cos it always meant it was going to rain!Sad to see that yet another manufacturer gone and all that now being built on.

Linda F Wright ● 7340d

but all birds!! Hundreds of themooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAnd the drivers an their mates were still asleep! but they loved the bacon baguettes and tea I took them from Josephs!! (and they insisted on paying)ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooWe need cranes!!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooWith a 200 foot jib too!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooSome of the Church buildings were blotted from view!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThere was two hours of theatre,,to be repeated

Jim Lawes ● 7340d

The tankers (on a very big barge) have just gone past my office window on the South Bank of the Thames near Vauxhall Station.

Jennifer Long ● 7340d

I think managing the journey along the river with the tides wasn't trivial when the tanks came to Isleworth years ago.You needed water at Isleworth for the barges to tie up - but you didn't need full water when you went under the bridges 'cos there wasn't enough headroom.There were stories that people investigated using Chinook helicopters to get them to Park Royal -but the insurance quote for flying them over West London was a tad expensive !I think the tanks I was involved with had a 4.5 metre diameter and were 265 cubic metres capacity. I'll let Jim get the calculator out to convert it to pints !

Tim Henderson ● 7340d

Thank you Paul, Colin,Linda and Jennifer.Fancy catching a glimpse of the procession at Vauxhall..there would have been two barges..one for each tank ..and then possible both being pulled by a big tug..haven't seen those in the area for a long time/Yes Linda the big firms are gradually drifting away..very sad.So Isleworth Dock was preferred to Southampton..now that's some claim for the new administration!!The spectacle starts again from 10pm TONIGHT when two more giant tanks will be passing Gillette Corner ..and then from 8am to say 9.30am will be the very watchable performance on the riverfront.Only a handful there this morning..including a BC&I Times reporter..and lots of joggers and keep-fit cyclists passing by.  Yes Lord Gilmore and his wife saw the later satges too..and I had an enjoyable chat with his chauffeur!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooSo the first tank moved to a position in front of the church.ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooCan we bring the crane forward please!!  Cue crane!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooNow whose left their car here overnight..and it's in the way..and no Police or Local Authority people in sight!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThe two barges are already in position!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThe crane starts some light stretching exercises..in fact it has to load from a lorry onto its frame some extra tons of weights..and has 60 tons of supporting  weights in total..I was told!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooBig stretch..yes Isleworth is sunny this morning!!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooNow lets get loading!

Jim Lawes ● 7340d

Yes,lots of pints and lots of planning for this execise..except that they forgot food for the overnight and early morning drivers and so I sorted that with Josephs..in South Street..and was given VIP treatment thereafter!!Here's one chap waving at..the camera!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThen there seem to be delays!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooHurry up! I've been waiting ages..don't lift that other tank first!!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooSo poor motorist ha left his car there overnight!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAnd it surely got in the way!!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooHang on we've got lift off!!oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooMaybe it's me in the way!!!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolast episode soon!

Jim Lawes ● 7340d

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThe weather was glorious for the event.oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooRememthat the event is to be repeated wednesday morning from 8am  and again on Thursday..then again next Tues Wed and Thursday morning..with the abnormal loads arriving the evening before at about 11pmoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooA couple of years ago you'd have had to trawl Cyberspace vigourously to find any local pictures..let alone on the Forums..but things are changing!! I seem to overdo it!! oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooA little bit of history perhaps..the remnants of te Guinness factory! Sad.oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooNow that's one loaded let have the second!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooSoon the barges will be one their way to Tilbury..passing offices near Vauxhall!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooLater that morning the road was clear and passable..as was promised. ( from 3pm till 8pm )  BUT three sets of road signs continued to say ROAD CLOSED thus fobbing off traffic at Busch Corner etc...and North Street and South Street.

Jim Lawes ● 7340d

Jim,Great Pictures!! It is like being there,with the way you have Presented them on the Web Site.Any chance of a Picture of the TUG that Tows the Barges?I Have not seen that site for years,a Tug and Barges goingpast my home.If you can find the time they will come past Chiswick PierJim,I will look out for them, Thanks Hugh.

Hugh Telford ● 7340d

Not much of a picture Hugh but it's one of the tug that turned the paddle steamer Waverley in the Pool of London before we went to Southend. Really good pictures Jim and thanks, you should send some to a waterways magazine. 

Linda F Wright ● 7339d

Thanks Linda, The Tug looks much more Streamlined than the Old ones i remember,The Work Horse Of The River!!

Hugh Telford ● 7339d

Good to hear from you Tim.  All the best to you and your family from your friends from Park Royal!  Cheers, John

John Finch ● 7339d

I well remember those large tugs Hugh... passing along in front of Strand on the Green in the 40's and 50's and seeing them lower their smoking funnels as they went under Kew Bridge.Hopefully, Nigel Moore managed to get a photo of today's one..it looked larger than the one in Linda's photo..but maybe it's not.I must catch up on some sleep!

Jim Lawes ● 7339d

Follow up from yesterday:Low loaders parked ready:Loading the drums:Amazing steering as crane & low loaders depat. Chap at the back with radio control of rear wheels:Incredible 3 point turn through Syon Park gates:

Nigel Moore ● 7338d

With barges loaded, an escort boat nosed around:And the PLA Harbourmaster launch cruised by, filming:The tug arrived early, getting ready to tow away the barges just as soon as they floated:

Nigel Moore ● 7338d

As the tide came in the barges were pulled away:Cast off:U-turn against the incoming tide:Heading downstream with the Richmond work boat as escort:Leaving the wharf with ropes ready for the next empty barges to be brought up a little later:

Nigel Moore ● 7338d

NigelFabulous pictures ..well done. What a treasure of pictures to have on the TW8 website.

Jim Lawes ● 7338d

Well done Jim and Nigel - excellent pictures. Thank you.

Audrey Walton ● 7338d

Hi JimNice photo's!!!!We have been working hard for the last year removing the brewing vessels from Guiness to Isleworth on their way to Nigeria. It would be great to see some photo's of the Speedrite lads that are preparing and slinging the vessels to  place into the barges.

Bob Wright ● 7338d

Cheers Jim and Nigel...great to see your photo's.

Keith Iddon ● 7338d

Second that,A piece of local History,Jim and Nigel.And thanks for the Pictureof the TUG,without it,the tanks would go nowere.

Hugh Telford ● 7338d

Thanks everyone..My favourite picture is Nigel's one showing the tug pulling the barges down the Thames..just like old times.No wonder Hugh was excited about it..me too.Bob: Good to hear from you..we'll try and get down there again  at Isleworth's Port!! on Tuesday morning.If you Copy and Paste this URL you'll get a bird's eye view of the area!..hopefully!!http://tinyurl.co.uk/3dlg

Jim Lawes ● 7338d

http://tinyurl.co.uk/3dlgCopy and paste..and remember to click on SATELLITE..and then you can move around the area..using the grid on the left.Also you can zoom in and out.  What technology!

Jim Lawes ● 7338d

Brentford,Chiswick & Isleworth Times this morning ..also reports on  "Tanks rolling into Isleworth"  (LOL!)..and they have a good photo..and a good report.The BC&I Times says that the ex-Guinness tanks are "going to Nigeria and Ghana"..and not Angola. (Something fishy there? Lol!) The tug company's website refers to Isleworth as being a "Tiny port on the Thames"!

Jim Lawes ● 7337d

Thanks Jim and Nigel for the great pictures. As always much appreciated by people such as myself who live out of the country.

Doris M. Lediard ● 7337d

Thanks Jim and Nigel for the great pictures. As always much appreciated by people such as myself who live out of the country.

Doris M. Lediard ● 7337d

Jim Thanks for you e-mail this morning, fantastic photos.  We are pleased that the contract is creating so much interest, manoeuvring this size of cargo through the narrow streets of Isleworth and the low level Thames bridges is a real challenge.  Its encouraging to see the River being used to its full potential. The 5 barges were taken into Tilbury dock this morning and are currently being unloaded, I will send you  photos of this process next week, together with photos taken en route.  The Tug "Unico" moves the barges from Isleworth to below Tower Bridge where the more powerful Tug "Steven B" takes over for the towage to Tilbury.  The "Steven B"was also involved in towing the Concorde from Isleworth. Currently, there are another 5 tanks to be moved which will take place next week. £200 Reward  On Friday 29 Sept our company laid anchors and mooring ropes alongside the moorings at Isleworth ready  to secure the barges for the start of this contract (picture 001)  Over the weekend these anchors and ropes were stolen.  Persons supplying Information leading to the recovery of this equipment will receive a £200 reward.

Jim Lawes ● 7337d

The Unico tug pulling two empty barges has just gone past Vauxhall back towards Iselworth.  Unfortunatley the tide's coming in quite fast so it went by too quickly for me to get a photo.

Jennifer Long ● 7334d

Well reported Jennifer..watch out again tomorrow perhaps!You might get a unique snap.A major company called Foster Yeoman is also involved with the operation to get the brewery tanks off the lorries at the Port Of Isleworth!! and loading them onto THEIR barges. They have kindly supplied us with their own pictures..and are pleased to hear that the activity has aroused local interest...even on this Forum!!..watched by viewers all over the world!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooGosh, you can even see me on that far right hand side taking a snap too!!ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThen we had Nigel’s great pictures of the tug “UNICO”in actionooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooNow its onwards to London..to meet the larger tug STEVEN B..and then Tilbury.There are some Tilbury pictures from the Foster Yeoman Company to follow.!!

Jim Lawes ● 7333d

JimExcellent photos and information as always, but there is a question I must ask you.Why do you say "Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" whenever you post a photograph on the forum?  It can't be THAT exciting, shurely? :o)

Phil Andrews ● 7333d

Pictures from the Foster Yeoman Company for TW8 Forum readers! Many thanks Norman.So the tug leaving Isleworth with 2 barges..(one Guinness tank on each)..seems to have "parked" them somewhere in distant east London... so that a bulk delivery could be made to Tilbury with a larger tug..at a future date. Five were thus delivered to Tilbury on Tuesday 10th..I believe.  So here is "Steven B" arriving at Tilbury with 5 tankswwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwI'm not quite sure what's happening here!!wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwThat looks calmer!!wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwIn the distance on the left side is Steven B with the barges adjacentwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"Stephen B" has a good CV. It pushed Concorde and its huge red barge up the Thames in April 2004..and we all remember that big Isleworth day.Phil: the oooooo's are to separate the pictures..especially when text comment is added. Funny that, my invoices and letterheads have the same oooooooooo banners to!!

Jim Lawes ● 7333d

More wonderful pictures! Nice to see that it's not only our narrowboat that can get tossed about in a lock - a tug with barges can too!We went passed Tilbury when we went on the paddle steamer Wavereley a few weeks ago - huge ships there.

Linda F Wright ● 7332d

Hi Linda (& Peter)Ah, so that picture of the swerling water in that Tilbury Dock may have been to do with the water level being lowered?THE FINAL TRIP FROM ISLEWORTH happens this Thursday morning..I gather,There was just one lone Guinness Tank waiting outside the old Isleworth Church on the riverside tonight at 11pm.  The one barge is already in position.So at 8am, no doubt, the big crane will arrive and supporting staff..and the final act with be performed!!Let's  hope that all the "ROAD CLOSED" signs in that Isleworth area will then be removed swiftly!!

Jim Lawes ● 7332d

The River Thames is really a big big asset. Indeed, it was here before us!

Jim Lawes ● 7332d

"Let's  hope that all the "ROAD CLOSED" signs in that Isleworth area will then be removed swiftly!! "On the contrary, many local residents have been very glad to have some respite from aggressive drivers threatening to sweep them off the narrow pavements.  Most people living in Church Street north of the width restriction want a permanent road closure rather than the currently implemented so called traffic calming measures.(Yes, I know it's off thread, but then so was the flippant aside to which this is a reply.)

Tom Beaton ● 7331d

All, Jim you are right,meany a Warrior has come up the river, Its just right for the boats,ships,of thtime to come up,

Hugh Telford ● 7331d

So we haven't seen the end of the spectacle! More redundant tanks from Park Royal are to arrived in Isleworth next Monday and Tuesday late evening..for craning onto those barges the following mornings.This information was gleened from a PUBLIC NOTICE displayed in the Hounslow Chronicle today.I'm surprised that if this information was known many days ago..why it hasn't trickled onto these pages via readers in the know!

Jim Lawes ● 7331d

There was a large red sign posted around the humped bridge (where you pointed out the danger of traffic bollard) which gave the road closures (Oct 10/11/12 Oct 17/18) a week ago and it's still there.But I agree with Tom that traffic must be reduced as much as possibe on this road.  It's used as a rat-run by traffic to miss the busy main roads in the area.  It's one of worst roads I know as regards danger to cyclists, pedestrians and motorists and has poor visibility.

Michael Fletcher ● 7331d

Jim Lawes ● 7328d