Tom Puddings at Newland Basin layout display
Wakefield Railway Modellers Society
Stanley Community Hall Stanley Library and community Centre. Lake Lock Road Stanley
Saturday June 14th 10am-1pm.
For nearly 150 years, the Aire and Calder Navigation – built by local engineer William Bartholemew – took coal from South and West Yorkshire pits to Goole for export in compartment boats known locally as ‘Tom Puddings’. To commemorate this, members of the Wakefield Railway Modellers Society are creating a model of Newland Basin at Stanley Ferry where uniquely, these boats were hauled out of the Navigation and travelled over a mile by railway to St John’s Colliery in Normanton to be filled before returning to the water and starting their journey to the UK’s most inland port.
Come along and see how they are getting along and hear about their plans, to help them with their project, they would love to hear any information, memories, or stories you may have about the Navigation, boats, railways, and collieries that were part of this now vanished piece of local heritage and history.’
