General Knowledge Quiz

[TheEdge]

Is this due to the old practice of propelling canal boats through tunnels by the crew laying on the roof of the boat and effectively kicking it along the tunnel

 

[theageofthetra]

Yes thats right but why specifically would a legger choose to do it this way?

 

[Jona26]

Is this due to the old practice of propelling canal boats through tunnels by the crew laying on the roof of the boat and effectively kicking it along the tunnel

The technical term being 'legging'

 

[TheEdge]

If he did it to the side walls rather than roof he risked crashing into the opposite side?

Or a total lack of towpaths for horses inside tunnels in a time predating mobile power plants

 

[Jona26]

Because there is no towpath through the tunnel for the horses. The horses would have been walked over the top of the tunnel or fresh horses obtained on the other side. Of course unless the barge was steam powered!

 

[theageofthetra]

Early tunnels were very narrow so wouldn't have any sort of tow path anyway. Your getting warmer re legging alone..

 

[TheEdge]

For some reason of physics less force is needled if acted vertically against the roof rather than laterally?

 

[theageofthetra]

Nothing to do with physics. Something much more basic.

Also worth remembering that legging continued long after steam & early oil engines were used on barges as they couldn't be used inside the oldest and narrowest tunnels due to poor ventilation and risk of asphyxiation or an explosion.

 

[Jona26]

Anything to do with only needing 1 person rather than 2?

 

[theageofthetra]

Getting warmer...

 

[Cowley]

I always thought they generally used two Leggers, but is it something to do with when the barge is fully loaded and sitting lower in the water? Or maybe when it's empty it would be nearer to the ceiling and one person could propel it?

 

[theageofthetra]

Nothing that clever.

 

[Jona26]

If 2 people were legging then side by side in the bows against the tunnel walls was most effificient. If only 1 person was legging it would have to be on their back against the tunnel roof otherwise the boat would sway from side to side (as was alluded to earlier).

 

[TheEdge]

Tunnels were too narrow for someone to lay across and be in a position to leg?

 

[theageofthetra]

All too clever. Hint -leggers for most of the working life of canals were not part of the boat crew.

 

[DaleCooper]

Were they children whose legs wouldn't reach the sides?

 

[theageofthetra]

No - kids did many things on the canals including as young as 7 or 8 year olds hand making the bricks for the tunnels but were certainly not strong enough to leg fully laden barges.

 

[TheEdge]

Black Country types are liable to nick things so transient leggers were not allowed near valuable cargo. :P

 

[krus_aragon]

By legging at the top they could have a lie down as they worked?

 

[DaleCooper]

They couldn't swim and were less likely to fall in the canal if on top?

 

[theageofthetra]

All getting colder. One last clue- 18th/19th c canal folk were all a tough breed but leggers were a different class being often hard living & fighting gypsies decended from the navvies who built the canals they worked and weren't too keen to share....

 

[TheEdge]

Did each bloke try to wear his own particular pattern into the roof to mark a tunnel as his and his alone to leg?

 

[Cowley]

Did each bloke try to wear his own particular pattern into the roof to mark a tunnel as his and his alone to leg?

Wish I'd thought of that. That's good.

 

[theageofthetra]

Not that but it is to do with legging alone....

 

[DaleCooper]

Was there a fixed price for "legging" so if one person did it he didn't have to share the cash?

 

[theageofthetra]

We have a winner. Leggers were paid per barge or butty they legged. Some of the toughest would pile up the limestone, coal or whatever was in the barge so they could lie on it and leg through against the ceiling alone and doubling their money. Often the traffic would be mostly in one direction too so would sometimes have to run back over the horse track on the hill the tunnel went beneath.

They would even tie up to four barges together weighing many tonnes and leg them through in one trip.

The way that these leggers ended up muscling out their oppo were the beginnings of modern boxing and the fights were big affairs held in the many canal side taverns- one such pub can be seen on the walk from Tipton station to the museum.

Your butty Dale.

 

[DaleCooper]

I haven't got a question at the moment so open floor...

 

[krus_aragon]

Here's a question for you:

What flower may be liable to wet your bed?

 

[Muttley]

Here's a question for you:

What flower may be liable to wet your bed?

Dandelion.

 

[krus_aragon]

Dandelion.

Correct. Folk names in various languages refer to its diuretic qualities: Wet-a-bed, Pisenlit (French) and Blodyn Pipi Gwely (Welsh) are three that I know of.

Your floor.