Monday, May 15, 2017

Boat spotting on the Thames


In the capital for a drink with friends last week, I strolled across Westminster bridge. The tourists were busy photographing parliament, taxis and double decker buses. I pushed my way through the crowds to look at the rather more interesting traffic on the river.

Thames tugboat and barge

A tugboat tied alongside a gravel barge. Not a difficult modelling subject if you are willing to use (gasp) foreign plastic kits and ignore the difference between OO and HO. The tug is over 50 years old - full details here (PDF).You can even see where she is, has been and how fast she did it.

A few moments later, this rather nice little tugboat pottered under the bridge.

Thames tugboat

Can't tell you anything about this one but you'll be able to judge the size from the visible captain. Tiny.If I could find a hull, it would make a great 1:12th scale model (not that I need more projects) or perhaps even bigger.

1 comment:

James Finister said...

An interesting new arrival I spotted by Westminster last week is the ex Gosport Queen. Amazing how modern it still looks.