Towpath tractor for festival

A LITTLE-SEEN towpath tractor, that replaced horses on the London waterways will be seen at the Waterways Festival at Watford, thanks to the London Canal Museum.

Built in 1960 by Wickhams of Ware, the towpath tractor was used on the Lee Navigation and on the Regent's and Grand Union Canal in London for approximately 20 years, prior to the decline of industrial canal traffic.

Very few survived

Very few of these 'mechanical horses' have survived so this will be a rare chance for people to see the machine that will be on display at the festival from the 19th to 21st of July.

Martin Sach from the London Canal Museum tells us:

"We are delighted to be displaying this rare towpath tractor at the festival in its own marquee, to accommodate the tractor and a photographic journey of its working life. We are very pleased to have recently secured the future of this important piece of London's canal heritage for the benefit of generations to come, as we believe there are possibly only three still in existence."

The festival is being held at Cassiobury Park, with boats along the Grand Union Canal.