Join us for a visually compelling photo opportunity as a flotilla of narrowboats gathers in Stalybridge town centre. It will be the largest boat gathering there since the reopening of the Huddersfield Narrow canal in 2001, and will form part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the canal restoration. Many of the boats will have vintage diesel engines, particularly Russell Newbery and National engines which both have origins local to Stalybridge. Other boats will be participating in the FBW campaign cruise to Ellesmere Port and across the tidal River Mersey to Liverpool.
In 1909, having served their apprenticeship with Royce Engineering in Manchester, Frederick Russell and William Newbery set up their own business, the Russell Newbery Company. They established a works at Altrincham, then a small provincial Cheshire town. Once they started producing marine diesel engines, demand became so great that they licensed the design to the National Oil Engine Company at Ashton-under-Lyne. Today the engines are very popular among industrial and canal heritage enthusiasts.
The Russell Newbery Register was founded in 1994 and held its first rally in 1998. The rally has become an annual event which is one of the highlights of the year for members, with the 2026 Rally being the 26th. It takes place in a different location each year, and after very positive discussions with town and canal organisations it was agreed to hold the 2025 Rally in Stalybridge. The excellent facilities offered by the Catholic church of St Peter and St Raphael as well as the rarity of seeing groups of boats in the town centre clinched the decision.
However the 2025 rally had to be postponed, following breaches of all the main access routes to Stalybridge early in the year: the Bridgewater Canal and Huddersfield Narrow Canal in January 2025 and the Macclesfield Canal in April 2025. There are silver linings to the decision to postpone until 2026, since it enables the Rally to form part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal after its restoration, and also to act as a staging post on the FBW campaign cruise to Ellesmere Port and Liverpool.
Although two of the canals breached last year have since been reopened, the Bridgewater Canal remains closed. The situation is a specific example of the vulnerability of the entire inland waterway network. Communities and businesses across the country are at risk as navigation authorities face mounting financial pressures and increasing impacts of all types, from climate change to ageing infrastructure.
This is the reason that the Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) campaign was set up and is calling for a comprehensive national review of waterways infrastructure. Our rivers and canals are not just for boaters, or even for the millions of other people who use them to walk, cycle, jog, commute, canoe, paddle, fish or just relax. They are vital for local economies and the environment and an irreplaceable part of our national heritage. We owe it to future generations to look after our waterways and keep them safe and well maintained.
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About the Russell Newbery Register (RNR):
The Russell Newbery Register is a club for enthusiasts and owners of Russell Newbery (and derivative) engines and to promote a significant part of British industrial and canal heritage. The aim of the Register is to promote Russell Newbery engines, by:
- Establishing the number of Russell Newbery (and National) owners/users
- Offering technical help and advice to members
- Acting as a contact forum for members
- Publishing a regular newsletter to members containing historical and technical articles, plus technical information and advice
- Holding gatherings and rallies of Russell Newbery powered canal boats
- Supplying RN branded merchandise (badges, mugs, sweatshirts)
- Supporting the RN Diesel Engine Company
Contact:
For further information about the Russell Newbery Register or the Rally, contact the RNR Rally organiser Andrew Laycock (rally@rnregister.org.uk).
About Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW):
FBW brings together a wide range of organisations with the sole purpose of campaigning collectively for an increase in government funding of Britain’s inland waterways to avert their decline, and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental, and social well-being value they provide. Established in June 2023, it already has more than160 members representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways.
Contact:
For further information about Fund Britain’s Waterways, contact the FBW Project Manager Stephen Busby (stephen.j.busby@gmail.com, 07486 984677).
Details of the 2026 FBW campaign cruise to north west England are available at https://fundbritainswaterways.org.uk/2026-campaign-cruise-plan/.
