On the bank

The crew

Six people the canal could not run without, none of them real.

Yard clerk

Keeps the ledger, the toll card and the shake test. Has worked at the yard for 31 years and can be heard at forty paces.

Towyard painter

Fifth-generation painter of the shop standard. Takes nine months for humbug pattern and will tell you why.

Master of Patience

Runs the passage fleet and the tea urn. Knows every duck by name and disapproves of all of them equally.

Engineer

Came for a summer, stayed twenty-two years. Services every engine on the fleet and most in the parish.

Freight master

Times the coal and timber runs. Holds the firm record for the heaviest piano loaded without comment.

Apprentice

Third-generation yard apprentice. Currently mastering the caulking iron and the art of admitting mistakes early.