These colliers would run from the river Tyne down to Battersea power station.
Their nickname was the flat irons,
That was this ship’s type of design.
The job was very simple you see,
To take coal diggen from pits around the Tyne.
They looked as if they was squashed flat,
But that was for a sensible reason.
They could get under the River Thames’ bridges,
No matter what the tide or season.
Once they were fully loaded with coal,
They stood just about twenty foot tall.
When you think of the North Sea,
They were no real size at all.
These colliers would run from the River Tyne,
Down to Battersea Power Station.
Upon tying up alongside the quay,
The dockers would work until they were unladen.
Sadly the power stations are now closing,
The flat iron ships will go away.
For all we can say or know,
The seas they might still roam today.
These ships were built for a reason,
Specials to serve the Thames river port.
Long have these boats been gone now,
By Greek owners some were bought.