The canal / narrowboat thread
Discussion
dhutch said:
Bizzare. Unless it's been used for other crime, why nick it to sink it. Does a few days in canal water remove much DNA even.
A drunken bet, or revenge for something, are two immediate suggestions. There's always a reason, even if it doesn't make sense to a normal person.. 
dudleybloke said:
They're trying to show the knobs at Rufford ford how to do it properly 
Upinflames said:
We're still trapped on the River Weaver, rumour has it that the Anderton boat lift will open one side by the end of March
I went to the talk, and the project manager promised (several times) one side would be open for Easter. So a reasonable chance, assuming nothing untoward. The good news being the rams are in good condition and so they do not need replacing any time soon, which was a fear at one point. Full repaint due in a year or two, estimated to take 18-24months.
We moor at the top, but are due to be on drydock at Northwich towards the end of the year.
Simpo Two said:
I thought one side counterbalanced the other - or can they work independently these days?
-5C tomorrow night so good luck to all those on liveaboards!
that was the way it was built, and I am reasonably certain that was how it worked when I rode it in the 1960's as a youngster. But I think it was changed to hydraulic operation to enable each bucket to operate seperately some time ago, could even be in the last century!-5C tomorrow night so good luck to all those on liveaboards!
JB99 said:
that was the way it was built, and I am reasonably certain that was how it worked when I rode it in the 1960's as a youngster. But I think it was changed to hydraulic operation to enable each bucket to operate seperately some time ago, could even be in the last century!
I think it was originally hydraulic, then due to corrosion of the ram they converted it to cable operation which used the troughs to counterbalance each other, then the more modern refurbishment reinstated the hydraulic system. Simpo Two said:
I thought one side counterbalanced the other - or can they work independently these days?
Originally it was hydraulics, using river water as the working fluid, counterbalanced against each other. With only a light weight frame to guide the caissons. Opened 1875. Then at the turn of century, due to ongoing corrosion issues with the rams and increased traffic, the lift was redesigned to operate using cables and counter balance weights. This enabled the new system to be built around the old, reused the caisson tanks, and allowed independent operation, but also obviously required the whole weight of the caissons and counter balance weights to be taken by the structure, which was greatly increased with the five pairs of a-frames we now recognised as the current lift. The motive power was also now electric rather than steam. Completed 1908.
Th lift operated in this way through to decline in commercial traffic, then in 1983, the superstructure was declared structurally unsafe and the lift closed.
Restoration was then planned throughout the 90s and took place around the turn of the millennium, returning the lift to hydraulic operation again, with a pair of modern rams operating using modern hydraulic fluid. The existing 1906 supports remain but are largely unused. The new rams are in the cast iron lined holes of the old ones I believe.
Normal operation is that the caissons operated together in a balanced way. However each night the upper caisson is lowered to protect the ram surface, and either caisson can then be lifted independently, which obviously uses much more power and I believe slower. You can't raise both at the same time, as their isn't enough hydraulic fluid in the system.
I was stuck in Maidenhead for the winter - river rose, fast flow, locks closed.
Then the lock after Windsor was closed for maintenance, now the lock in Marlow is closed for a bit.
Haven't got far but a change of scenery is nice.
Hope to move off the river shortly in case we have a wet spring !!
Then the lock after Windsor was closed for maintenance, now the lock in Marlow is closed for a bit.
Haven't got far but a change of scenery is nice.
Hope to move off the river shortly in case we have a wet spring !!
AndrewGP said:
First trip out for us this week in our shared boat Silhouette, launched late last year. Mixed weather but made it all the way along the Llangollen Canal up to the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct which was great. Thankfully no cars spotted in any of the locks 
I have done this quite a few years ago on a hire boat. Looking over the edge is Very scary!AndrewGP said:
tr7v8 said:
I have done this quite a few years ago on a hire boat. Looking over the edge is Very scary!
Yep, I must admit I wasn’t completely comfortable with it….Every time the boat scraped the edge of the cast iron trough, I couldn’t get thoughts of plunging to my death out my head Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff