Having seen the new lock gates being delivered (see yesterday) I was keen to enjoy the Open Day they had on Sunday at Dowley Gap locks. It was an event designed to educate people about our canal network and to enable the public to view the almost finished repairs. You can see the new top gates in the photo above (pulled back into the walls at either side). You can also see the wooden dam that is holding back the water of the canal beyond and, mounted on a barge, the crane that was used to lift the heavy gates into place. I'd hoped to see that take place during the week but the day arrived stormy, with rain and wind. Since my eyesight isn't fully recovered after surgery, I judged it ill-advised to walk up there. (I'm hoping these photos are not really as blurred as they currently look to me!!)
The photo below shows the old gates loaded onto the barge. I think the new gates were made at the Stanley Ferry workshops near Wakefield so maybe the old wood will be taken back there. I was looking back in my files and I realised the other two sets of gates at Dowley Gap were replaced in 2013, at the same time as they drained and repaired the aqueduct. That was a much bigger job and I documented it HERE. I was told that a set of lock gates lasts about 25 years before they need to be replaced, so it must be an endless programme of repair work for the Canal and River Trust. There are apparently 1569 locks in England and Wales, so that's a lot of gates!
There were many Canal and River Trust volunteers giving up their Sunday to show people round and chat. They do such good work.
They also had a few activities for children. I watched as they built a model of the nearby aqueduct, carefully balancing stones over a mould to form the arches. The actual Dowley Gap aqueduct has seven arches. The model had three. They were also teaching children to carve stone. Actually, I'd have liked a go but it was rather busy around the table.
(Rather amused to see the two women in my picture above, apparently posing for a photo! In fact they were pictured on a large information hoarding so it wasn't me they were smiling at but another photographer in a previous incarnation!)
The photos look just fine.
ReplyDeleteOur Canal has the water levels lowered in the winter, so that's when maintenance can take place on walls or on the locks themselves.
We are fortunate that the stonework of the L&L is of excellent quality. After two centuries the brickwork of many other canals has deteriorated badly and is desperately needing repair. The Canal and River Trust is an inspired idea. They have inherited a huge workload see the Trent and Mersey and Montgomery Canals.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have canals here but my other half would appreciate what you're showing here, he's into mechanical and stuff that shows how it's put together.
ReplyDeleteGosh that sounds a big complicated job. The canal system is so old but so good. I smiled when I saw "Wakefield" mentioned. That is where I was born.
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