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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2017 20:21:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2017 20:28:39 GMT
Not canals but on the Thames there were once steam powered boat escalators so that skiffs could bypass locks during busy times. There are still rollers by some locks but you have to haul the boat up or down it is not mechanised. I looked up inclined plane and came across this which looks rather wicked !! Water slope en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_slopeFunny you should mention that, Bedford have done something useful with their former boat slide. www.bedford.gov.uk/environment_and_planning/sustainability/hydro_power_project.aspxI always think Bedford embankment is an utterly wasted opportunity for boaters, they only really want you there biannually for the river festival, the rest of the time most of it is off limits which is a shame as it's not a bad town. St Neots and St Ives make much better use of their waterfront than Bedford does.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2017 14:15:15 GMT
ISTR there are some other 'pinch' points too. Quite a lot of that section would need work to get widebeams through I think. Only one 'pinch point' other than Watford and Foxton, and that's the canal itself. There's been no real, serious dredging done from the top of Buckby to Leicester since the 1970's when the then Section Inspector, Matt Mortimer, let ex-boatman Reg Barnett loose with the section's dredger starting with the twenty-mile in about late 1972 or 1973 (that's the long pound from the top of Watford to Foxton). Thanks Tony I couldn't recall the specifics but I had understood that even if the Watford and Foxton flights were widened and/or the lift resurrected and made capable of carrying wide boats (as if any of that will ever happen) that still wouldn't allow North South access for wide boats. Are you sure there are not some bridges that would need widening though? It's a lot of years since we travelled that stretch but ISTR the bridges were just 'standard' as in normal for a narrow canal.
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Post by TonyDunkley on Dec 16, 2017 19:26:08 GMT
Only one 'pinch point' other than Watford and Foxton, and that's the canal itself. There's been no real, serious dredging done from the top of Buckby to Leicester since the 1970's when the then Section Inspector, Matt Mortimer, let ex-boatman Reg Barnett loose with the section's dredger starting with the twenty-mile in about late 1972 or 1973 (that's the long pound from the top of Watford to Foxton). Thanks Tony I couldn't recall the specifics but I had understood that even if the Watford and Foxton flights were widened and/or the lift resurrected and made capable of carrying wide boats (as if any of that will ever happen) that still wouldn't allow North South access for wide boats. Are you sure there are not some bridges that would need widening though? It's a lot of years since we travelled that stretch but ISTR the bridges were just 'standard' as in normal for a narrow canal. Foxton Lift was capable of taking 14' beam wideboats (pairs of narrowboats entered and exited the caissons abreast), but none would ever have used it of course unless there was some limited/shortlived wideboat traffic from Leicester direction to a destination somewhere along the twenty-mile whilst it was open and working. The bridges in the twenty-mile all appear now to have been built with the towpath copings under them several inches higher than normal, and this might have made them appear a little narrower than those from Leicester to Foxton and from Watford and on down the Junction. The reason for this apparent extra height from the pound 'on-weir' level to towpath level is that two courses of bricks were taken off all the weirs in the twenty-mile in the 1940's. This had to be done after the twenty-mile was emptied into Braunston Summit to keep that in water during a drought which saw Daventry Reservoirs running dry. The puddle along the twenty-mile dried out and cracked just below the original retention level, and the subsequent leaks proved impossible to repair fully, so the canal company chose instead to take the easier and cheaper option of lowering the retention level in the pound instead of endlessly sending the lengthsmen round with flats full of blue clay to bung in all the cracks.
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Post by kris on Dec 17, 2017 14:56:47 GMT
Thanks Tony I couldn't recall the specifics but I had understood that even if the Watford and Foxton flights were widened and/or the lift resurrected and made capable of carrying wide boats (as if any of that will ever happen) that still wouldn't allow North South access for wide boats. Are you sure there are not some bridges that would need widening though? It's a lot of years since we travelled that stretch but ISTR the bridges were just 'standard' as in normal for a narrow canal. Foxton Lift was capable of taking 14' beam wideboats (pairs of narrowboats entered and exited the caissons abreast), but none would ever have used it of course unless there was some limited/shortlived wideboat traffic from Leicester direction to a destination somewhere along the twenty-mile whilst it was open and working.Β The bridges in the twenty-mile all appear now to have been built with the towpath copings under them several inches higher than normal, and this might have made them appear a little narrower than those from Leicester to Foxton and from Watford and on down the Junction. The reason for this apparent extra height from the pound 'on-weir' level to towpath level is that two courses of bricks were taken off all the weirs in the twenty-mile in the 1940's. This had to be done after the twenty-mile was emptied into Braunston Summit to keep that in water during a drought which saw Daventry Reservoirs running dry. The puddle along the twenty-mile dried out and cracked just below the original retention level, and the subsequent leaks proved impossible to repair fully, so the canal company chose instead to take the easier and cheaper option of lowering the retention level in the pound instead of endlessly sending the lengthsmen round with flats full of blue clay to bung in all the cracks.Β its amazing how similar this sounds to the recent Crt trick of lowering the levels in lots of places rather than fixing the leaks.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 15:31:45 GMT
I believe that in "ye olde days of yore" the canals were maintained with enough depth that you could get away with lowering the pounds a bit if necessary and still have a useable waterway. if its true that CRT are lowering the pounds Instead of fixing leaks, combined with a lack of dredging I think will lead to a fan being hit by shit at some stage.
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Post by kris on Dec 17, 2017 15:41:52 GMT
I believe that in "ye olde days of yore" the canals were maintained with enough depth that you could get away with lowering the pounds a bit if necessary and still have a useable waterway. if its true that CRT are lowering the pounds Instead of fixing leaks, combined with a lack of dredging I think will lead to a fan being hit by shit at some stage. oh it's true, they lowered the whole eastern side of the leeds and Liverpool by 3inches about three or four years ago. I know because it meant I couldn't moor in some places I had been mooring in and couldn't use a few winding holes to wind that I had been using. Oh that and I spoke to the Crt chap who lowered all the bywash boards. I believe since it has been done on other waterways as well.
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Post by kris on Dec 17, 2017 15:49:19 GMT
I believe that in "ye olde days of yore" the canals were maintained with enough depth that you could get away with lowering the pounds a bit if necessary and still have a useable waterway. if its true that CRT are lowering the pounds Instead of fixing leaks, combined with a lack of dredging I think will lead to a fan being hit by shit at some stage. oh it's true, they lowered the whole eastern side of the leeds and Liverpool by 3inches about three or four years ago. I know because it meant I couldn't moor in some places I had been mooring in and couldn't use a few winding holes to wind that I had been using. Oh that and I spoke to the Crt chap who lowered all the bywash boards. I believe since it has been done on other waterways as well. out of interest it lead to a conversation with the waterways manager, who denied it when I Pointed out the winding holes I couldn't use any more etc. He just didn't know what to say. But then having water left in the reservoirs at foullridge is one of his KPI's and effects his performance bonus.
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Post by kris on Dec 17, 2017 15:51:02 GMT
Meant to edit my original post, oh well can't be bothered at the moment so will leave it as it is.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 15:58:18 GMT
I had to Google KPI.
Very sad if what you say is true. I'm not that surprised really.
The canal system deserves better than that but at the end of the day if the majority of users are happy then its not all bad. There will always be a few people who are pissed off with the situation. When that becomes the majority then its time for change but I don't believe that the Thunderboat Waterways Alliance of Terrorists splinter group will work.
We can't bomb them to the negotiating table.
Or can we ?
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Post by kris on Dec 17, 2017 16:04:26 GMT
Just making sure the facts are in the public domain is enough for now. I believe that if the majority of the public realised the massive transference of public assets to a private company that has happened there would be an outcry. Especially if they knew how little regard Crt are showing for the long term survival of the waterways. Publicity is the key not bombs.
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Post by pluto on Jan 2, 2018 11:49:41 GMT
oh it's true, they lowered the whole eastern side of the leeds and Liverpool by 3inches about three or four years ago. I know because it meant I couldn't moor in some places I had been mooring in and couldn't use a few winding holes to wind that I had been using. Oh that and I spoke to the Crt chap who lowered all the bywash boards. I believe since it has been done on other waterways as well. out of interest it lead to a conversation with the waterways manager, who denied it when I Pointed out the winding holes I couldn't use any more etc. He just didn't know what to say. But then having water left in the reservoirs at foullridge is one of his KPI's and effects his performance bonus. The stone top to the bywash weir at the top of Bank Newton was lowered by three to four inches. Originally these weirs had wooden boards on them, raising the water level to around 6 inches above the stone, so that weir, in effect, has been lowered by around ten inches. They needed Listed Building consent to do this, and I only found out a couple of days after the end of the consultation period. Most lengths on the L&L are now running below the levels they were designed for as this makes it easier to stop leaks in the short term.
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Post by kris on Jan 2, 2018 11:55:35 GMT
out of interest it lead to a conversation with the waterways manager, who denied it when I Pointed out the winding holes I couldn't use any more etc. He just didn't know what to say. But then having water left in the reservoirs at foullridge is one of his KPI's and effects his performance bonus. The stone top to the bywash weir at the top of Bank Newton was lowered by three to four inches. Originally these weirs had wooden boards on them, raising the water level to around 6 inches above the stone, so that weir, in effect, has been lowered by around ten inches. They needed Listed Building consent to do this, and I only found out a couple of days after the end of the consultation period. Most lengths on the L&L are now running below the levels they were designed for as this makes it easier to stop leaks in the short term. thanks for confirming what I said, as magnet man didn't beleive meπ.The most annoying aspect of this to me is that the manager tried to lie about it. When I need to get more water put on when I want sail past hirst wood. The last time I did this length it took four hours from Dowley gap to hirst lock. As I kept running aground. Ironic as the manager who tried to tell me otherwise lives at Dowley gap. This policy has been rolled out in other areas since its implmentation on the L@L
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Post by lurkio on Aug 27, 2020 17:33:07 GMT
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Post by patty on Aug 27, 2020 18:59:39 GMT
Cannot open that for some reason... I'd only ever heard of the one at Foxton, I used to live at Mkt Harborough so quite often wandered round Foxton
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