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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 17:08:53 GMT
Apparently one of the balance beams/walkway has snapped off and fallen in the lock. That's on a 12ft deep wide lock. Looks really nasty. If someone had been on that beam walking across or on a boat below it this could have been fatal. Easily.
Really nasty.
Canalworld stoppage section someone has put pictures up.
Sad.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 17:37:13 GMT
Never mind...
CRT will hoick it out, put a bit of blue string on the end of the gate, say navigation is open for narrowboats but widebeams need to book 7 days in advance to allow us time to assemble a team to pull on the blue string.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 18:07:43 GMT
Apparently the beam is damaged... Only info required... Towpath and presumably navigation still open...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 18:17:32 GMT
That's odd. I had been planning to go that way in the next couple of days but this picture from Tim Lewis in cwdf makes me think the navigation might be closed. It does look like a new gate job to my untrained eye. Or a bodge up maybe ? I find it a bit nasty. Would be interesting to know what actually happened here. Must have been a noticeable splash if it went in while lock was empty. Or maybe a boat hit it entering the full lock, whacked it off and descended the lock but then how did they open the gate? Thumb lines?
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Post by TonyDunkley on Sept 12, 2019 18:55:40 GMT
There's not necessarily anything wrong with the balance beam, . . the problem is the top few feet of the mitre post are rotten as a pear and the top 18" has crumbled away and broken off all around the mortice that the tenon on the end of the beam goes into. Once that had failed completely the whole beam would have been left perched precariously on the top of the heel post with only the short tenon into the shallow mortice on the underside of the balance beam, and gravity, to locate and keep it in place.
The weight of the handrails, which are solid 1 1/4" round bar and fitted to the downhill side of the beam, would be enough to make the beam topple into the lock once the top of the mitre post had failed completely.
That gate hasn't got into that dangerous state in a matter of a few weeks, or even a few months. The beam would have been noticeably loose and moving about on the top of the mitre post for quite some time, and the rot would have been easy to spot for anyone who knew what they were looking for to see.
How long is it going to be before Parry & co. kill somebody ?
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Post by kris on Sept 12, 2019 19:06:30 GMT
How long is it going to be before Parry & co. kill somebody ? This is the sad truth about carts shortsighted policy of no preventative maintenance, it will kill or seriously injure some one at some stage.
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Post by naughtyfox on Sept 12, 2019 19:09:01 GMT
How long is it going to be before Parry & co. kill somebody ? It makes one wonder why the residents of Whaley Bridge haven't lynched them already, for their inconvenience and uncertain future. Drop in house prices in Whaley Bridge? I was giving some thought about the problems of Whaley Bridge This situation must have been a nightmare for everyone who was effected by the heavy rainfall Can you imagine being a Landlord in the area ? What will happen to property prices? Will the area be blighted now ? Will anyone have the ability to sell a house now in the area? Will it now be on the flood map when searches are done ? I'm sure it will not help property to sell in the area for quite a few years to come ... The local property market will probably slow down dramatically as a result of the coverage, and some people might have to reduce their prices in order to sell. I feel for everyone who was affected - it must have been terrifying to think that you could lose everything. www.propertytribes.com/whaley-bridge-dam-incident-landlord-views-t-127641864.html
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Post by TonyDunkley on Sept 12, 2019 20:27:37 GMT
How long is it going to be before Parry & co. kill somebody ? This is the sad truth about carts shortsighted policy of no preventative maintenance, it will kill or seriously injure some one at some stage. With this potentially lethal gate failure at Denham Lock coming on the heels of the even more potentially lethal emergency with the Toddbrook Reservoir dam, perhaps it's time for C&RT to adopt yet another new PR slogan. Something like : " Canal & River Trust - the corporate manslaughter charity - life's better lost by water "
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 9:06:39 GMT
Maybe it just fell off by itself.
I've noticed slightly wobbly balance beams before on GU locks but never really thought it would just fall off like that.
Also slightly odd that the gate paddle rack is in place and sticking straight up. It's almost like someone has deliberately caused this failure in order that it didn't happen when someone was using the lock.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 9:23:36 GMT
Update at 9:00 am this morning.
'Navigation is closed as engineers have inspected the damage and we are going to start undertaking repairs today to the balance beam (13 September).'
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Post by JohnV on Sept 13, 2019 9:34:25 GMT
Maybe it just fell off by itself. I've noticed slightly wobbly balance beams before on GU locks but never really thought it would just fall off like that. Also slightly odd that the gate paddle rack is in place and sticking straight up. It's almost like someone has deliberately caused this failure in order that it didn't happen when someone was using the lock. Yeah ...... I can see it now ..... "a boater did it"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 9:34:56 GMT
Interesting to see how that goes. That wood looks seriously rotten. I guess a bodge up then fingers crossed and new gates during winter stoppage? Its sad to see this kind of thing
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 9:38:27 GMT
Yes they do need to add the phrase "due to boater damage" or "following a boat strike" to the stoppage alert notice.
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Post by TonyDunkley on Sept 13, 2019 12:26:03 GMT
There's not necessarily anything wrong with the balance beam, . . the problem is the top few feet of the mitre post are rotten as a pear and the top 18" has crumbled away and broken off all around the mortice that the tenon on the end of the beam goes into. Once that had failed completely the whole beam would have been left perched precariously on the top of the heel post with only the short tenon into the shallow mortice on the underside of the balance beam, and gravity, to locate and keep it in place. The weight of the handrails, which are solid 1 1/4" round bar and fitted to the downhill side of the beam, would be enough to make the beam topple into the lock once the top of the mitre post had failed completely. That gate hasn't got into that dangerous state in a matter of a few weeks, or even a few months. The beam would have been noticeably loose and moving about on the top of the mitre post for quite some time, and the rot would have been easy to spot for anyone who knew what they were looking for to see. How long is it going to be before Parry & co. kill somebody ? . . . and he's now saying it again ! The balance beam is lying across the cill and roughly parallel with the chamber walls. It probably fell off when someone was pulling the gate shut behind a downhill boat.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 13:55:03 GMT
Looks like it from this picture yes I'm still intrigued by the gate paddle rack remaining upright. It is this type of gate paddle (picture stolen from internet -not the lock in question ) I don't really understand how the paddle rack would have escaped intact. ETA oh I see the balance beam itself dropped down due to its weight and rotated about the joint on top of the heel post then flipped itself into the water. Got it. That would have been quite impressive to watch. So the joint at the end of the beam at top of mitre post is actually in tension at all times. Of course. That's why it's called a balance beam. The last place you want to allow rot in . It seems this could easily happen "just like that" once it is rotten enough. Maybe a bird shitting on the beam would be enough or a bit of wind. Never mind boaters !!
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