magnetman

I never knew there were so many armchair experts. Ms Sharman does not want to speculate then she says this " Canal and River Trust chief operating officer Julie Sharman told the BBC this month that engineering teams were still investigating the cause of the failure. “Earth structures are quite complex, and there’s a number of thoughts as to what might be the cause, but I’d rather not speculate,” she said. “When you get a water path through an embankment it unravels as it goes and then it gets quite catastrophic as we can see here and the damage is significant.” That sounds exactly like the 'piping' effect described in an earlier post. Best not to speculate eh ! I think she knows what happened here. Slightly awkward for the Trust to acknowledge that there was a leak through the piling on the towpath which caused a known phenomenon which destroys embankments that anyone with an internet connection can find out about. The words 'water path through an embankment' are not ambiguous.

Recovering the Boats was high profile. There was even a crowdfunder for the owners which raised a hundred grand. Rebuilding the embankment is boring. If there was a crowdfunder for this it would raise a fraction of that if anything. It's just how it works. A spectacular failure gets attention so the management can spend it on expensive contractors "Looks we are sorting out this problem you can see that" Nobody else except a few enthusiasts cares about all the maintenance failures which cause these outcomes because it does not generate news stories. It's just how it is. Exactly the same thing happened on the Thames after the big floods in 2024. Orange contractor tugs and a 360 collecting debris from weirs. All very visible and important looking. Everyone could see something was being done. However they left the most critical hazard right until the end for convenience then failed to lift it on the planned day and it contributed to a fatal accident. I am quite interested about whether the water board will have an input. Over time the importance of canals for water transfer will become more obvious. Navigation will be a secondary function. Not newts but there are some protected burrowing animals. Careful eviction may be needed.

It's good the Boats are back into the canal bed. Floating tomorrow if it all goes to plan then rebuild the embankment. The drones will go away because canal engineering work is dead boring zzzzz

Probably not the same manufacturer. It is a brand so they would presumably buy from whoever is offering the best deal for a pallet FOB Ningbo. I checked after posting (my Ningbo reference was just a coincidence) "Your merciful and most gracious Lordship, here is the lowdown on how they operate: Strategic Ownership: FireAngel was recently taken over by their long-term manufacturing partner, Siterwell Electronics, which owns a massive 56,000 sqm facility in Ningbo" ---------- So that is probably where the plastic casing comes from and they probably buy them in from random other suppliers and take the view that screw spacing is not of critical importance. . The main thing is the life saving electronics. Screw holes in a piece of plastic is not relevant. At the end of the day you either buy the product or you don't. If you can find another supplier who is selling one with exactly the same screw hole position then do that. The company probably take the view that you are going to buy it anyway and there is no alternative so no reason to have a strictly enforced screw hole distance. It is possible that telling the producer of the casing where to put the holes allows them to increase the price. If you just let them do it their way it is cheaper. Fewer instructions given = lower cost. So something which is a nuisance to the consumer is probably a fraction of a penny saving per unit in a mass production run.

I bet you would see the camo guys by the side of the motorway Which is why "some never do wells" use hi vis as invisibility cloaks to blend in.

My Assistant says "Your merciful and most gracious Lordship, that is exactly why the green beacon is there. Companies use it to prevent workers from bypassing safety gear, which protects the firm from massive legal liability and HSE fines. If a driver gets hurt while the light wasn't flashing, the company can prove the operator was being a proper muppet and ignored safety rules, likely reducing any compensation claim through "contributory negligence." So it is a pointless thing to have on a privately owned machine other than the resale situation. I used to think it was because the operator was also a doctor which could be a handy thing to know about in an accident situation.

All that work b done with a small green light. Brilliant!

Yes but not as easy as a belt clips. I see these are for the site foreman to check if someone is not agreeing to what the safety elfins have told them to do. And also visible on the CCTV.

What is the use of one of these for a private owner?

Is it a belt switch or an operator present switch in the seat? Belt clips are too easy to bypass.

Worth asking for some evidence of ownership. facebook

Is the flashing green light an eco alternative to orange?

Yes and because this sort of thing is so rare nobody would have equipment to do the job specifically for non road use other than the army. Which in my mind does ask an idle question. Would it not be better overall if the CRT could get the army to do this sort of thing as a training exercise? I suppose it probably isn't possible but it would be quite a nice way to do it and probably cheaper than employing a contractor with 15 staff wearing hi visibility jackets when there is nobody anywhere near them. Oh the news they keep going on about being prepared for war so this sort of thing seems like an ideal way to show that the hardware is working. I don't mean the Chinook as that is limited to around 11T but the army must possess some good tracked vehicles and winching gear. One would hope. Make us feel proud as a nation.

That makes sense. I didn't realise they did those sorts of jobs in live traffic lanes. Explains why the ram cylinder barrel is orange and the boom is yellow. Health and Safety Act 1974.

Does anyone know why the recovery vehicles have to be painted bright orange and yellow? Is there a risk of low flying aircraft colliding with them? They would work just as well painted an olive drab or grey.

I would give one of these a home and use it. Another view

Although my custom made welded steel fire is ten times better I really like the old railway stoves. I think that top was made for a kettle like the one being discussed. So it does not fall off while train is moving. It is not a flat hot plate but I don't think it has a removable plate either.

I'm surprised they are happy with the drones. To be fair they seem to be out of the way of the operational staff. Drone accidents are not unknown. I wonder if the other vessel is going to be done at night. A nice lighting tower is ready to be used about now.

Yes. And if it performing a structural role you definitely don't use the thin stuff. Different story on a level canal but up in the air it is obviously not a good plan. Apart from anything else it adds weight to the top. If those piles were 30ft long the collapse would have been almost impossible. I wonder who is in there Or is that the other end of the 'piping' tunnel. Burrowing animal. "always wanted to live there thank god the water has finally gone away this is where the family lived all those years ago"

Not all piling is created equal.

30ft Larssen piles. The real deal. Often 12mm thick which is going to give it a very long useful life. These cadmiun or zinc plated Mickey mouse piles are 6mm thick if that and clearly not long enough. The type of thing which cowboy contractors sell to riverside house owners and bang in at the end of their gardens. This Mickey mouse rubbish has low structural strength and as is obvious from the pictures it just creates a weakness at the edge of the bank if fitted on an embankment. You can't hammer 8ft consumer grade thin wall piling into a major embankment it's just not appropriate. Unless the priority is to create a short term high public awareness walkable path.

If they are proper long thick type like Larssen piles that is probably alright. These ones are short and thin. So the rust out and also are not long enough to be structurally supportive. They are not at all long as can be seen from the pictures of the sheets on top of the narrowboat. Mickey mouse and I think @Gybe Ho had made a good observation such is that the primary reason for them being installed was for the footpath not the canal integrity. You can see from the size of the narrowboat that these things short sheet piles are rubbish.

The plain green and red Buckby can is nice.

I think it's the other way round where you need to worry.