Transfer Beams?

[David Mack]

CRT notice received today:

 

Notice Alert

Rochdale Canal
Starts At: Lock 84 Dale St
Ends At: Bridge 101, Castle Street Bridge
Up Stream Winding Hole: At the junction of the Ashton Canal, above Lock 84.
Down Stream Winding Hole: Castle Street Bridge 101 at the junction of the Bridgewater Canal.

Monday 6 January 2020 08:00 until Monday 20 January 2020 16:00

Type: Navigation Closure
Reason: Repair

---

Original message:

A stoppage is required at Lock 87 to fit transfer beams on the tail gates in order to prevent further movement of the gates, to mitre the tail gates and to fit gate liners. 

The timing of this closure has been planned to coincide with other winter works in the area.

You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/16563/lock-87-manchester-rochdale-canal

You can find all notices at the url below:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

 

 

So what do they mean by "transfer beams"?

 

 

[MtB]

15 minutes ago, David Mack said:

So what do they mean by "transfer beams"?

 

They are the beams emitted by a particle beam transporter in Star Trek, I think. 

 

 

 

[TheBiscuits]

16 minutes ago, David Mack said:

So what do they mean by "transfer beams"?

 

Hah.  Crossposted with Mike.

 

 Great minds think alike ... we'll ignore the other option!

[magpie patrick]

Returning to canal trek, I think they mean beams that support the lower gates when closed at the top of the gate, transferring some of the load of the mitre to the lock side. Sort of a second cill at the top of the gate

[dmr]

I suspect these are the things that you see on a few Rochdale locks, I think I have also heard them called Gatesavers. I believe all Rochdale locks had them once but most have since been removed. After the recent catastrophic gate failure (with boats in the lock) maybe CRT are replacing more of them. I have heard that their purpose was to extend the life of the gates by maintaining integrity after the gate had lost some strength, but maybe the designers thought they were a required operational/safety measure on all gates. Essentially its a beam across the top of the lock just below the bottom gate supporting two angled beams which then support the gates just where they mitre. Many of the locks still have the iron locating straps even though the beams have gone.

 

does this link work?

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7150144,-2.0797723,106m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

..............Dave

[MtB]

17 minutes ago, dmr said:

does this link work?

 

Yes!

 

[dmr]

Thats a good lock, just below Todmorden but more or less in the countryside with some spectacular views. A good bywash channel for the dog to play in and a field full of geese for the dog to chase. Even better its got a sunken wooden boat (just in the picture and the only sunk boat on the Rochdale) so I can pretend

I'm back on the K&A.

 

...................Dave

[Ray T]

These:

Edited November 9, 2019 by Ray T

[alan_fincher]

Wigan flight example....

[cuthound]

33 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Wigan flight example....

 

Are these a relatively recent addition?

 

I don't recall seeing those on the Wigan Flight when I last traversed it, probably about 20 years ago.

[alan_fincher]

2 minutes ago, cuthound said:

the majority of which I think were wood not steel

Are these a relatively recent addition?

 

I don't recall seeing those on the Wigan Flight when I last traversed it, probably about 20 years ago.

No idea, I'm afraid.

I've only ever done it the once, (about 5 years ago), but my  recollection is of quite a few on the L&L, probably mostly of timber construction,with not many like the steel one shown.  My memory may be wrong though!

[cuthound]

13 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

No idea, I'm afraid.

I've only ever done it the once, (about 5 years ago), but my  recollection is of quite a few on the L&L, probably mostly of timber construction,with not many like the steel one shown.  My memory may be wrong though!

 

OK thanks. Mind you my memory could well be wrong too. ?

[Jim Riley]

4 hours ago, dmr said:

Thats a good lock, just below Todmorden but more or less in the countryside with some spectacular views. A good bywash channel for the dog to play in and a field full of geese for the dog to chase. Even better its got a sunken wooden boat (just in the picture and the only sunk boat on the Rochdale) so I can pretend

I'm back on the K&A.

 

...................Dave

1983 ish, when Manpower Services ran the Job Creation Scheme, a lot of work was done on the Rochdale Canal. I used to go and look at stuff in and around the canal. There were at least 2 wooden hulks in the big pool below Pike House Lock, probably still there. 

I do know the wooden hull in the picture. The guy that lived in it had issues, it was the second of his boats he set on fire, allegedly. This time he was about to be s8ed. He foiled their evil plan! 

[dmr]

Anybody who owns a wooden boat, especially on the canal, has issues.

Looks like it might have been quite a nice boat once.

There is no road access there for a crane so I assume CRT will just leave it to decompose, and eventually maybe remove some of the remains. Actually that pound could do with some dredging (like quite a few on the Rochdale) so maybe they will remove the boat at the same time, but I am not holding my breath.

 

...............Dave

[MtB]

1 hour ago, dmr said:

Anybody who owns a wooden boat, especially on the canal, has issues.

 

Improved the accuracy of that for you..... 

 

[Pluto]

18 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Are these a relatively recent addition?

 

I don't recall seeing those on the Wigan Flight when I last traversed it, probably about 20 years ago.

They are not fitted to many locks on the Wigan flight, mainly those where subsidence has made it difficult to maintain an accurate fit for the mitre. Without having a stop, the top of the mitre could 'rub', that is seat slightly differently each time the gates were closed, causing the sharp edges of the mitre to wear and thus cause leakage. In the worst scenario, a boat could hit the gates and cause them to overlap and fail, as did happen once with Wharfe on the 9th lock on the Wigan flight. Striking posts, where the outer end of the balance beam rested against a vertical post when the gates were closed, were used for the same reason, though they were removed, in the 1960s I was told, after someone got caught between the beam and the post.

The Rochdale locks were badly built from the beginning, if the canal company minutes are to be believed, so such supports were used extensively on that canal. However, it could just be that the engineer at some point thought they were a good idea in restricting wear on the mitre, and thus extending gate life.