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What are these brick sheds at every bridge on the shroppie?


jetzi

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going back to the stop plank storage - on my shelves I have a book of football dugouts, where someone has gathered pictures of all the curious ways that covered benches have been created for the team manager and subs. I suspect one could create a similar volume on stop-plank stores. 

 

Not that I'm going to do it though!

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3 hours ago, Rob-M said:

It can be quite interesting to look at something and try and work out what it would have been used for especially bollards and rollers.  For example this bollard in Nottingham, the corner doesn't look like it would have required strapping round.

 

IMG_20200807_162923549.jpg.68e50ef4030cd0baffcc15e5b0b936fd.jpg

No, but for boats in the wharf on the outside of the corner would be pulled out by strapping round this bollard, especially if going west/upstream.

 

Edited by matty40s
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5 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

 

 

  

 

 

Thank you, that makes sense! I'd be curious to know which are replicas, I find it strange that so many grooves would get created, I would have thought that the rope would slide into the deepest groove and stay there.

 

 

 

Ah it didn't take me long into boating to figure that out. I've in fact used a split more than once when carrying a rope up into a lock!

 

 

I've seen a horse tunnel at Cosgrove, and a few turnover bridges. I've not noticed rollers before but I'll keep an eye out! Thanks for the pictures, Very nice.

 

On the Wey navigation I recall a vertical roller on a sharp bend presumably to help the horse pull the boat around rather than into the bank.

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8 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

On the Wey navigation I recall a vertical roller on a sharp bend presumably to help the horse pull the boat around rather than into the bank.

There is a similar set up on the Leeds and Liverpool at the sharp bend just near the Anchor Inn at Salterforth.

 

 

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34 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

There is a similar set up on the Leeds and Liverpool at the sharp bend just near the Anchor Inn at Salterforth.

 

 

I wanted to say that. Here is one on the T&M at a lock entrance 

[DSCF45422.jpg]

Edited by ditchcrawler
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9 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Or this one protecting a bridge on the L&L

[DSCF1105%5B3%5D]

It is a 'new' one, installed on the original fittings by members of the L&LC Society. Protection was also provided on the top of walls, with an iron bar fitted. Some remain, often worn through to the stonework, as in the photo of Gargrave. Iron fittings were also fitted at places where ropes slide when working through locks. The small fitting shown is on Dowley Gap Locks, and was there to protect the footbridge. You can find more iron bars on the lower towpath-side part of the curved walls between two riser locks.

Gargrave 574.jpg

2000c Dowley Gap 630.jpg

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16 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

I find it strange that so many grooves would get created, I would have thought that the rope would slide into the deepest groove and stay there.

 

When the ironwork was installed there weren't any grooves. Each passing grit-impregnated rope would start to wear it's own groove at whatever height it passed, and so several grooves would be started. As time went on each rope would tend to slide into the first groove it found, and so that groove would get deepened a little. And so after years of wear there could be several deep grooves, as in the photo.

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11 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wanted to say that. Here is one on the T&M at a lock entrance 

[DSCF45422.jpg]

Seems a little odd in that it is not easy to see what configuration of horse and boat would actually have the rope bearing on the roller. Unless I have missed something.

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2 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

Seems a little odd in that it is not easy to see what configuration of horse and boat would actually have the rope bearing on the roller. Unless I have missed something.

Pulling the boat out of the lock...   the 'mast' where the boat is pulled from is a way back from bow, which obviously starts behind the gates.

 

As said, originally the bridge (if it had one at all originally) would have been two cantilevered halves with a gap for the rope to be dropped through.

 

Daniel

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I am late to the topic, but believe most of the shroppie 'brick boxes with concrete lids' as per the opening post are now empty, in part for the reasons stated that actually they are not very suitable for storing planks in long term. Given the construction and other canal timelines, I presume they are 1960-70 period rather than original.

 

However there are still plenty of serviceable planks stored at bridges and other strategic points around the system and wooden planks are still used for emergency and routine maintenance. I couldn't really say where  but I have certainly need new stop planks, and new stop plank stored (typically now much more open and ventilated, more a stand with a roof than a box).

 

There are also some maintained stop gates, including the installation near Anderton which I understand in that instance at least will deploy automatically. 

 

 

Daniel

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This map from 1939 shows the stop plank/gate sites near Anderton. Two sets are noted in each direction, perhaps reflecting the difficulty in inserting stopplanks when there is a flow of water. One set would be inserted, and if they did not create a good seal, they were expected to reduce the flow enough such that a second set could be inserted effectively.

1939-7-24 WN47:5 Anderton stop planks 047.jpg

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1 hour ago, DHutch said:

Pulling the boat out of the lock...   the 'mast' where the boat is pulled from is a way back from bow, which obviously starts behind the gates.

 

As said, originally the bridge (if it had one at all originally) would have been two cantilevered halves with a gap for the rope to be dropped through.

 

Daniel

Yes but looking at the photo it seems as if such a rope would bear first on the stone corner. The boat would have to be half out of the lock before it could bear on the roller even with the horse quite close to the lock. (Just looking at the angles - but I do know what it is supposed to do)

1 hour ago, DHutch said:

I am late to the topic, but believe most of the shroppie 'brick boxes with concrete lids' as per the opening post are now empty, in part for the reasons stated that actually they are not very suitable for storing planks in long term. Given the construction and other canal timelines, I presume they are 1960-70 period rather than original.

 

However there are still plenty of serviceable planks stored at bridges and other strategic points around the system and wooden planks are still used for emergency and routine maintenance. I couldn't really say where  but I have certainly need new stop planks, and new stop plank stored (typically now much more open and ventilated, more a stand with a roof than a box).

 

There are also some maintained stop gates, including the installation near Anderton which I understand in that instance at least will deploy automatically. 

 

 

Daniel

Also in some areas the storage is in a hole built into the bridge

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54 minutes ago, Pluto said:

This map from 1939 shows the stop plank/gate sites near Anderton. Two sets are noted in each direction, perhaps reflecting the difficulty in inserting stopplanks when there is a flow of water. One set would be inserted, and if they did not create a good seal, they were expected to reduce the flow enough such that a second set could be inserted effectively.

1939-7-24 WN47:5 Anderton stop planks 047.jpg

Looking at last years photos I cannot see any remaining evidence at the north portal of Barnton Tunnel nor at bridges 201 and 205, the latter two having had recent reconstruction anyway. 

 

Nor could I see anything at Bridge 198 and Bridge 194 no longer exists. All of which suggests a trend away from maintaining such a frequency of stop planks away from major flood risks.

barnton tunnel north detail.jpg

barnton tunnel north.jpg

bridge 200.jpg

bridge 201.jpg

44 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

This is a steel stop plank frame on the T&M   

[DSCF42854.jpg]

Is that the one that was created after the Dutton collapse?

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18 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

Looking at last years photos I cannot see any remaining evidence at the north portal of Barnton Tunnel nor at bridges 201 and 205, the latter two having had recent reconstruction anyway. 

 

Nor could I see anything at Bridge 198 and Bridge 194 no longer exists. All of which suggests a trend away from maintaining such a frequency of stop planks away from major flood risks.

barnton tunnel north detail.jpg

barnton tunnel north.jpg

bridge 200.jpg

bridge 201.jpg

Is that the one that was created after the Dutton collapse?

No its up by Church Lock

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23 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

This is a steel stop plank frame on the T&M   

[DSCF42854.jpg]

Which are a fail, because they dont protect the plank ends!

And you can list the planks out over the locked bars at the ends.

 

23 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

Yes but looking at the photo it seems as if such a rope would bear first on the stone corner. The boat would have to be half out of the lock before it could bear on the roller even with the horse quite close to the lock. (Just looking at the angles - but I do know what it is supposed to do)

 

I expect what has happened there is the lower support as broken and hence the roller is too far in. 

 

 

Daniel

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2 hours ago, DHutch said:

Which are a fail, because they dont protect the plank ends!

And you can list the planks out over the locked bars at the ends.

 

 

I expect what has happened there is the lower support as broken and hence the roller is too far in. 

 

 

Daniel

But the top is no better than the bottom. I is not easy to see how the whole roller was moved to the left (in the photo) by as much as 150- 200mm. (Industrial archaeology is fascinating)

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8 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

But the top is no better than the bottom. I is not easy to see how the whole roller was moved to the left (in the photo) by as much as 150- 200mm. (Industrial archaeology is fascinating)

If its my photo of the roller on the T&M lock it is exactly as original. You really have to see the lock and towpath to see the angles involved

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