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

[Captain Pegg]

2 hours ago, Rob-M said:

The one on the Worcester Birmingham look like they are locked back. I've gone through some of the bridge holes quite quick to see if I could drag a gate closed behind me and they only ever move a few inches until the chain goes tight.

Had to think where you meant, but I recall the bridge at the University has gates. I guess that’s to protect the embankment where Ariel aqueduct now sits but I can’t think where there is another set of gates. I’m guessing there are either a set of gates or grooves for stop planks under the most northerly of the Selly Oak railway bridges.

 

At Bittell embankment bridge 66 (IIRC) has been narrowed to create a stop narrows which shows how easy it would be to standardise the widths to enable the use of universal(ish) stop planks that can be transported to site. In any case most bridges on a canal would likely have been built to the same specified width. It just so happened that the W&B had wide bridges despite having narrow locks therefore it was expedient to create a narrows for the stop planks.

[Pluto]

The map shows the location of stop planks on the Bridgewater and T&MC, and comes from 2WW papers on air raid precautions, though I think they were all existing stops. The photo is of the temporary wartime stops installed on the L&LC in Liverpool. Only one side remains.

[ditchcrawler]

10 minutes ago, Pluto said:

The map shows the location of stop planks on the Bridgewater and T&MC, and comes from 2WW papers on air raid precautions, though I think they were all existing stops. The photo is of the temporary wartime stops installed on the L&LC in Liverpool. Only one side remains.

 

 

Also this for London 

 https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/caring-for-our-heritage/heritage-team-blog/heritage-team/safeguarding-london-in-wartime-air-raid-protection-gates

[jetzi]

How about these? On the towpath side of every bridge, full of strange grooves?

[Ray T]

Where the horse tow ropes cut groves over many many years.

When boats were horse drawn of course. 
The metal strips were to protect the brick work.

Cheaper to replace than repair the bridge itself.

Edited November 15, 2020 by Ray T

[TheBiscuits]

2 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

How about these? On the towpath side of every bridge, full of strange grooves?

 

Rope scars from the towing line on horse boats.  Some bridges have actual rollers rather than just bars to protect the stonework.

 

Some of them are replicas so they look cool, others are original.

 

ADD: crossed with Ray - must type less or faster!

[MoominPapa]

Pre-empting a possible next question: "Why do all the locks have two bywashes". 

 

The canal is fed with water from the clean output of the sewage works at Wolverhampton. I  guess that you cant just turn that off, so the bywashes have been improved or doubled to make sure that the pounds can't overflow even when the locks aren't being used much. The same source also feeds the summit pound of the Staffs and Worcester on the other side of Autherley stop lock.

 

That means that when someone flushes the loo on Wolverhampton, the water can eventually end up going down the Shroppie and ending up in the river Dee after weiring over the gates of the top lock of the Dee Locks branch in Chester, or in the Mersey via Ellesmere port, or it can go down the Middlewich branch, through Big Lock  and towards Northwich and end up in Weaver via the overflow and cascade next to the Anderton boat lift.  If it goes into the S&W it can flow down to Stourport and into the Severn and the Bristol Channel, or it can flow towards Great Haywood and eventually to the North Sea via the Trent and Mersey to  Alrewas and the River Trent. A real watershed.

 

MP.

 

[Rob-M]

@ivan&alice perhaps you should ask Santa for The Illustrated History of Canal & River Navigations. This would provide answers to your history questions and much more.

[tree monkey]

10 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

@ivan&alice perhaps you should ask Santa for The Illustrated History of Canal & River Navigations. This would provide answers to your history questions and much more.

But may stop the questions and they are interesting and no one has mentioned the B word or the orange man, I appreciate I just have but I think I have got away with it

 

[Tam & Di]

On 14/11/2020 at 15:52, ditchcrawler said:

Also this for London 

 https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/caring-for-our-heritage/heritage-team-blog/heritage-team/safeguarding-london-in-wartime-air-raid-protection-gates

As noted in Brian's link on long pounds there are sometimes two pairs, closing in opposite directions so as to protect surrounding land and property in the event of a breach on either side.

 

Tam

[Ray T]

Other fixtures and fittings "you" may come across.

Horse tunnel:

 

Roller on top of a bridge:

 

Turnover bridge, allows the horse and towpath to change sides without unhitching the horse.

 

Split bridge. 

 

[Athy]

Nicely, Ray.

 

Now, Ivan and Alice, today's test: What was the purpose of the split bridge?

Marks will NOT be awarded for the answer "To get from one side of the canal to the other".

[tree monkey]

Just now, Athy said:

Nicely, Ray.

 

Now, Ivan and Alice, today's test: What was the purpose of the split bridge?

Marks will NOT be awarded for the answer "To get from one side of the canal to the other".

So you could stand in the middle and wee through the gap?

[Rob-M]

1 minute ago, Athy said:

Nicely, Ray.

 

Now, Ivan and Alice, today's test: What was the purpose of the split bridge?

Marks will NOT be awarded for the answer "To get from one side of the canal to the other".

Was it to allow boats with thin masts to pass through?

[matty40s]

40 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

Pre-empting a possible next question: "Why do all the locks have two bywashes". 

 

The canal is fed with water from the clean output of the sewage works at Wolverhampton. I  guess that you cant just turn that off, so the bywashes have been improved or doubled to make sure that the pounds can't overflow even when the locks aren't being used much. The same source also feeds the summit pound of the Staffs and Worcester on the other side of Autherley stop lock.

 

That means that when someone flushes the loo on Wolverhampton, the water can eventually end up going down the Shroppie and ending up in the river Dee after weiring over the gates of the top lock of the Dee Locks branch in Chester, or in the Mersey via Ellesmere port, or it can go down the Middlewich branch, through Big Lock  and towards Northwich and end up in Weaver via the overflow and cascade next to the Anderton boat lift.  If it goes into the S&W it can flow down to Stourport and into the Severn and the Bristol Channel, or it can flow towards Great Haywood and eventually to the North Sea via the Trent and Mersey to  Alrewas and the River Trent. A real watershed.

 

MP.

 

Does this win the How Far Can You Pee competition??

[Ray T]

So one could look down to make sure a Troll isn't hiding there. 

[TheBiscuits]

4 minutes ago, Athy said:

today's test: What was the purpose of the split bridge?

Marks will NOT be awarded for the answer "To get from one side of the canal to the other".

 

Why not? It is the correct answer to the question.

 

"What is/was the purpose of the split in the bridge?" might have been a better question ...

[Rob-M]

Can't recall which book I was reading where the author said the girls stood on the bridges and you had a quick glimpse as you boated under the bridge.

[Ray T]

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

So you could stand in the middle and wee through the gap?

Actually the sad thing is so called civilised men off the bank would piddle on working boaters from bridges.

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Why not? It is the correct answer to the question.

 

"What is/was the purpose of the split in the bridge?" might have been a better question ...

There is merit in your answer and I'll give it 8/10

 

It would have been 10/10, but two marks deducted for being such a smart*rse.

[J R ALSOP]

1 hour ago, ivan&alice said:

How about these? On the towpath side of every bridge, full of strange grooves?

Early bar codes?

[jetzi]

 

 

1 hour ago, Ray T said:

Where the horse tow ropes cut groves over many many years.

When boats were horse drawn of course. 
The metal strips were to protect the brick work.

Cheaper to replace than repair the bridge itself.

  

 

1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

Rope scars from the towing line on horse boats.  Some bridges have actual rollers rather than just bars to protect the stonework.

 

Some of them are replicas so they look cool, others are original.

 

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.

 

 

 

26 minutes ago, Athy said:

Now, Ivan and Alice, today's test: What was the purpose of the split bridge?

Marks will NOT be awarded for the answer "To get from one side of the canal to the other".

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!

 

33 minutes ago, Ray T said:

Other fixtures and fittings "you" may come across.

 

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.

 

[Rob-M]

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.

 

[Captain Pegg]

2 hours ago, Rob-M said:

Can't recall which book I was reading where the author said the girls stood on the bridges and you had a quick glimpse as you boated under the bridge.

That would have been one of Tom Foxon’s books.

[Ray T]

From the video "By Canal in the 50's" showing how the rope would rub a bridge arch.

Horse just gone behind the bridge following the towpath.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by Ray T