Hillmorton Lock 4

[David Mack]

28 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Stourport has wide and narrow locks.

But not exactly side by side.

 

The top few locks at Fairfield on the Ashton were duplicated, but only one now in use.

 

Smethwick Locks on the BCN were duplicated - again only one set in use now.

 

There were narrow locks built alongside the wide locks on the Grand Junction descent from Bulbourne towards Leighton Buzzard. Not much to see of most of the old locks now.

 

And there are the old narrow locks, now disused, alongside the 1930s wide locks from Calcutt to Knowle.

Edited November 13, 2021 by David Mack

[TheBiscuits]

Top two sets on the Ashton flight are parallel narrow locks, but only one of each in use.

[Pluto]

5 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

Cheshire locks 

 

Ellesmere Port - possibly don't count as they are a flight of broad locks and a parallel flight of narrow locks.

 

Dean locks, Ell Meadow locks (disused outside track) on the L&L.  Appley Bridge probably doesn't count as it's one deep lock paralleled by two shallower ones (disused).

 

Leeds Lock A&C. Again the outside track is no longer used.

On the L&LC, Appley deep lock used too much water as it was supplied by the shallower locks above, so the two 'outside line' locks were added to equalise water usage. Dean was doubled fairly early to cope with the coal trade from Crook, while those above were not doubled. Crook lock was done away with when Pagefield was added circa 1910 because of miming subsidence. It was intended that is should have sliding gates to cope with subsidence, but if fitted, they did not last long. There does seem to have been space for a second lock alongside. Hell Meadow was intended for doubling, and a second chamber built, though never used. It is too close to the existing chamber and the balance beams for the old lock overhang the new chamber, so the two would have been difficult to use simultaneously. I suspect that the doubling plans were pre 1st World War, and the decline in traffic after the war made the plans unnecessary.

 

On the A&CN, there is also Thwaite Lock which has two chambers.

[ditchcrawler]

6 hours ago, Rob-M said:

Stourport has wide and narrow locks.

I wanted to put that one in☹️

[PeterScott]

 

Manchester Ship Canal

[PeterScott]

On 11/11/2021 at 09:06, Tonka said:

But who has a 3 ft 6 boat to use half of the lock

 

 

 

(Aylesbury Arm Lock 12 in 2013)

[magpie patrick]

22 hours ago, Col_T said:

Genuine question - how many instances are there of pairs of locks on the network, like those at Hillmorton?

Around two dozen

 

There are 24 on the Trent and Mersey, not all in use, plus Hillmorton, plus a couple of odd ones like Camden Lock on the Regents and Whitby Locks at Ellesmere

Originally the entire Regents canal was doubled up but 11 of the twelve were cascaded, I think in the 80s

And as already mentioned a few others such as the Leeds and Liverpool that are now out of use

[agg221]

The Diglis Basin locks at the bottom of the W&B are (or at least were) paired too as I recall.

 

Alec

Edited November 14, 2021 by agg221

[Captain Pegg]

1 hour ago, agg221 said:

The Diglis Basin locks at the bottom of the W&B are (or at least were) paired too as I recall.

 

Alec

 

They aren't paired now and I wasn't aware they ever were. However, Diglis lock(s) on the Severn are paired.

[john6767]

4 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

They aren't paired now and I wasn't aware they ever were. However, Diglis lock(s) on the Severn are paired.

I was thinking that, for rivers there is at least Diglis, Naburn on the Ouse, and of course Teddington (three if you include the skiff lock).

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, agg221 said:

The Diglis Basin locks at the bottom of the W&B are (or at least were) paired too as I recall.

 

Alec

 

Diglis aren't as others have noted above.  Are you thinking of the narrow and wide locks at Stourport?

[agg221]

27 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

They aren't paired now and I wasn't aware they ever were. However, Diglis lock(s) on the Severn are paired.

That's what I was thinking of. I last went that way in 1993 so it's been a while!

 

Alec

Edited November 14, 2021 by agg221

[Captain Pegg]

On the subject of Hillmorton a couple of weeks ago I passed a Rothen's workboat carrying a lock gate on the Coventry above Atherstone heading in the direction of Hillmorton.

 

I think there's a good chance it was a gate for these replacement works. Planning errors are often a result of an oversight when making a change to the original plan so I'm wondering if the original plan to road the gate directly to Hillmorton was changed to boat transit and the adjacent lock chamber will be used as a dock for loading and unloading materials.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Captain Pegg

[Stroudwater1]

They have the old gates off already and new ones in situ by the looks of it. 
lock 5 is navigable but going down you can’t get over to lock 5 from the left side of the towpath over lock 4 understandably so use the right side. 

Going up yesterday met a guy in a hire boat coming through lock 2 who advised us in hushed tones that the next lock was all closed. He was coming down. 
we aren’t sure if he had turned below the “closed” two locks or thought the right side lock was for going uphill and he had come down the left downhill lock  that was open 🙂 

 

Another paired lock is at Sawley? 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

We are heading that way as Coventry Basin is closed

[Stroudwater1]

Its all good and open  (And nicely quiet!) Just remember to get to the lock on foot by crossing the road bridge 

 

 

 

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

We are heading that way as Coventry Basin is closed

Ah yes, the city of culture....

[ditchcrawler]

7 hours ago, matty40s said:

Ah yes, the city of culture....

 

[Ronaldo47]

Locks at the London end of the Lea & Stort navigation were paired but I think only one of each pair is now in use.  When I visited Old Ford lock in 1968, the commercial traffic I saw was tug plus train of three lighters. The lighters were pulled into the locks using a powered capstan on the central island, and pulled out one at a time by the tug by being added to the reconstructed train.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Ronaldo47
typos

[Phoenix_V]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

Locks at the London end of the Lea & Stort navigation were paired but I think only one of each pair is now in use.  When I visited Old Ford lock in 1968, the commercial traffic I saw was tug plus train of three lighters. The lighters were pulled into the locks using a powered capstan on the central island, and pulled out one at a time by the tug by being added to the reconstructed train.

 

afaik they all still work albeit only one side has been electrified, Pickets of course was always single.

[Lady M]

And the Regents Canal, though only the top pair in Camden are still operational with one of all the other pairs turned into a weir.

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

Locks at the London end of the Lea & Stort navigation were paired but I think only one of each pair is now in use. 

But its not always obvious which one!  Got that wrong a couple of times on my first visit to the Lee in about 30 years, and I was single-handing a 70 footer at the time.

[JamesWoolcock]

Brentford anyone,  or have I missed summut?