Northern Staffs and Worcs and Llangollen top gate paddles

[Philip]

I made a thread a few years ago on the same subject but I'm wondering if anyone has any fresh memories of gate paddles on the Llangollen and Northern Staffs & Worcs locks; and if so roughly when was it? Even better if anyone has any personal photos they wish to share please?

 

I've just seen a picture of Gailey lock in the mid-50s on a different thread and it shows the top gate with double gate paddles; can anyone remember other locks on this stretch which were like that? I've seen footage of Hurleston top lock from about 1967 and it had a gate paddle then, but again I'm intrigued about other locks along there and the timeframe please?

[Pluto]

For SUC paddle gear, you could have a look in the Shropshire Record Office, where they hold quite a large selection of lock gate drawings, I think from Ellesmere Yard. Not that many include paddle gear, but this is one of them. Surviving drawings tend to be for railway-owned canals, as they were more likely to have a central drawing office, though they were not really necessary. On the L&LC I have found a notebook with outline dimensions for all their lock gates in Yorkshire, but no detailed drawings. After all, canal carpenters had often been apprenticed in the yard, so knew exactly what the local design of lock gate was like in terms of dimensions for timber framing, theu only needed the precise overall dimensions.

[GilesMorris]

I'm pretty sure that several of the locks on the northern S&W still had two top gate paddles in the mid 60's. As the gates were replaced with BWB steel gates that ceased.

[Philip]

On 10/07/2022 at 09:45, Pluto said:

For SUC paddle gear, you could have a look in the Shropshire Record Office, where they hold quite a large selection of lock gate drawings, I think from Ellesmere Yard. Not that many include paddle gear, but this is one of them. Surviving drawings tend to be for railway-owned canals, as they were more likely to have a central drawing office, though they were not really necessary. On the L&LC I have found a notebook with outline dimensions for all their lock gates in Yorkshire, but no detailed drawings. After all, canal carpenters had often been apprenticed in the yard, so knew exactly what the local design of lock gate was like in terms of dimensions for timber framing, theu only needed the precise overall dimensions.

 

Interesting to see the old top gate paddle style - there are still a couple of these remaining at the flights of locks along the Shropshire Union.

20 hours ago, GilesMorris said:

I'm pretty sure that several of the locks on the northern S&W still had two top gate paddles in the mid 60's. As the gates were replaced with BWB steel gates that ceased.

 

Any locks along there spring to mind aside from Gailey?

[GilesMorris]

Penkridge had two. I think Park Gate did until the steel gates went in. Others I am unsure, but I remember it not being unusual - although these are half-century+ memories.

[Philip]

On 12/07/2022 at 17:20, GilesMorris said:

Penkridge had two. I think Park Gate did until the steel gates went in. Others I am unsure, but I remember it not being unusual - although these are half-century+ memories.

 

Thanks for the info. Wonder why they kept the gate paddles and old style paddle gear on the southern section, but not the north?

 

On the Llangollen, I've seen a picture of Swanley bottom lock from 1966 with a gate paddle. Can anyone remember if any Llangollen gate paddles survived into the 70s or 80s?

[Ogwr]

I seem to remember Baddiley Top Lock used to have one from childhood memory many moons ago circa 61/62

[Captain Pegg]

3 hours ago, Philip said:

 

Thanks for the info. Wonder why they kept the gate paddles and old style paddle gear on the southern section, but not the north?

 

On the Llangollen, I've seen a picture of Swanley bottom lock from 1966 with a gate paddle. Can anyone remember if any Llangollen gate paddles survived into the 70s or 80s?

 

I don't know the answer to the S&W question but I suspect the ground paddles are smaller on the southern end where the locks take a very long time to fill without the gate paddles.

 

The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Society will probably know.

 

[GilesMorris]

7 hours ago, Philip said:

Wonder why they kept the gate paddles and old style paddle gear on the southern section, but not the north?

Were the two sections in different BWB administrative units, perhaps? I bought the Staffs & Worcs cruising guide (the old blue paperback, still have it) and was disappointed to find that my home area (Penkridge) wasn't there. I had to buy the Trent & Mersey guide to get that, and it was a non-trivial expense for me at that time.

[Derek R.]

These may not be of any used definitively, as I have no date for when they were taken. They came from a small collection of B & W images in an album from the West family, most of the main line G.U., but these two from the Llangollen. Judging by the Riley 1.5 that was the tow vehicle for their trailered boat, I suspect it was from the sixties.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Derek R.

[Toe Rag]

Wolverley Court lock retains the original pattern twin gate paddles, as stated in the towpath guide no 1 by J. Ian Langford.