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Mixed Messages - Gloucester Lock


Captain Pegg

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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Straight over the weir 


Yep. We wisely ignored the instruction.

 

Coming down on about 3mph of ebb tide…

round the bend…

saw the green light…

Great, the lock’s ready…

Power up, stay close to the wall…

F**k that’s the gates closed…

STOP

 

 


 

 

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2 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:


Yep. We wisely ignored the instruction.

 

Coming down on about 3mph of ebb tide…

round the bend…

saw the green light…

Great, the lock’s ready…

Power up, stay close to the wall…

F**k that’s the gates closed…

STOP

 

 


 

 

Not a great situation.  I call the lock again as I go under the 3 bridges on the approach to Gloucester, and check that at the lock is ready.

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13 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Not a great situation.  I call the lock again as I go under the 3 bridges on the approach to Gloucester, and check that at the lock is ready.


I called at the parting and was told there was a boat locking up that then needed Llanthony bridge lifting and to call back at the three bridges. I did and got the answer machine, as happened thereafter every couple of minutes until there was no point calling. The lockie was clearly out at the swing bridge but had neglected to turn the light back to red. Comically when he returned and saw us hanging on to the wall he turned the light to red.

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When I came down on Scorpio with a bit of fresh running the lockie told me the gates would be open so I was surprised to come round the final bend to see a boat holding on the wall.  I now always anticipate that I will need to hold on the wall and wait.

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6 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

When I came down on Scorpio with a bit of fresh running the lockie told me the gates would be open so I was surprised to come round the final bend to see a boat holding on the wall. 

Same thing happened to us at West Stockwith a few years back. Lockie said the gates would be open for us to go straight into the lock, and as I started to turn in a gin palace cruiser emerged. I had to abort the entry and carry on downstream. Took ages to turn and then inch our way back upstream against the ebbing tide.

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30 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:


I called at the parting and was told there was a boat locking up that then needed Llanthony bridge lifting and to call back at the three bridges. I did and got the answer machine, as happened thereafter every couple of minutes until there was no point calling. The lockie was clearly out at the swing bridge but had neglected to turn the light back to red. Comically when he returned and saw us hanging on to the wall he turned the light to red.

You don’t mean Llanthony bridge I think, everyone needs that lifting.  Presumably you mean the one at the tail of the lock?  I use VHF to contact Gloucester, but if he is not there, he’s not there!

 

I had a similar thing with lights but in reverse at Keadby.  Approaching from the Trent I had already contacted the lock on the radio, and been told it was ready for me, but as I was crossing over the river to the lock side I could see there as a red light, so I called the lock again, and before I had asked the question he realised and it went green.

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11 minutes ago, john6767 said:

You don’t mean Llanthony bridge I think, everyone needs that lifting.  Presumably you mean the one at the tail of the lock?  I use VHF to contact Gloucester, but if he is not there, he’s not there!

 

I had a similar thing with lights but in reverse at Keadby.  Approaching from the Trent I had already contacted the lock on the radio, and been told it was ready for me, but as I was crossing over the river to the lock side I could see there as a red light, so I called the lock again, and before I had asked the question he realised and it went green.

It might have been the same person managing the lock and Llanthony bridge, I've had this where the lock keeper walked from the lock after I went through to open the bridge.

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35 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

It might have been the same person managing the lock and Llanthony bridge, I've had this where the lock keeper walked from the lock after I went through to open the bridge.


It was, and therefore I did mean Llanthony bridge.

 

We did anticipate needing to stop but on seeing the green light was then a bit surprised to then see the gates shut a few moments later.

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11 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:


It was, and therefore I did mean Llanthony bridge.

 

We did anticipate needing to stop but on seeing the green light was then a bit surprised to then see the gates shut a few moments later.

That’s interesting, did not know they did that.  Someone approaching Llanthony bridge from the south could have a long wait to be spotted!  I wonder if they have a camera from the bridge that they can display in the lock control hut.

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Mooring in the docks is currently suspended due to a silt buildup. Llanthony Bridge is being opened for access to/from the lock only, by the lock keeper.

 

The river has been so low this summer that the pumps have been pumping up mostly mud, so the dock basin is inches deep in places and even narrowboats were getting stuck. Dredging is scheduled in the next couple of weeks.

 

Sadly I didn't get a photo, but learned the other week that the bridges can display both red and green simultaneously if the keeper forgets to switch one off!

Edited by Francis Herne
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