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Harecastle Tunnel closed till further notice

Arthur Marshall

By Arthur Marshall
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Arthur Marshall Veteran II

Arthur Marshall

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"Please be aware we have had to close Harecastle Tunnel until further notice.

The rudder has snapped on the rescue boat and it requires an urgent repair. Unfortunately, we can’t have passages through the tunnel without this rescue boat, as it is specific to rescues for the tunnel. We are currently looking at alternatives for what we can do.

We will know more as soon as we have established the extent of the damage"

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Jon57 Rising Star

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Posted
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26 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

"Please be aware we have had to close Harecastle Tunnel until further notice.

The rudder has snapped on the rescue boat and it requires an urgent repair. Unfortunately, we can’t have passages through the tunnel without this rescue boat, as it is specific to rescues for the tunnel. We are currently looking at alternatives for what we can do.

We will know more as soon as we have established the extent of the damage"

Wouldn't be vandellisium by any chance 🤔😭😡

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magpie patrick Veteran II

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I was relieved when I read WHY the tunnel is closed - those who remember the dark days of the seventies and early 80's will recall when tunnels closed "UFN" meant months, years and possibly never. 

 

With the current funding of CRT one shudders  to think what would happen if the structure of a tunnel started to move.

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Jen-in-Wellies Veteran II

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7 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

I was relieved when I read WHY the tunnel is closed - those who remember the dark days of the seventies and early 80's will recall when tunnels closed "UFN" meant months, years and possibly never. 

 

With the current funding of CRT one shudders  to think what would happen if the structure of a tunnel started to move.

I had the same reaction. A big "oh no", followed by a relieved "phew".

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Puffling Proficient

Puffling

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48 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

I was relieved when I read WHY the tunnel is closed - those who remember the dark days of the seventies and early 80's will recall when tunnels closed "UFN" meant months, years and possibly never. 

 

With the current funding of CRT one shudders  to think what would happen if the structure of a tunnel started to move.

The Harecastle is a vital artery on the T & M. Albeit a rather unhealthy artery suffering atherosclerosis as a result of too much saturated fat in the water. I mean, just look at its colour...

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Tracy D'arth Veteran II

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Posted (edited)

How did the rudder snap? It never gets used!!!  Its a hopeless idea anyway, I fail to see how it can be effective unless there is only boat in the tunnel.

 

We have managed without a useless "rescue" boat for 150 years.

Edited by Tracy D'arth
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Iain_S Influencer

Iain_S

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When we broke down in the tunnel, it was a boat from the next group through who pushed us out. The rescue boat did not have crew available "for at least an hour", according to the North Portal tunnel keeper.

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

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4 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

How did the rudder snap? It never gets used!!!  Its a hopeless idea anyway, I fail to see how it can be effective unless there is only boat in the tunnel.

 

We have managed without a useless "rescue" boat for 150 years.

 

My guess is, a boat hit it - hard - and bent it. Someone thought they could fix it on the cheap and tried to bend it back, but snapped it in doing so.

 

When I worked on a farm, occasionally the cow cubicle dividers would get bent. So it was a semi-regular task to go into the shed with a telehandler and push on it with the headstock to bend it back. The farmer's daughter would say "don't snap it off" but in reality, it needed fixing one way or another, whether its to bend it back or replace it (they unbolt and we always had a few spares). Helps keep the bactoscan down, in theory.

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Arthur Marshall Veteran II

Arthur Marshall

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4 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

It’s a  failing that there appears no contingency here. Lucky for CRT that this is out of season. 
 

I imagine the rudder extends beyond the stern, bit silly to moor it in the way it is, surprising it’s not been hit hard before ? 
 

IMG_2023-11-09-180805.png.095fd413598123df9e8fca66c8f5a602.png

It gets hit by boats coming out of the tunnel, so they'd clout the pointy end rather than the blunt bit, or more likely the side. . You'd only hit the rudder end if coming in behind it to use the services, and even then a boat would have to be a fairly odd shape to hit it. You wouldn't be at the right angle to hit it going into the tunnel unless you were a really, really bad driver.

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Grassman Rising Star

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When we came through the tunnel (north to south) on Wednesday they had to move the workboat to let the 5 of us (pre-bookings) through. When I reached Etruria Locks an hour later, I was chatting to a CRT chap when he received the call about the rudder. He said he was off to help them try to find it! I presume the rudder dropped off when they moved the boat that morning.

 

I'm so relieved I hadn't opted for the later booking as I'd have been stuck the wrong side. Phew!

19 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

How did the rudder snap? It never gets used!!!  Its a hopeless idea anyway, I fail to see how it can be effective unless there is only boat in the tunnel.

 

We have managed without a useless "rescue" boat for 150 years.

 

Last year we had the rudder drop off the workboat that we were using to do the offside vegetation cutting. It had obviously received several 'codge job' repairs in the past, performed whilst it was in the water rather than having to dry dock it, and the holes at the edges of the rudder through which the bolts went, had rusted right through to the edge of the rudder. 

 

Unfortunately another example thats backfired of CRT having to be reactive instead of proactive in order to try and save money.

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PCSB Proficient

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Posted
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

They reckon they’ll be open for business first thing Monday morning. 
 

🤷‍♀️

 

wish they could say same about the tree blocking my route 😃

The one near bridge 8 on the Shroppie? We're stuck between that and Brewood.

Edited by PCSB
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