Anderton Lift - Temporarily Closed

[J R ALSOP]

Bad news just received, lift shut for summer.

[Arthur Marshall]

And the autumn refurb is cancelled, so...

[haggis]

Not good news ! It will have a big impact on businesses on the river which rely on boats going down the lift as well as on folk wanting to visit the river. Although you can get onto the weaver via the Ship Canal it is an additional cost and has to be arranged. 

[IanD]

That on top of the Bridgewater breach is a disaster for canals/rivers/boaters in that area... 😞 

[TunnelTiger]

Just now, IanD said:

That on top of the Bridgewater breach is a disaster for canals/rivers/boaters in that area... 😞 

 

And a bit further east, don't forget the Huddersfield Narrow. Closed for the long term. 

[IanD]

20 minutes ago, TunnelTiger said:

 

And a bit further east, don't forget the Huddersfield Narrow. Closed for the long term. 

You mean because of the collapsed section next to the lock above the river bank?

 

I hadn't forgotten that, but it's a lot further away on the opposite side of Manchester -- depends how big you take "that area" to be, I suppose.

 

I was thinking more of the Cheshire Ring, which then brings in Bosley and Marple too... :-(

Edited March 28 by IanD

[TunnelTiger]

2 hours ago, IanD said:

You mean because of the collapsed section next to the lock above the river bank?

 

I hadn't forgotten that, but it's a lot further away on the opposite side of Manchester -- depends how big you take "that area" to be, I suppose.

 

I was thinking more of the Cheshire Ring, which then brings in Bosley and Marple too... :-(

 

Sorry, I was thinking "North West" as a region.

[FraserP]

What's shut for the long term?
Bridgewater?
Macclesfield?
Huddersfield Narrow?
Anderton Boat lift ?
Hmmm....

I know its not all CRT but....  

[Tonka]

14 minutes ago, FraserP said:

What's shut for the long term?
Bridgewater?
Macclesfield?
Huddersfield Narrow?
Anderton Boat lift ?
Hmmm....

I know its not all CRT but....  

Walsall Canal?

River Dee Branch ?

 

But on the plus side 

Lancaster Canal has reopened,  just can't get there

[TunnelTiger]

9 minutes ago, FraserP said:

What's shut for the long term?
Bridgewater?
Macclesfield?
Huddersfield Narrow?
Anderton Boat lift ?
Hmmm....

I know its not all CRT but....  

 

Not looking good, is it?  Being optimistic, Bridgewater and Macc look like easy fixes, a bit of earthworks to straightforward breaches. Anderton lift, I've no idea what the problem is, but its a complicated bit of kit. I think Huddersfield Narrow in the Tame Valley is gone forever. 

[Arthur Marshall]

You can't really blame CRT, not any more. There hasn't been enough money for regular maintenance since well before BW left the scene and there never will be again. It's been fire fighting for twenty years and when the rest of the country's infrastructure is falling to bits we come a long way down the list.

You have to remember they're only still here at all because of huge amounts of free volunteer labour, and were only built in the first place so rich people could make money out of them.

And unfortunately we're unlikely to be able to sell them to the Chinese, Indians, Saudis or Russians who seem to own everything else that has or once had the word "British" in its title.

[Tonka]

4 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

You can't really blame CRT, not any more. There hasn't been enough money for regular maintenance since well before BW left the scene and there never will be again. It's been fire fighting for twenty years and when the rest of the country's infrastructure is falling to bits we come a long way down the list.

You have to remember they're only still here at all because of huge amounts of free volunteer labour, and were only built in the first place so rich people could make money out of them.

And unfortunately we're unlikely to be able to sell them to the Chinese, Indians, Saudis or Russians who seem to own everything else that has or once had the word "British" in its title.

I think the way Trump, Putin & the Chinese leader are already dividing up the world amongst themselves they could already be halfway chinese

[wandering snail]

Strange that the Belgians can keep 4 of the 'Andertons' up and running. 

[robtheplod]

2 hours ago, wandering snail said:

Strange that the Belgians can keep 4 of the 'Andertons' up and running. 

Thats probably because they are in Belgium ...

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, wandering snail said:

Strange that the Belgians can keep 4 of the 'Andertons' up and running. 

They also chopped a boat in half with one a few years back

[wandering snail]

15 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

They also chopped a boat in half with one a few years back

Yes the gate opened before making a level breaking the back of a newly restored spitz as it floated out. Took them a few years to repair but in the meantime the other 3 continued. It's virtually an unused canal as everyone uses the modern Strepy Thieu lift but the government continue to maintain these historic structures in full use. There's also the Ronquiere Boat Inclined Plane, still used. The Belgians, in fact most Europeans, have a strong sense of the importance of their heritage and find what's happening to ours quite appalling.

[Pluto]

On 30/03/2025 at 10:47, wandering snail said:

Yes the gate opened before making a level breaking the back of a newly restored spitz as it floated out. Took them a few years to repair but in the meantime the other 3 continued. It's virtually an unused canal as everyone uses the modern Strepy Thieu lift but the government continue to maintain these historic structures in full use. There's also the Ronquiere Boat Inclined Plane, still used. The Belgians, in fact most Europeans, have a strong sense of the importance of their heritage and find what's happening to ours quite appalling.

The Belgians didn't do anything with Godarville Tunnel, taken out of use when Ronquiere Incline was built, nor with the remains of the narrow boat sized tunnel used earlier. And no one in Belgium seems to know anything about early lock development despite the ground paddle and the side pond originating in the country. The former may have first been used on the Brussels Canal, though many records were lost in the Thirty Years War when Brussels was attacked circa 1630, while the side ponds disappeared when the Boezinge Lock was totally destroyed in the First World War.

[Oddjob]

On 29/03/2025 at 18:33, Arthur Marshall said:

You can't really blame CRT, not any more. There hasn't been enough money for regular maintenance since well before BW left the scene and there never will be again. It's been fire fighting for twenty years and when the rest of the country's infrastructure is falling to bits we come a long way down the list.

You have to remember they're only still here at all because of huge amounts of free volunteer labour, and were only built in the first place so rich people could make money out of them.

And unfortunately we're unlikely to be able to sell them to the Chinese, Indians, Saudis or Russians who seem to own everything else that has or once had the word "British" in its title.

Like the “British tram company” ran the trams in Calcutta now the you guessed it the “Calcutta tram company” lol nearly got run down by one the other day, they only have a little bit left now used for tourists. 

[matty40s]

Esther McVey, ex Gov Minister with a filthy rich husband who probably claimed more in expenses for a 2nd London home when in power (whilst renting out their own set of London flats) than the Anderton lift would cost to fix.....weighs in with a grossly inaccurate article.

https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/25106913.esther-mcvey-we-must-get-anderton-boat-lift-working-again/

"it re-opened but it has been out of action since summer 2022."

 

It was fully working last July when we visited.

Edited April 24 by matty40s

[Naartjie AKA Duck Hatch]

On 29/03/2025 at 12:45, TunnelTiger said:

 

Not looking good, is it?  Being optimistic, Bridgewater and Macc look like easy fixes, a bit of earthworks to straightforward breaches. Anderton lift, I've no idea what the problem is, but its a complicated bit of kit. I think Huddersfield Narrow in the Tame Valley is gone forever. 

I hear that the problem was a jammed gate, the gate lifting motor didn't trip out and damaged the  mechanism. Not a major thing unless the trough is also damaged.

Edited April 24 by Naartjie AKA Duck Hatch

[Stroudwater1]

On 29/03/2025 at 12:45, TunnelTiger said:

 

 I think Huddersfield Narrow in the Tame Valley is gone forever. 

 

You can be even more optimistic and positive  

 

Lock 11W works are progressing well and the lock is scheduled to reopen at the end of July. 
 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/30448-navigation-closure-lock-11-west-huddersfield-narrow-canal

 

 

[jaime66]

Any news yet on when the lift is going to be fixed ? Have to go the long way round to get into the weaver now .

[jonathanA]

Doesn't look good from the latest update 

Update 23/05/2025 13:06

 

Since our last update, our engineers have been developing several potential solutions to bring the boat lift back into service. Each will require careful review to ensure the best long-term outcome for this historic structure.

This process will take time and significant investment, but it's important we get it right. While we're still in the early stages, we'll move into detailed design and planning once an option is selected. At that point, we'll have a better idea of timelines.

For now, we do know the lift will remain closed throughout the summer. We'll continue to share updates as progress is made.

[jaime66]

So no news then !!! 

[junior]

1 hour ago, jaime66 said:

So no news then !!! 

Yeah no news I'm afraid. I'm on the Weaver at the moment and came the long way from Ellesmere Port via Manchester Ship Canal. 

 

If you can, it's definitely worth doing. I was only planning on being on the Weaver for a month or so, but I'm contemplating staying for the whole summer now as the river is deserted.