Canal Closed

[Jo_]

CRT have just tweeted that "Wolverhampton Lock" will be closed till the 12th of July

[LEO]

Hi,

 

Interesting situation - I think CaRt are probably taking a very careful approach to this problem.

 

They have learnt from the collapsed single lock on the Aylesbury arm how quickly these side wall failures develop. If a boat had been using the collapsed lock the danger to boat and lock users would have been immense.

 

As a previous poster (Pete I - hi) stated the system is 200+ years old, is now heavily used with minimum maintenance - these structural failings will only increase.

 

Leo.

[Taslim]

In a way to defend myself a little.

 

I am NOT having a go at anyone/organisation that runs our waterways at present ie.C&RT , in my view, British Waterways seem to have mis-managed the system by being re-active rather than pro-active in their approach to the maintenance.

 

I am, in all seriousness, giving C&RT a fair crack of the whip to sort out what they have been left with in their inheritance.

 

Maybe, vandalism, maybe not. What they don't say is what sort of vandalism. Have the locals employed a JCB to destabilise the lock walls?

 

Martyn

A late post, though I have looked right through the thread.

 

Although I go with the lack of proactive maintenance theory a local farm has recently had a large section of dry stone wall, gateposts and finals pinched and someone knicked our cast iron telephone box last month so don't rule out JCB or Hiab.

 

I live in a good post code with low insurance rates.

[Keeping Up]

I still have trouble understanding how the opening of paddles and draining all the pounds above, would have this effect unless it was about to fail anyway.

[RLWP]

Excessive run off though some channel that wasn't intended for the purpose?

 

Richard

[Allan(nb Albert)]

I still have trouble understanding how the opening of paddles and draining all the pounds above, would have this effect unless it was about to fail anyway.

Interesting picture -

 

Wolverhampton Lock Failure

 

 

 

[Mick and Maggie]

I hope Richard Parry understands the scale of the inconvenience that the stoppage may cause some people. For him it may be just a change in the route of a day out, for others it could be serious and expensive.

 

Maybe we should also remind him of some of the finest moments of his predecessor. Like the ill conceived British Waterways pub partnership that went into administration, costing us a very cool £22 million - money that should have been spent on maintenance.

Remember the installation of totally unnecessary metal bollards at narrow locks, that were not only unnecessary, but proved to be extremely dangerous. So at a cost of over £1,000 per lock to install the metal bollards, a further £750 a lock had to be spent to remove them. Again costing us - money that should have been spent on maintenance.

But this was very small fry to the later schemes of spending millions to purchase marinas that would provide 'money for maintenance' that have proved to be another stinging slap in the face. Again costing us - money that should have been spent on maintenance.

The 'Pièce de résistance' being the writing-off of £33 millions on the Gloucester precinct fiasco. Again costing us - money that should have been spent on maintenance.

Richard will need to get a hold of the crazy spending of his profligate senior members of staff and to ensure that investments go into the canal infrastructure.

 

regards

 

Mick

[RLWP]

I'm jealous now - we only got wooden bollards

 

Nice rant, by the way

 

Richard

[luctor et emergo]

The locks between Bradford on Avon and Hanham are in a perilous state. Many leaks through the chamber walls (similar problem in waiting to the above one? We had lock 11 closed to repair a crumbling wall only two weeks ago..), gates that don't sit properly and don't butt together but 'overlap' , worn and leaking paddle gear, and generaly the structures are only just hanging together.

The problem is made worse because these locks are heavily used, and get a lot of impact damage. Gate qoins get badly damaged by boats slamming into the gates, and only opening one gate to enter/exit makes things worse. There are some very tight turns out of and into the shortly spaced locks, and the walls are bearing the scars of boats coming out to fast, and being unable to make the turn.

[luctor et emergo]

And whilst this may be seen as another 'Hirer Bashing', the sheer amount of hirers that we get here, that are drunk and/or don't care, seems to be disproportionate. Mostly in 70' boats with powerfull engines (for river trips), they don't care if they do damage.

 

And before the bleeding hand wringers jump on me, stating that 'in 20 years as a hirer I never did anything bad, so you talk bow locks' , just come and spend some time here. An afternoon at Bradford on Avon lock is good entertainment. Or moor your boat in Bathampton, or by Dundas Aquaduct, and share the fun of a pirate boat bouncing of you, with heavily refreshed crew laughinh and shouting obscenities. If you're realy lucky, one may be dressed in a bikini, or get his tackle out for your viewing pleasure.

[Guest]

And whilst this may be seen as another 'Hirer Bashing', the sheer amount of hirers that we get here, that are drunk and/or don't care, seems to be disproportionate. Mostly in 70' boats with powerfull engines (for river trips), they don't care if they do damage.

 

And before the bleeding hand wringers jump on me, stating that 'in 20 years as a hirer I never did anything bad, so you talk bow locks' , just come and spend some time here. An afternoon at Bradford on Avon lock is good entertainment. Or moor your boat in Bathampton, or by Dundas Aquaduct, and share the fun of a pirate boat bouncing of you, with heavily refreshed crew laughinh and shouting obscenities. If you're realy lucky, one may be dressed in a bikini, or get his tackle out for your viewing pleasure.

 

In Five (not twenty I'm not old enough) years as a hirer I never did anything as bad as that.

 

Not hand wringing or winging just a simple fact.

 

I doubt to be honest If we ever would want to wander down that way as you so often paint such a crap picture of how it is I'm surprised anybody even bothers boating there.

Edited June 22, 2013 by The Dog House

[Ian Mac]

Having seen the picture of the failure, I don't believe the lock side was like that on Wednesday morning, when we worked through, as I would have paniced having seen it. It looks like the wall has been pushed in by water flowing around the lock, caused by the flow of 16 pounds worth of water coming down the flight. That is one hell of a bit of vandalism. The question we should now be asking here is how do we stop that sort of thing, given we can't employee people to work 24/7 on the waterways.It can't have happened by accident and someone must have a key and a windlass to do it, because most people lock most locks most of the time so having 16 out of 21 locks unlocked is not really going to happen. People are not loyal to jobs these days, so will no one would do it and anyway there is no house at the bottom of the flight these days, so what technology can we use?

Edited June 22, 2013 by Ian Mac

[luctor et emergo]

It is not crap, quite the opposite, it is beautifull down here. But the state of repair of the K&A is bad, and yes, the antics of boozed up hire boats are spoiling it. (I have wondered, wether enquiries by large, single sex groups, are somehow 'channeled' to the bases down here )

It is absolutely wonderfull here in the winter.

That is why I'm considering a (possibly seasonal) move to the Midlands.

Having seen the picture of the failure, I don't believe the lock side was like that on Wednesday morning, when we worked through, as I would have paniced having seen it. It looks like the wall has been pushed in by water flowing around the lock, caused by the flow of 16 pounds worth of water coming down the flight. That is one hell of a bit of vandalism. The question we should now be asking here is how do we stop that sort of thing, given we can't employee people to work 24/7 on the waterways.It can't have happened by accident and someone must have a key and a windlass to do it, because most people lock most locks most of the time so having 16 out of 21 locks unlocked is not really going to happen. People are not loyal to jobs these days, so will no one would do it and anyway there is no house at the bottom of the flight these days, so what technology can we use?

A lock keeper?

[Ian Mac]

A lock keeper?

Get real, no one O.K. there may be the odd mug left will work for free in this day and age, as a regular job. A lock keep use to be provided with a house and it was a job for life, and was a two way rewarding job. Those days had well and truly passed by the end of 1970's. So you would now need a team of lock keepers and they can't evict people as the canal side is now a public place, it use to be private property. and if you are attempting to stop vandalism you would need at last two people, I would not want to meet scrot by myself. So what is a realistic answer, because if we don't come up with one, this problem will not go away, and the result will be further closures and more complex user locks, which will still not stop a determined vandal.

[Semitrad]

Interesting picture -

 

Wolverhampton Lock Failure

 

 

 

 

It does look as though a long bar has been inserted into the crack and the wall levered away from the side, crumbling the bricks in the process.

[dmr]

Having seen the picture of the failure, I don't believe the lock side was like that on Wednesday morning, when we worked through, as I would have paniced having seen it. It looks like the wall has been pushed in by water flowing around the lock, caused by the flow of 16 pounds worth of water coming down the flight. That is one hell of a bit of vandalism. The question we should now be asking here is how do we stop that sort of thing, given we can't employee people to work 24/7 on the waterways.It can't have happened by accident and someone must have a key and a windlass to do it, because most people lock most locks most of the time so having 16 out of 21 locks unlocked is not really going to happen. People are not loyal to jobs these days, so will no one would do it and anyway there is no house at the bottom of the flight these days, so what technology can we use?

 

It is possible that the last boat through did not reset the anti-vandal locks. There were a very large number of boats going up and down that day (us included) and the locks may have been left off when another boat was following and that last (inexperienced?) crew then failing to set them.

Alternatively it is also not exactly difficult to obtain an anti-vandal key; they must have either a windlass or big adjustable spanner already

It sounds like this draining happens quite often on this flight so as there are level sensors fitted all over the system surely it would be possible for the monitoring software to detect serial pound draining at a very early stage and contact either a CaRT emergency number or the police. If there is a risk of flooding then it would not be inappropriate to call the emergency services.

 

...............Dave

[RLWP]

 

 

It does look as though a long bar has been inserted into the crack and the wall levered away from the side, crumbling the bricks in the process.

 

Have you ever tried to demolish a wall?

 

The hole towards the centre will be from the investigation.

 

Richard

[Ian Mac]

 

 

It does look as though a long bar has been inserted into the crack and the wall levered away from the side, crumbling the bricks in the process.

I suspect that the flood water poured over the lock side and has taken the wall with it, 16 locks worth of water is a huge flow rate and will move mountains, once the smallest of cracks appears and the turbulence of the water can get behind it as well as the flow over the effective weir crest, then it stood no chance, you can see bad scouring at the centre where the failure will have happened. Compare the wall in my bad pictures to the wall after the flood and you can see how far it has pushed the wall over.

[Keeping Up]

Surely the flow rate is just the flow through the paddles that have been opened.

[Semitrad]

 

Have you ever tried to demolish a wall?

 

The hole towards the centre will be from the investigation.

 

Richard

 

 

Front garden walls on the estate where I used to live were regularly blown over by strong winds, and occasionally by children. They were only about two feet high, a lock wall 10 or 12 feet high is likely to be much more easily moved by top leverage. But I accept your point about the hole.

[cotswoldsman]

 

 

It does look as though a long bar has been inserted into the crack and the wall levered away from the side, crumbling the bricks in the process.

As they say nothing like going to have a look yourself. I was due to go up anyway. I would definitely go with the weather I was talking to a guy that knows the flight very well. Bearing in mind it is the second to last lock on a long flight he says it is the rising Water Table and if you look down the hole you can see a lot of water. He also said it all happened very suddenly no real signs that it might happen. Oh he did not work for CRT but walks up and down a few times every week.

 

 

 

[Ian Mac]

Surely the flow rate is just the flow through the paddles that have been opened.

If they get the timing right and are working downhill then it is the rate through all 32 paddles all arriving simultaneously at the next lock, which is a he.. of a flow rate!!!! which is why some flights have restrictors on them - The Rochdale 18+1-2 for example.

[john6767]

OK here is my theory for what it is worth. This is on the towpath side, and I think I am right in thinking that the land falls down to the towpath at that point, so with saturated ground then water pressure could build up behind from ground water and really nothing to do with the water from the canal. What could have contributed at the point of failure is the lock being left empty for an extended period.

[pearley]

Or moor your boat in Bathampton, or by Dundas Aquaduct, and share the fun of a pirate boat bouncing of you, with heavily refreshed crew laughinh and shouting obscenities. If you're realy lucky, one may be dressed in a bikini, or get his tackle out for your viewing pleasure.

Saw exactly that in Birmingham yesterday morning.

 

Pete

[Mick and Maggie]

 

Well said Mrs Tawny Owl. I think we do need to Give CaRT some leeway for the time being. Whether we like what's happened or not, re the enforced charitable status of CaRT, they are doing their best with the resources they have for the present. Nightwatch is also right in as much that a lot of required repairs are the result of decades of neglect by British Waterways. Also, as was pointed out, the infrastructure is 250 years or more old.

It would seem that Lock 20 is not a circa 250 year old structure. From Narrowboat World (it is perhaps worth noting that Lock 20 is the 'youngest' of the locks in the flight, built later to help control the water levels and variations in pound depths.)

 

Mick