European Waterway Locks

[oboat]

Locks in Europe

Can anybody list a (West) European canal or river network with locks over 14.m wide and if so which type of lock gate system do they have?

[Boaty Jo]

No (as far as I know.

There are 11 / 12 m ones on the larger rivers but not 14.

Many smaller ones are around 5m

You do know you're not supposed to go in sideways.

[magpie patrick]

The Manchester Ship Canal locks are around 24 metres wide and have mitre gates

 

There will be other locks in Europe that are 14 metres and more wide, but I suspect not that many. Width (of boat and structure) is much more expensive than length when it comes to canal building

[Athy]

 

You do know you're not supposed to go in sideways.

[Tam & Di]

Waterways classified as "of international importance" V1b have dimensions to take craft (push-tows) of 140m x 15m x 3.90m, but I'd have to think for a bit about which ones fall into this ctegory and I'm about to go out shortly. Pluto might come back before I do with the answer.

 

Tam

 

edit to add the Maas route to Born in the Netherlands and the Elbe-Havel Kanal and Lower Havel in Germany are this category (or currently being upgraded), but I don't know what type of gate they have. Why do you ask re that aspect?

Edited March 5, 2016 by Tam & Di

[bargemast]

If you know where you want to go, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the dimensions of the locks you'll have to pass on your way.

 

In the Netherlands many locks on the bigger commercial waterways will be at least 16m wide, as an example the Canal from Amsterdam to the Rhine (Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal) has locks that are 18 and 24m.

 

In Belgium they opened a new lock a little while ago at Lanaye that is 25m wide.

 

Doors exist in all kinds of different systems, 2 ordinary doors, 1 huge door, gillotine vertical doors, sort of half cylindrical horizontal doors (like on the upstream side of some Seine locks, horizontal sliding doors.

 

I'm sure that a liitle bit of researche with the help of Internet will be able to answer your questions.

 

Peter.

[oboat]

Waterways classified as "of international importance" V1b have dimensions to take craft (push-tows) of 140m x 15m x 3.90m, but I'd have to think for a bit about which ones fall into this ctegory and I'm about to go out shortly. Pluto might come back before I do with the answer.

 

Tam

 

edit to add the Maas route to Born in the Netherlands and the Elbe-Havel Kanal and Lower Havel in Germany are this category (or currently being upgraded), but I don't know what type of gate they have. Why do you ask re that aspect?

 

 

Thanks that’s very interesting.

 

I was told the Wet Dock in Boston lost one of its European short sea customer’s (I think Dutch) because its river lock is only 13.5m wide.

I know many of the Rhine locks are only 11m to 12m

 

The proposed new (flood) sliding lock gate will only be 13.5m. With all the proposed work needed for that, it would seem to be a lost opportunity if 15m is available in Holland and the port wants to stay competitive.

 

Which then begs the question how many other small UK east coast/river ports can take, canal or short sea craft up to (V1b)15m beam? (Not push-tows).

[Peter X]

It turns out that the world's biggest lock is not on the Panama Canal as I would have guessed, but in the Antwerp docks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berendrecht_Lock

It's 500 x 68m and has four sliding lock gates. That would make an interesting experience in a narrow boat.

[oboat]

If you know where you want to go, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the dimensions of the locks you'll have to pass on your way.

 

In the Netherlands many locks on the bigger commercial waterways will be at least 16m wide, as an example the Canal from Amsterdam to the Rhine (Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal) has locks that are 18 and 24m.

 

In Belgium they opened a new lock a little while ago at Lanaye that is 25m wide.

 

Doors exist in all kinds of different systems, 2 ordinary doors, 1 huge door, gillotine vertical doors, sort of half cylindrical horizontal doors (like on the upstream side of some Seine locks, horizontal sliding doors.

 

I'm sure that a liitle bit of researche with the help of Internet will be able to answer your questions.

 

Peter.

 

Thanks Peter.

I have seen the falling gates on the Moselle & I have been told about the low energy cylindrical horizontal doors you mention, but I have not been able to find any technical details on them. Do you have a technical name for them? I shall be jn Paris at the end of the month, so can you give me an easy access location in the Paris area so I can look see?

[bargemast]

 

 

Thanks that’s very interesting.

 

I was told the Wet Dock in Boston lost one of its European short sea customer’s (I think Dutch) because its river lock is only 13.5m wide.

I know many of the Rhine locks are only 11m to 12m

 

The proposed new (flood) sliding lock gate will only be 13.5m. With all the proposed work needed for that, it would seem to be a lost opportunity if 15m is available in Holland and the port wants to stay competitive.

 

Which then begs the question how many other small UK east coast/river ports can take, canal or short sea craft up to (V1b)15m beam? (Not push-tows).

 

The 12m Rhine locks have a second lock of 23, 24 or 25m aswell, inland cargo vessels are getting bigger all the time.

 

Peter.

[bargemast]

To give you an idea of one of these horizontal doors that are operated by a circular movement of 90°, I managed to find a site with some photos that explain more and better than I'm able to write :

 

http://www.simonszand.net/Ecluse%20de%20Champagne.html

 

Hope that this will help you understand how they work.

 

Peter.

[Hornblower]

I live in Germany next to the Mittellandkanal which crosses Niedersachsen from west to east and links Berlin / river Havel / river Elbe with the river Ems and finally the Rhine. I haven´t seen the whole canal but some parts. The locks are described with a width of about 12 m. On my tours on the Mittellandkanal, the Elbe-Seitenkanal (from Mittellandkanal to river Elbe near Hamburg) and some rivers and canals around Berlin I saw different lockgates. Most of them are sliding into the lockwall. There are also guillotine-type gates and a ship lift near Lüneburg. It´s quite interesting to see so many different locks.

 

Why are you interested in the european locks, Do you have a very-widebeam "narrowboat" with a width of about 14 m?!

 

Cheers from Germany.

[PaulG]

The Kiel canal can accomodate vessesl 32.50 metres wide.

Edited March 15, 2016 by PaulG

[David Mack]

The West India Dock entrance lock is 24.4m wide.

 

You can see the gates being moved for repair in this thread: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=83187

 

 

[bargemast]

If you want to go to Amsterdam, arriving from the sea, the locks at IJmuiden have a choice of lenghts and widths :

 

 

Lenght Width depth

Naam sluis Jaar ingebruikname Lengte(in m) Breedte(in m) Diepte(in m)

Kleine sluis 1876 69 12 5

Zuidersluis 1876 120 18 8

Middensluis 1896 225 25 10

Noordersluis 1929 400 50 15

 

Nieuwe sluis 2019 500 70 18

 

The Nieuwe Sluis (New Lock) that should be ready in 2019 will be 500m long 70m wide and 18m deep, so no problems for getting to Amsterdam in a Mirror Dingy after 2019.

 

Peter.

Edited March 15, 2016 by bargemast

[magpie patrick]

If you want to go to Amsterdam, arriving from the sea, the locks at IJmuiden have a choice of lenghts and widths :

 

 

Lenght Width depth

Naam sluis Jaar ingebruikname Lengte(in m) Breedte(in m) Diepte(in m)

 

Kleine sluis 1876 69 12 5

Zuidersluis 1876 120 18 8

Middensluis 1896 225 25 10

Noordersluis 1929 400 50 15

 

Nieuwe sluis 2019 500 70 18

 

The Nieuwe Sluis (New Lock) that should be ready in 2019 will be 500m long 70m wide and 18m deep, so no problems for getting to Amsterdam in a Mirror Dingy after 2019.

 

Peter.

 

Kleine Sluis being relative in this instance....

 

The Kiel canal can accomodate vessesl 32.50 metres wide.

 

On the two big locks to the right, are those caisson gates?

[oboat]

If you want to go to Amsterdam, arriving from the sea, the locks at IJmuiden have a choice of lenghts and widths :

 

 

Lenght Width depth

Naam sluis Jaar ingebruikname Lengte(in m) Breedte(in m) Diepte(in m)

 

Kleine sluis 1876 69 12 5

Zuidersluis 1876 120 18 8

Middensluis 1896 225 25 10

Noordersluis 1929 400 50 15

 

Nieuwe sluis 2019 500 70 18

 

The Nieuwe Sluis (New Lock) that should be ready in 2019 will be 500m long 70m wide and 18m deep, so no problems for getting to Amsterdam in a Mirror Dingy after 2019.

 

Peter.

 

All very interesting, it doesn’t take much to understand why we have so many big trucks on the cross channel ferries when our East Coast port gates are so small, most seem to be less than 14m wide.

 

The M25 & the A34 full of containers from the new Mega Ports are not a happy sight ether. Perhaps we need a new National Small Ports policy?

[bargemast]

 

Kleine Sluis being relative in this instance....

 

 

On the two big locks to the right, are those caisson gates?

 

The 2 caisons in the left big lock look like 2 parts of the horizontal sliding door that has been removed for works at the lock, there seems to be a long string with orange balls for protection.

 

The doors of the 2 locks on the right are both horizontally sliding doors.

 

Peter.