Forth and Clyde Closure

[Up-Side-Down]

43 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

Hmm. It seems that they're trying to reopen it: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/heres-lock-27-shut-doors-14238323

Ignore the clickbait title. The article gives NO reason as to why they closed.

Here's hoping then! Although the dockside beer garden will undoubtedly loose some of its appeal if there are no longer any boats on the canal. Should we blame your arrival for jinxing the canal ......... ?

[ronnietucker]

12 minutes ago, Up-Side-Down said:

Here's hoping then! Although the dockside beer garden will undoubtedly loose some of its appeal if there are no longer any boats on the canal. Should we blame your arrival for jinxing the canal ......... ?

3

Absolutely!

I remember when I was still thinking about buying the boat and asked Scottish Canals about winter and they said 'oh the winters have been quite mild'. The year I buy a boat and we have one of the worst winters in a long time, and at least two broken bridges.

I buy a new electric, folding, bike and the first week I go to use it we get 18" of snow from Siberia.

Coincidence? I think not...

PS: I'm in the middle of installing a solar panel, so expect no sunshine this summer.

[Up-Side-Down]

1 minute ago, ronnietucker said:

Absolutely!

I remember when I was still thinking about buying the boat and asked Scottish Canals about winter and they said 'oh the winters have been quite mild'. The year I buy a boat and we have one of the worst winters in a long time, and at least two broken bridges.

I buy a new electric, folding, bike and the first week I go to use it we get 18" of snow from Siberia.

Coincidence? I think not...

PS: I'm in the middle of installing a solar panel, so expect no sunshine this summer.

We'd already noticed ............. and developed fears of a permanent solar eclipse ............

[TheBiscuits]

26 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

Absolutely!

I remember when I was still thinking about buying the boat and asked Scottish Canals about winter and they said 'oh the winters have been quite mild'. The year I buy a boat and we have one of the worst winters in a long time, and at least two broken bridges.

I buy a new electric, folding, bike and the first week I go to use it we get 18" of snow from Siberia.

Coincidence? I think not...

PS: I'm in the middle of installing a solar panel, so expect no sunshine this summer.

I'll pay you to stay in Scotland.

I'll pay you more to CC in London

 

[Up-Side-Down]

1 minute ago, TheBiscuits said:

I'll pay you to stay in Scotland.

I'll pay you more to CC in London

 

Always dangerous to fold electricity ..........

[AllanD]

I seem to recall that SC intended to provide residential moorings near Lock 27 with possible visitor moorings as a bonus but this does appear to be coming to fruition. These would have greatly increased the activity on the canal and the surrounding area of North West Glasgow. 

[Up-Side-Down]

2 minutes ago, AllanD said:

I seem to recall that SC intended to provide residential moorings near Lock 27 with possible visitor moorings as a bonus but this does appear to be coming to fruition. These would have greatly increased the activity on the canal and the surrounding area of North West Glasgow. 

Still on the go it would appear: http://www.livingonwater.co.uk/index.php/locations/show_location/40

 

[13-10]

18 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Absolutely!

I remember when I was still thinking about buying the boat and asked Scottish Canals about winter and they said 'oh the winters have been quite mild'. The year I buy a boat and we have one of the worst winters in a long time, and at least two broken bridges.

I buy a new electric, folding, bike and the first week I go to use it we get 18" of snow from Siberia.

Coincidence? I think not...

PS: I'm in the middle of installing a solar panel, so expect no sunshine this summer.

God sake Ronnie, we're one step away from  'The Day after tomorrow' 

[ronnietucker]

3 hours ago, 13-10 said:

God sake Ronnie, we're one step away from  'The Day after tomorrow' 

It may well happen the day after tomorrow as that'd be Saturday and I'm hoping to get the solar panel plumbed in then.  

[David Mack]

32 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

It may well happen the day after tomorrow as that'd be Saturday and I'm hoping to get the solar panel plumbed in then.  

Yes, with this weather it will need plumbing rather than wiring! 

[Waterway2go]

The cancer is spreading. Scottish Canals now say that a lift bridge on the Union Canal giving access to Edinburgh will only be opened 4 days per week.

[haggis]

That was the one I was told had had none of the manufacturers servicing so it is hardly surprising that SC are reducing the days it is operated in the hope that it won't fail too 

Such a short sighted attitude by SC but of course they are property developers and not canal maintainers 

It is all so sad for the many who put so much effort into getting the lowland canals reopened. 

Haggis 

[Up-Side-Down]

I've had confirmation today that at least 5 bascule bridges on the west end of the Forth & Clyde Canal, between Maryhill and Bowling are out of action, and require new castings before they can be safely operated. There is no indication as to when the the order will be placed with the foundry to initiate the casting process or when these new parts will be delivered. By the middle of next week there will be six boats at Bowling waiting to head east to take up residential moorings elsewhere on the system.

It could just be that SC, knowing that the through coast to coast route was closing indefinitely due to the defective bridges at Twechar and Bonnybridge, are in no hurry to effect repairs on the western section of the canal. Indeed, they merely state that they are currently reviewing operations of the manually operated bascule bridges without officially acknowledging their closure!

[Billw]

11 minutes ago, haggis said:

That was the one I was told had had none of the manufacturers servicing so it is hardly surprising that SC are reducing the days it is operated in the hope that it won't fail too 

Such a short sighted attitude by SC but of course they are property developers and not canal maintainers 

It is all so sad for the many who put so much effort into getting the lowland canals reopened. 

Haggis 

I agree. It's a tragic waste of all the effort and money that went into reopening the canals that they are now being allowed to fall back towards dereliction. Canals need boats using them to survive as canals, they are not just opportunities for cheap housing or nature reserves. Amazing what a short time the regenerated Scottish canals survived as canals.

[AllanD]

Just a question; where do our boating fraternity at Kirkintilloch go for fuel? They can't get to Auchinstarry and they can't get to Bowling and I do not know of any other canalside facility. 

[Up-Side-Down]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

That was the one I was told had had none of the manufacturers servicing so it is hardly surprising that SC are reducing the days it is operated in the hope that it won't fail too 

Such a short sighted attitude by SC but of course they are property developers and not canal maintainers 

It is all so sad for the many who put so much effort into getting the lowland canals reopened. 

Haggis 

And not just property developers Iain. Tucked away in the Scottish Government Consultation Hub, under the item Consultation on the Future of the Scottish Planning System, is this response from SC:

"Scottish Canals, which is a statutory undertaker, has experienced inconsistent interpretations of our permitted development rights across various local authorities. Given the changing nature of our business from a canal body to an increasingly leisure related business, it would be advantageous to have an agreed basis for permitted development and to have an extension to such rights. We would welcome further discussion with Scottish Government on this issue".

(my italics)

[Iain_S]

1 hour ago, Waterway2go said:

The cancer is spreading. Scottish Canals now say that a lift bridge on the Union Canal giving access to Edinburgh will only be opened 4 days per week.

I wonder if that's down to staffing?

Could cause a few problems, as mooring between Leamington'and Lochrin can upset anyone on the residential moorings who wants to move, and west of Lochrin is going to be residential moorings both sides ....

[Iain_S]

17 minutes ago, Up-Side-Down said:

And not just property developers Iain.** Tucked away in the Scottish Government Consultation Hub, under the item Consultation on the Future of the Scottish Planning System, is this response from SC:

"Scottish Canals, which is a statutory undertaker, has experienced inconsistent interpretations of our permitted development rights across various local authorities. Given the changing nature of our business from a canal body to an increasingly leisure related business, it would be advantageous to have an agreed basis for permitted development and to have an extension to such rights. We would welcome further discussion with Scottish Government on this issue".

 

(my italics)

** That was Ann 

 

If their position as a statutory undertaker is derived from the Transport Act 1962, then I cannot see how they can be classed as such for other than waterways transport related development, or the laying of pipelines, which seems an odd provision! !  (sec.12)

Edited March 16, 2018 by Iain_S

[Up-Side-Down]

2 minutes ago, Iain_S said:

** That was Ann 

 

If their position as a statutory undertaker is derived from the Transport Act 1962, then I cannot see how they can be classed as such for other than waterways transport related development, or the laying of pipelines, which seems an odd provision! !  (sec.12)

That's an interesting observation Iain. One I'll meditate on in an attempt to suppress the vision of a linear Alton Towers in place of the Lowland Canal system ......... with at least 50% broken rides!

[ronnietucker]

Guys, please please PLEASE send all this info to your local MSP.

I've done it, and my local MSP (who knew nothing about this) says people should definitely get their MSP on the case with this.

The more the merrier!

[Up-Side-Down]

On 16/03/2018 at 19:01, ronnietucker said:

Guys, please please PLEASE send all this info to your local MSP.

I've done it, and my local MSP (who knew nothing about this) says people should definitely get their MSP on the case with this.

The more the merrier!

My MSP knows all about the situation .......... in great detail ......... Ronnie. She's been taking an interest in SC's machinations on the west end of the canal for a while now.

[ronnietucker]

1 hour ago, Up-Side-Down said:

My MSP knows all about the situation .......... in great detail ......... Ronnie. She's been taking an interest in SC's machinations on the west end of the canal for a while now.

Excellent.

Sorry about the snow today. That's probably because I finished fitting my solar panel yesterday.  

[Up-Side-Down]

41 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

Excellent.

Sorry about the snow today. That's probably because I finished fitting my solar panel yesterday.  

What solar panel? Can't see the roof of your cabin for snow dump!

[ronnietucker]

3 minutes ago, Up-Side-Down said:

What solar panel? Can't see the roof of your cabin for snow dump!

Exactly. Spent a couple of hours with my head in a battery compartment wiring it in for it to snow the next day.

Well, if nothing else, I got that one afternoon of solar goodness.  

[ronnietucker]

On 25/02/2018 at 12:06, Up-Side-Down said:

Correction: I've just had confirmation that it is in fact Ferry Dyke Bascule Bridge, between the bridge you refer to and the DropLock at Dalmuir. So nobody wanting to go east can leave Bowling for the foreseeable future. SC are keeping very quiet about this third failure which means that for a boater planning a trip, life has become even more difficult. We now have 3 boats at Bowling wanting to take up their booked moorings in Glasgow and Auchinstarry.

 

But, yes, hot weather regularly puts Ferry Road Bridge (beside the Erskine Bridge) out of action in the heat of a summer's day (we do get them in Scotland!).

Not sure if it's the same bridge, but an email from Steve Dunlop (Chief Exec) via Paula says that the bascule bridge at Bard Avenue (Knightswood - surprise surprise, near where I live) is knackered.

They then kindly attached a timetable of opening times of bridges that you probably can't get to anyway. Nice.