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Steve Manc

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Hi 

Travelled through Branton tunnel on Trent and Mersey going north on route for Anderton on Friday 22nd June 2018. 

 

We pulled up along side towpath to check the tunnel was empty. We could hear it had a boat in also we could see it light. We waited for it to exit and at this point we could see it was clear. Another narrowboat was behind us and We allowed this one to enter first. We followed it in. When we were around 25 % of the way in he started blasting his horn. He was shouting another boat had just entered. This boat carried on coming forcing two boats back. We pulled over to the towpath and an old traditional narrowboat emerged pulling a nutty. The butty was a holiday boat where people pay to experience sleeping and travelling on a butty.

I told the person steering he was out of order. Initially he tried to make light of the situation and then went on to say 'ok don't go on about it's.

 

Whilst at Anderton Boat Lift I spoke with a co owner of an old traditional tar boat build in the 1930s. He said he isn't able to see down the tunnel to check it's clear going south until the front of his boat is at the tunnel entrance. It is at this point he has to reverse if another boat is in the tunnel. He said it is difficult to reverse an old traditional engine / boat.

 

This confirms to me the boat that forced us out was coming through regardless because reversing with a butty would be difficult at the tunnel enterance.

 

Has anyone else been forced out by this narrowboat with butty?

 

 

Edited by Steve Manc
To correct subject line spelling
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That is a very difficult tunnel to see down coming that way and any boat unless there is someone on the bow cant see down until they have the bows well into the tunnel. Twice I have had to back up when we spotted a boat coming because a boat can already be coming coming from the south and if its in the wrong spot in the tunnel you cant see it because of the wiggle. I would suggest a motor and butty  would take some time to get out backwards from that position. Yes you and the other boat had right of way, but you would probably have put the crew of the butty in danger as well as causing them damage. Its something that is unlikely to happen again for several years

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Modern technology could be used to install a traffic light system to regulate traffic. There is an operating example at Birmingham Airport where buses pass both ways through the underbridge of Bickenhill Lane. It is a single carriageway and buses wait at the red light that goes green allowing the bus to proceed.

 

Barnton is not the only tunnel where boats could meet inside. Perhaps CRT should investigate this issue.  

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1 minute ago, Heartland said:

Modern technology could be used to install a traffic light system to regulate traffic. There is an operating example at Birmingham Airport where buses pass both ways through the underbridge of Bickenhill Lane. It is a single carriageway and buses wait at the red light that goes green allowing the bus to proceed.

 

Barnton is not the only tunnel where boats could meet inside. Perhaps CRT should investigate this issue.  

Or a single track railway token system.:)

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Well a token system also might work, as long as the boater remembers to put the token in the device at the other end of the tunnel and not go away with it. Also what happens if it gets dropped in cut. Still traffic lights fail also and CRT may not pay t tricity bill.

 

Also a token system may well require a barrier at both ends that is activated by the token...

Edited by Heartland
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We always sound our horn before going into narrow tunnels with no control system on them.... A long  blast and wait to see if there is a reply, and then another and if nothing then we go on our way after doing a visual check.

 

I appreciate that it is going to be hard to back out a motor and a butty but it does sound like they just plough on regardless and expect the others to give way..... I wonder what would happen if two hotel boat pairs met in the middle.....

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2 minutes ago, StephenA said:

We always sound our horn before going into narrow tunnels with no control system on them.... A long  blast and wait to see if there is a reply, and then another and if nothing then we go on our way...

Which works well and costs CRT and us nothing vs traffic lights. 

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Barnton Tunnel is 572 yards long, and at present is not a timed tunnel. I have a recollection that it once was, others have posted this recollection before also, but my recollection is from 1998 taking an Anderson Hire boat through and waiting there.

 

Still making it timed is also a solution, but having all three tunnels timed might be considered an inconvenience.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Barnton Tunnel is 572 yards long, and at present is not a timed tunnel. I have a recollection that it once was, others have posted this recollection before also, but my recollection is from 1998 taking an Anderson Hire boat through and waiting there.

 

Still making it timed is also a solution, but having all three tunnels timed might be considered an inconvenience.

 

 

I have memories of it being timed too - seems sort of silly not to do it given that the others are. I guess the worry is that if you get it wrong then you end up with too many people stuck in that shortish pound,

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1 hour ago, Pie Eater said:

No need for lights, just make it a timed tunnel like Saltersford and Preston Brook tunnels.

But on two occasions we have met boats in one of the timed tunnels. Sadly quite a few, though not all,  "working boats" do feel that they have priority over, and are superior to other canal users. It is possible these would ignore the timings.

 

===========

 

In general boats towing do have priority though I was a bit cross when a "crusty boat" towing a little plastic cruiser asserted this and demanded he bring both boats thru' the lock one at a time, including filling the empty lock between rather than letting us down. In the OPs case it was impossible for him to know it was a pair so it was unreasonable of the pair not to wait. More importantly if the pair was carrying passengers it was irresponsible, in fact reckless, to create a situation where the boats might have been stuck in the tunnel for some time. It's quite possible that he did not have the skills to bring the pair to a stop, but in that case he really should not have been in charge of the pair, especially with passengers.

 

Op should should report him to CaRT as he may well not have appropriate insurance and qualifications.

 

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

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1 hour ago, StephenA said:

I have memories of it being timed too - seems sort of silly not to do it given that the others are. I guess the worry is that if you get it wrong then you end up with too many people stuck in that shortish pound,

As I recall, the problem was linking a timed entry to Barnton with the timed entry to Saltersford. Advice about sounding your horn before entry could be added to the signs, I guess. I remember when neither Barnton nor Saltersford were timed. Now that was exciting as you really can't see through the latter, boats can be hidden in the dog leg.

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1 hour ago, BruceinSanity said:

As I recall, the problem was linking a timed entry to Barnton with the timed entry to Saltersford. Advice about sounding your horn before entry could be added to the signs, I guess. I remember when neither Barnton nor Saltersford were timed. Now that was exciting as you really can't see through the latter, boats can be hidden in the dog leg.

When the IWA National was held at Preston Brook (which Wikipedia tells me was 2005), Barnton and Saltersford Tunnels were operated as a single timed entry unit, I think with stewards. Prior to that both tunnels were untimed, and after that Saltersford was left as timed entry. I have a vague recollection that Dutton Stop was operated "straight through" for the National as well.

 

Saltersford could be entertaining, a loud horn and a bright light were de rigeur.

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The difficulty with Saltersford, as far as I recall, is that going north, the sign warning you about the timings etc is a long way from the tunnel entrance and is pretty easy to miss.  Why BW and now CRT don't put a sign with the same info at the entrance I have never understood - and I have asked.

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23 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

The difficulty with Saltersford, as far as I recall, is that going north, the sign warning you about the timings etc is a long way from the tunnel entrance and is pretty easy to miss.  Why BW and now CRT don't put a sign with the same info at the entrance I have never understood - and I have asked.

I to have suggested a smaller "clock" sign be put at the tunnel mouth but CaRT seem to ignore any advice.

 

Too many boaters miss the sign when heading north.

 

The signs also still say to carry canoes over the tunnels.

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