Anderton Boat Lift 'Isolated'

[Alan de Enfield]

What ………………………….. ??

Stoppage notice 

 

From Date:

12th August 2018 at 09:00

To Date:

until further notice

Type:

Navigation Restriction

Reason:

Structure failure

Description:

Due to an Mechanical issue, We are in isolation until further notice.

This means that passages through the lift are restricted.

Please call Anderton Boat Lift on 01606 786 777- option 8 for more information.

[alan_fincher]

Only one caisson working possibly?

So one caisson working "in isolation", not counterbalanced by the other?

Whatever it is, I think the description is inadequate!

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Due to an Mechanical issue, We are in isolation until further notice.

Perhaps it's got the Mechanical Mumps?

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

Perhaps it's got the Mechanical Mumps?

Caissons disease surely! 

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Only one caisson working possibly?

So one caisson working "in isolation", not counterbalanced by the other?

Whatever it is, I think the description is inadequate!

Anderton no longer works by counterbalance.

Some years ago they were modified to be independently hydraulically operated.

[cuthound]

28 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Perhaps it's got the Mechanical Mumps?

 

No if it's been isolated it must be an electrical fault ?

[Machpoint005]

3 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

No if it's been isolated it must be an electrical fault ?

But it's a mechanical issue ... and a structural failure. At least three different branches of engineering!

[mayalld]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Anderton no longer works by counterbalance.

Some years ago they were modified to be independently hydraulically operated.

They can be operated counterbalanced or in isolation.

 

First and last of the day is isolation the rest are in balance.

 

As far as I know, they can only operate one caisson at once when they are in isolation mode. Operating them both at once can only be done in balance mode

[Neil2]

10 minutes ago, mayalld said:

They can be operated counterbalanced or in isolation.

 

First and last of the day is isolation the rest are in balance.

 

As far as I know, they can only operate one caisson at once when they are in isolation mode. Operating them both at once can only be done in balance mode

Well I for one am grateful for the explanation but, honestly, you think CRT could have simply said only one caisson is working at the moment.  

[ditchcrawler]

27 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

Well I for one am grateful for the explanation but, honestly, you think CRT could have simply said only one caisson is working at the moment.  

If that is the case

[George and Dragon]

Has anyone bothered ringing the number to find out what is the actual issue?

[alan_fincher]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Anderton no longer works by counterbalance.

Some years ago they were modified to be independently hydraulically operated.

As I'm sure someone will have picked up on by now, that is not correct.

They can be independently operated but most of the time they are not.

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

As I'm sure someone will have picked up on by now, that is not correct.

They can be independently operated but most of the time they are not.

An article I was reading recently suggested that they were frequently (not every day, or even every week) operated independently depending on operational requirements.

 

Built by Edwin Clark in 1875 to overcome the 50-foot gap between the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal, this enormous boat lift carries canal boats between the two. In total, the lift is 85 feet long and 49 feet wide.

The mechanics that operated the lift were simple but effective when it was first built. Two enormous tanks filled with water alternately to provide the cantilever that lifts and lowers the boats. However, as the years went by the issues with the hydraulic operation mounted. Frost, rust and corrosion all started to take their toll, and in 1908 the lift was converted to electrical power.

For 75 years, the lift ran smoothly, before British Waterways in the 1990s decided the time was right to convert the lift back to its original and much beloved hydraulic operation using new hydraulic technology (primarily oil instead of water) to ensure there were less issues. After spending almost £7 million, the newly restored lift opened in March 2002, and is still hugely popular today.

 

Two methods of operation were designed into the new system; a ‘Balanced Mode’, where both caissons are operated simultaneously, and an ‘Isolated Mode’ which operates either caisson in isolation. With the new balanced mode, both caissons have an equal amount of water in them. With the caissons balanced, oil has to be pumped from one side into the other to achieve movement. This is done with two main 45kW pumps providing up to 1300 l/min of flow.

Control and acceleration of this flow is provided by a ‘S’ curve algorithm designed by Fairfields. Smaller 18.5kW pilot pumps can be used to overcome natural leakage within the system and maintain the caisson positions.

When raising a caisson in isolated mode, two 90kW fixed displacement pumps are required. These provide the hydraulic power that would normally be provided by the lowering cylinder when in balanced mode. This can also be referred to as a ‘virtual caisson’. When lowering in an isolated mode, just the main pumps are required to push the oil back to the main reservoir.

[ditchcrawler]

I emailed someone and the notice has been updated 

[Jerra]

5 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I emailed someone and the notice has been updated 

and it says?

[ditchcrawler]

7 minutes ago, Jerra said:

and it says?

Notice Alert

Weaver NavigationStarts At: Anderton Boat LiftEnds At: Anderton Boat Lift

Sunday 12 August 2018 09:00 until further notice

Type: Navigation Restriction Reason: Information

Update on 13/08/2018: We are currently working in "isolated" operation, using one caisson, rather than in "balance" with two caissons moving at the same time. Please be advised that there is extremely limited availability for private passage.
Our technicians will be working on the issue tomorrow morning (Tuesday 14th), thus, private passage will not be available until 12:10pm.
If you are in the area and do see both caissons moving in the morning and stopped midpath, this is to allow our workers to enter the lower dry well and work safely in the area.
An update will be posted after our technicians have finished their investigation.Original message: Due to an Mechanical issue, We are in isolation until further notice.
This means that passages through the lift are restricted.
Please call Anderton Boat Lift on 01606 786 777- option 8 for more information.

You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/10513099/canalrivertrust.org.uk?p=eyJzIjoiREZ2ZWo5UEZPV0RJVFVVakFINkN1Q2h2NldVIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjoxMDUxMzA5OSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2NhbmFscml2ZXJ0cnVzdC5vcmcudWtcXFwvbm90aWNlXFxcLzEzNzA2XFxcL2FuZGVydG9uLWJvYXQtbGlmdC1hbmRlcnRvbi1ub3J0aHdpY2hcIixcImlkXCI6XCIxZjVlNGJjZDNjYjE0NDIwYjY4MDVmNWQzZGU0NGQ0NVwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcIjA2YjgzYWVlMjc1MWE2ODdlZTEzMzVhMmYyZWFiYTdjN2I1NjY2YTRcIl19In0

[Jerra]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

Notice Alert

Weaver NavigationStarts At: Anderton Boat LiftEnds At: Anderton Boat Lift

Sunday 12 August 2018 09:00 until further notice

Type: Navigation Restriction Reason: Information

Update on 13/08/2018: We are currently working in "isolated" operation, using one caisson, rather than in "balance" with two caissons moving at the same time. Please be advised that there is extremely limited availability for private passage.
Our technicians will be working on the issue tomorrow morning (Tuesday 14th), thus, private passage will not be available until 12:10pm.
If you are in the area and do see both caissons moving in the morning and stopped midpath, this is to allow our workers to enter the lower dry well and work safely in the area.
An update will be posted after our technicians have finished their investigation.Original message: Due to an Mechanical issue, We are in isolation until further notice.
This means that passages through the lift are restricted.
Please call Anderton Boat Lift on 01606 786 777- option 8 for more information.

You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/10513099/canalrivertrust.org.uk?p=eyJzIjoiREZ2ZWo5UEZPV0RJVFVVakFINkN1Q2h2NldVIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjoxMDUxMzA5OSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2NhbmFscml2ZXJ0cnVzdC5vcmcudWtcXFwvbm90aWNlXFxcLzEzNzA2XFxcL2FuZGVydG9uLWJvYXQtbGlmdC1hbmRlcnRvbi1ub3J0aHdpY2hcIixcImlkXCI6XCIxZjVlNGJjZDNjYjE0NDIwYjY4MDVmNWQzZGU0NGQ0NVwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcIjA2YjgzYWVlMjc1MWE2ODdlZTEzMzVhMmYyZWFiYTdjN2I1NjY2YTRcIl19In0

Mzany thanks for the very speedy reply.

[philjw]

Pleasing to see such an informative notice from CRT at the second try. Well done Ditchcrawler

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, philjw said:

Pleasing to see such an informative notice from CRT at the second try. Well done Ditchcrawler

The power of the forum ?

[mayalld]

2 hours ago, Neil2 said:

Well I for one am grateful for the explanation but, honestly, you think CRT could have simply said only one caisson is working at the moment.  

Because that may not be true.

 

In Isolation mode, they can only operate one caisson at a time, but they could actually operate both caissons in turn.

 

That would save them some time, because whilst one caisson is descending, they could be loading the other to ascend when the first arrives at the weaver.