Michael Askin wrote... >On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 6:30 PM, Peter Stockdale <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Sorry to hear that you had trouble with Lock 92. >> Clearly some thing has gone wrong, as there is no way that any flow >> over the top gates on this lock should be more than temporary. >> No way should the volumes be such that you cannot swing the bottom >> gates with ease. >> I can only assume that the overflow weir has become clogged with >> detritus that abounds in that particular area. > >I don't think these locks have by-washes - well not originally, though >I think some have been fitted since, and then only some only very >recently? > i thought it was the other way around. I have heard that there is evidence that some, at least, of the Rochdale 9 locks originally had by-washes but that these have been blocked off, which is why the water now runs over the gates.
>The best way to get through a lock like this is to run off some of the >excess water through the lock, the water differential being higher >means you get the water through much quicker than waiting for it to >weir over the top gates. Mind you, much harder to do this when there >is a boat in the lock (i.e. going down, when there is even more water >in the pound since you just emptied a lock into it). > Lock 92 is always a difficult one. The bottom gates (which need to be wound using handles attached to chains) are notoriously hard to split apart to open them. This is because water often comes in over the top gate faster than it goes out through the lower paddles. I don't think Lock 92 ever had a by-wash as it is carved into the bedrock. The situation is worse if a boat is coming down the locks somewhere up ahead as it sends even more water down. Sometimes the head gates are almost impossible to open against the water coming down. -- Martin Clark Internet Boaters' Database http://www.lock13.co.uk/boats Pennine Waterways Website http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk
