Neil Arlidge wrote: > chris potter wrote: >> Do you not think that gates which fail so completely in such a short >> time after restoration could not have been made to a high standard in >> the first place? In the early seventies I well remeber a set of gates >> on Heartbreak Hill bearing the date 1905 carved in one of the main >> beams. This on one of the last narrow canals to have regular >> commercial traffic. How many more gates are going to fail on the K& A >> in the coming years? due to poor workmanship or materials? and will >> other restored canals suffer the same fate?. CKP > > I blame the wood. If you can't get decent wood, then make the gates of steel > like VNF and Waterways Ireland* do. Look how long the steel composite gates > are lasting on the GU and T&M. BW was recently refurbishing the wooden bits > of the composite T&M gates. (dunno if this practise has stopped)
The 1962 gates on the Stoke flight were finally replaced last winter. I'm not sure why, as they seemed fine to me. There are lots of early 70's steel gates in the area, especially on the Caldon. They mostly have hydraulic paddle gear which I see as a heritage feature that should be protected, but other people see as a bl**dy nuisance that should be replaced ;) Steve NB Bream
