tarboat's photos with the keyword: lock

The Humberside Offshore Training Association (HOTA) operates from premises close to the entrance lock at the east end of Albert Dock in Hull. It was established in 1987 and as a Limited Company with Charity Status. HOTA provides Internationally Approved and Certified Training and an extensive portfolio of bespoke courses for the Renewables, Offshore, Maritime and Onshore Sectors. The tower to the right is for working at height training. In the background is the lifeboat experience with No.4 missing in action.

The building of the Shannon hydroelectric scheme in the late 1920s required navigation to be maintained down to Limerick after the Parteen Weir cut off the old route via O'Briensbridge. This was achieved by building a double staircase lock at the Ardnacrusha power station. Taken from the approach canal this shows the entrance to the lower lock which has a rise of 34ft whilst the top lock has a rise of 68ft. This is the deepest lock in Britain and Ireland.

Access to the Holiday Inn at Ellesmere Port requires traversing this swing bridge over the canal lock into the docks. A notable feature is the pointless arc of brickwork on the floor beyond the balance beam and running behind the lamp.

Lifting bridge over the chamber of the river lock at the entrance to Gloucester Docks.

Lifting bridge over the chamber of the river lock at the entrance to Gloucester Docks.

Garden gates at the canal side of the cottages by the junction of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals in Marple.

This canal and basin complex was built by the Severn and Wye Railway and Canal Company between 1810 and 1813 and a horse drawn tramway was laid, to move the coal and iron to the wharves after it was brought down from the pits and forges on the Pidcocks Canal. A new dock on the estuary was started in 1809 and opened in 1813. The outer harbour was built and finally completed in 1821 and the tramway extended all the way down. The north pier was extended in 1825 to aid ships into the harbour. Lydney Harbour continued to host sailing ships right up to the 1950s. The coal mining industry contracted after the First World War and the mines closed in the Forest from the 1920s, with the final export of coal from the harbour in 1960. The harbour carried on working up to 1970s by importing logs for the manufacture of plywood at the factory at Pine End. Finally, in 1976, the British Transport Docks Board closed the port by walling in the tidal basin. In 1980 the harbour, including the lower and tidal basins and the pier, were designated Scheduled Ancient Monument status. The refurbishing of Lydney Docks began in May 2002, when the outer lock gates were re-opened, following the removal of large amounts of silt, funded though the Heritage Lottery Fund. A £1.9M project saw the Environment Agency develop a marina, with mooring facilities for around 50 boats which was completed in 2005. Mud continues to be a problem as can be seen in this image and I wonder whether the lower lock gates are currently useable.

The tarboat is leaving the top lock at Salterhebble on the Calder & Hebble Navigation. This is definitely the eastern limit for the boat as it is around 13ft longer than the lock! It was a bit of fun to take the boat to the very furthest point it could get.

The Liskeard & Looe Union Canal was completed in 1828 between the East Looe River and Moorswater. The intention was to carry sea sand lime and coal up into the rural districts for agricultural improvement. Trade was boosted in the mid 1840s by copper ore coming down from the Caradon mines and granite from Cheesewring Quarry. The building of the Liskeard and Looe Railway made the top section of the canal unusable and trade steadily declined on the lower end until final closure in 1910. This is the river lock at Terras seen from a passing train. Remnants of the gates can still be seen after over one hundred years since closure.

A pleasant afternoon working the tarboat up the locks at Marple on the Peak Forest Canal. On the approach to lock 3 our Jefferson observes the action.

Tanker narrowboat rises in Tatenhill lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal south of Burton upon Trent.

The Canal & River Trust held an open day today at Bullholme Lock, Castleford, on the Aire & Calder Navigation. The lock has had two new sets of gates fitted and now awaits the new cills. Stairways had been erected to allow visitors to descend to the bottom of the lock chamber to see the work close-up. These two craftsmen were answering questions about fitting the gates and the various techniques necessary to make everything fit and to keep the seals watertight. It can be a heavy, cold and dirty job and they deserve recognition for their work. Thanks lads for answering all my questions so patiently and thoroughly.

The open day at Bullholme Lock, Castleford, proved very popular with many people taking the opportunity to descend into the drained chamber and inspect the gate replacement works close-up. The lock is about 460ft long although there are intermediate gates at the point I was standing which allow just 200ft of the chamber to be used when a 700-tonne Euro-barge standard vessel is passing. The longer chamber was used when trains of compartment boats were passing through.

Office of the éclusier at Monceau-sur-Sambre.

Calamanco Lock at Flixton was one of the original eight locks constructed on the Mersey & Irwell Navigation in the 1720s. The site was already weired to provide a head for an existing mill and the rise of the lock was 3ft 3ins. The original lock 68 feet long by 16 feet 4 inches wide to accommodate Mersey Flats. It was rebuilt in 1820 and extended to 72 feet 8 inches long as seen here. All was swept away in the early 1890s with the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. This image features in Bosdin Leech's history of the Manchester Ship Canal and was found with all the other illustrations dumped in a skip having been detached from the book at some time.

The Grade II listed Chubb factory is one of Wolverhampton's iconic buildings and is immediately obvious as you leave the station. Built in 1898-99 to the design of C. H. M. Mileham of London, the factory followed the old multi-storey narrow principles that had endured through the 19th century but was by then being replaced by single height structures with roof lights. The lettering is terracotta. When Chubb moved out it was then occupied by pump and storage tank manufacturers Baelz until 1978. After restoration it is now home to numerous small businesses and cinema, restaurant and pub premises.

The pub is known as the Double Locks, but for many years there has only been one lock here on the Exeter Ship Canal.

Tarboat Junior straps a boat into a lock at Audlem on the Shropshire Union Canal. This technique stops the boat and closes the gate at the same time. :-)