A damp trip back up onto the canal

No boat work planned for today; we were heading back up the boat lift onto the Trent and Mersey Canal.
 It was fine first thing, but rain moved in around lunchtime and has been with us since. We’re supposed to look forward to it continuing till noon tomorrow. Lovely.

Ann and I walked up to the lift office at 10:00, and got a booking for 12:50 for both boats. First trips up were 11:15, following a staff meeting, so there was a bit of a backlog.

Heading for the lift holding moorings

When we arrived I walked around to the front of the lift, NB So Long and another boat were going up in the left hand caisson, the trip boat MV Edwin Clark was coming down on the right.

MV Edwin Clark appears as the guillotine gate is raised, watch out for the drips!

Meanwhile the two boats in the other tank will be moving out onto the canal. We were invited in about 10 minutes later for our own trip up.

Ann and Chas alongside

Passing two more boats on the way down.

Near the top level, looking up at the now redundant gearing for the balance weights.
The original operation of the hydraulic rams when built relied on river water, a sensible solution as it seemed at the time. But the acidic nature of the water caused corrosion within the cylinders, resulting in more and more frequent stoppages for repair.
After 33 years of operation, the decision was made to convert the system to electric motors, each caisson raised by wire cables and counterbalanced by weights. This required strengthening of the framework and construction of the winch deck on top. The rebuilt lift opened to full operation in 1908.
In 1983 routine inspection detected severe corrosion in the structure and it was closed for safety reasons. After repairs it was expected that the electrical operation would be retained, but in 1997 a decision was made to revert to hydraulics, using oil rather than water. The rebuilt lift reopened in 2002.

Top of the hydraulic ram supporting the west caisson

Looking south, upstream, towards Northwich, from the aqueduct spanning the gap between canal and lift

Moore2Life following us out onto the Trent and Mersey
We didn’t get much further, mooring up on the visitor moorings in Anderton.

Tomorrow we’ll move on, towards Middlewich. We’ve got to visit Dave at Uplands Marina for diesel and a new starter battery on the way. Over the last few days it’s died, so I’m having to jump start the engine from the leisure bank. Not ideal.

Thanks, anon, for the comment yesterday (why didn't you leave your name?) but I'm way ahead of you. We've got the paint shed at Canal Cruising in Stone booked for a week in August to do the final coats.
Just need a signwriter to do the name panel. Any recommendations, anyone?

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