Idiots at Wigan

[Titus]

I see the idiots at Wigan are at it again, it looks like the locks have been closed all day and won't be open until tomorrow morning

 

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/9312/wigan-flight-top-lock-to-lock-78-rosebridge

[Sir Nibble]

Idiot vandalism or industrial fishing?

[Athy]

I'm pleased that the title does not refer to enthusiasts of Northern Soul music.

[starman]

The last couple of time we came through I was surprised how many scrote locks were left undone by boaters - making the morons' job easier for them.

[bottle]

The 'scrotes' have their own keys.

[Guest]

The 'scrotes' have their own keys.

Indeed. I worked at a Wigan school for many years, and the kids knew how to make them. Dead easy.

[Aguila]

The thread title had me rummaging through boxes and boxes of 35mm slides!

 

These were taken in 1969 at lock 78 (Rose Bridge) on the Wigan flight.

 

 

[starman]

Great photos! We've got it easy these days.

[Guest]

The thread title had me rummaging through boxes and boxes of 35mm slides!

 

These were taken in 1969 at lock 78 (Rose Bridge) on the Wigan flight.

 

 

They take me back! We started about 1968 and I remember similar scenes. Great photos and more would be excellent

[Athy]

A glimpse of the proper North! Are those chaps fishing things out of the canal or throwing them in?

[Aguila]

A glimpse of the proper North! Are those chaps fishing things out of the canal or throwing them in?

 

They're replacing one of those dreadful "back-breaker" ground paddles. Note the total lack of any safety equipment. The HSE guys would throw a wobbler nowadays!

 

The factory chimneys are long-gone. I guess Fred Dibnah had something to do with that as he didn't live very far away?

Edited September 12, 2016 by Aguila

[Guest]

 

They're replacing one of those dreadful "back-breaker" ground paddles. Note the total lack of any safety equipment. The HSE guys would throw a wobbler nowadays!

 

The factory chimneys are long-gone. I guess Fred Dibnah had something to do with that as he didn't live very far away?

Very apt name for them!

[Pluto]

They changed to a finer thread on the box paddle screws, hoping to make them easier, though I always preferred the originals as quicker to operate. On the gate is one of the variants of the scissor-action paddles, few of this type now surviving. The concrete on the lockside implies one reason why Wigan flight is hard to operate. It has been added because of subsidence from coal mining, which has distorted the lock chambers, making it more difficult to hang the gates such that they swing easily. At one time, Top Lock at Wigan had a fall of 15 feet 6 inches because of subsidence, and the falls on the locks have had to be equalised on at least three occasions to reduce water wastage. In places, around 80 feet of coal has been removed, resulting in around 30 feet of subsidence in places on the Leigh branch.

[Guest]

They changed to a finer thread on the box paddle screws, hoping to make them easier, though I always preferred the originals as quicker to operate. On the gate is one of the variants of the scissor-action paddles, few of this type now surviving. The concrete on the lockside implies one reason why Wigan flight is hard to operate. It has been added because of subsidence from coal mining, which has distorted the lock chambers, making it more difficult to hang the gates such that they swing easily. At one time, Top Lock at Wigan had a fall of 15 feet 6 inches because of subsidence, and the falls on the locks have had to be equalised on at least three occasions to reduce water wastage. In places, around 80 feet of coal has been removed, resulting in around 30 feet of subsidence in places on the Leigh branch.

That is a lot. We were yesterday reading some info on the signs that have been put up near Dover Lock. Interesting info. about how the flashes formed.

It always amazes me how the Geography of the Leigh Branch has changed in the past 50 years.