Birmingham Bridges

[Wanderer Vagabond]

It is probably something blindingly obvious but the OH posed a question the other day that I have to say I can't find an answer to. As we have been travelling around Birmingham we have noticed that a lot of the bridges have an opening panel in the centre of the bridge overlooking the canal, any idea what they were for?

[alan_fincher]

To allow the fire brigade to drop hoses through and pump water from the cut.

[john6767]

As Alan said; they were added in the Second World War I believe.

[matty40s]

Rubbish, they have recently been installed to allow better delivery service to boaters from Ocado, Tesco, Deliveroo and Asda. 

You will be able to fine tune your deliveries and get them dropped to your roof when passing, so you can carry on continuously cruising and never moor up (something the IWA are quite keen on).

It should also help boost the teams on the BCN challenge, having a local Chinese deliver through the hole might make all the difference  to having to stop at Ogley or keeping on going all night to Pelsall. 

 

[zenataomm]

All wrong, all of you.

The little red doors were always there, long before the canals were originally discovered by The Greeks.

It just so happens that those which had bridges built around them were inadvertently saved.

[matty40s]

6 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

All wrong, all of you.

The little red doors were always there, long before the canals were originally discovered by The Greeks.

It just so happens that those which had bridges built around them were inadvertently saved.

Kind of abZorba'd into them like.....

[BuckbyLocks]

2nd World War additions to the bridges to allow the fire brigade to access the canals for water.  Even new 1970s rebuilt Tindal Bridge which is an open bridge and quite low has doors which can be opened with a fire brigade key.  Many of the bollards around the BCN are also fitted with the same padlocks to allow fire engine access to otherwise blocked off areas. Don't know whether CRT Staff have keys, but BW staff certainly didn't unless they knew someone who had them. One door over the filled in Whitmore Arm was used to house the access pipe for the fuel oil delivery pipe to the Science Museum.  The doors and the canal were used when the Fleet Street warehouses burnt down in the early 90s.

[Ray T]

From Captain Ahab's watery tales, these two have been bricked in.

• 

   

  Hockley Port.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Ray T

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Interesting replies, and not as blindingly obvious as I first thought it was going to be. I have to say that I vaguely seem to recall seeing on the footpath side of the bridge (I can't remember which one) a padlock on it that had some label suggesting Fire Brigade ownership but even that wouldn't really have clicked (perhaps I'm just a bit slow).

[Heartland]

I am sure this has been mentioned before, but these doors, some with surviving rollers, were installed during the Second World War so that the fire brigade could pump water from the canal. War time bombing wrought extensive damage, but the resulting fires had to be kept under control and nearby canals were used to help the fire fighters need for a ready water supply, especially if said bombing destroyed the water mains that would normally be employed to source the water supply for the hoses.

[David Mack]

Not just canals. There are (or  at least were) similar doors on bridges over the River Rea im the Digbeth area.

[NickF]

When I first went onto the BCN in the 1970s there were very few access points at the bridges to walk down to the canal so the access doors were probably more relevant. I remember Gas Street basin having one little wooden door in a wall off Gas Street as the only access to the canal!

Edited March 29, 2017 by NickF

[Rob-M]

25 minutes ago, NickF said:

When I first went onto the BCN in the 1970s there were very few access points at the bridges to walk down to the canal so the access doors were probably more relevant. I remember Gas Street basin having one little wooden door in a wall of Gas Street as the only access to the canal!

Yes, made it very difficult when my friend broke his ankle jumping off the boat and not quite making the towpath. Trying to find somewhere to get ambulance access took some time.  Perhaps we should have got the fire brigade to winch him through one of the doors.

[Tacet]

44 minutes ago, NickF said:

When I first went onto the BCN in the 1970s there were very few access points at the bridges to walk down to the canal so the access doors were probably more relevant. I remember Gas Street basin having one little wooden door in a wall of Gas Street as the only access to the canal!

The towpath was hidden away behind a door in other many lcoations.  Whilst the doors were unmarked and nondescript, they were of a similar style, painted matt black, with no latch or furniture showing on the public side.  A gentle push overcame the garden gate spring and you entered another world.

Opening up the towpath to all is a good thing in many ways - but there is a loss too.

 

 

[BuckbyLocks]

There were several fire doors in Gas Street as well as the access door. One was alongside said door and I think the framework for it may still be visible.  The derelict arms there still had the doors in place until they were filled in.  Most of the access doors around the Thirteen were very firmly locked in the early 70s, Gas St. being the exception, and you had to find a broken fence to escape the towpath. Keys to the firedoors were of limited use as the doors were always over the water.

The river bridges through Norwich also show a way of getting fire hoses from the roads to water, including one by the Castle Shopping Centre which now crosses a road!

[Derek R.]

Back in '83 we were in Brum from the South and in need of basics. Finding an way off the towpath proved difficult. We eventually found a fence to climb, and ended up around the 'Spon Lane Islamic Centre'. Found a very dubious grocers where we bought bread - only to find the centre was green! That prompted a visit to the public health department. Tried to find it on Google maps with no luck.

The things you remember!

[BuckbyLocks]

Yes indeed Derek.  Post 90's the towpaths around Spon Lane were cleaned up and new access gates were fitted, only to be very firmly padlocked again because of the drug problems et al around there. We took a small coach load to explore the canals there last year and had to walk rather longer than we wanted because of the restricted access. (Even I can't climb over fences now.) CRT's map still showed access where it was padlocked off - I pointed the error out but haven't checked to see if it has been changed.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

One thing did occur to me whilst looking at all of these fire doors, was Birmingham overrun with dwarf firemen? A lot of effort has gone into cutting these holes into some of the bridges, couldn't they just push the hose over the parapet and down into the canal, or couldn't they reach?

[Derek R.]

Suction pipes work better when leaving the appliance and going along and down, rather than up and over a wall or parapet.

[David Mack]

And some of the bridge parapets are above eye height seen from road level, so a fireman might not even know there was a canal or river there.

[ditchcrawler]

On 12/03/2017 at 20:42, BuckbyLocks said:

2nd World War additions to the bridges to allow the fire brigade to access the canals for water.  Even new 1970s rebuilt Tindal Bridge which is an open bridge and quite low has doors which can be opened with a fire brigade key.  Many of the bollards around the BCN are also fitted with the same padlocks to allow fire engine access to otherwise blocked off areas. Don't know whether CRT Staff have keys, but BW staff certainly didn't unless they knew someone who had them. One door over the filled in Whitmore Arm was used to house the access pipe for the fuel oil delivery pipe to the Science Museum.  The doors and the canal were used when the Fleet Street warehouses burnt down in the early 90s.

Some of the doors still have rollers to run the hose over, the suction hose used in not very flexible unlike a fire fighting hose.

[IanM]

The BBC have a bit about them here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39569594

 

[BuckbyLocks]

No padlock keys needed for this example in Norwich over the river. Same idea though.