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Staircase Locks

Posted by Richard_Irwin (Belper, United Kingdom) on 1 October 2007 in Transportation.

Locks are an ingenius creation, and most 'boaters' are familiar with rising or dropping through canal locks as they pass along the inland waterways.

For instance, in most single locks, going down is easy....you fill the lock by opening some paddles...the water rises in the lock pound....when its full you open the lock gates, go in, shut the gates behind you.....then go to the lower gates, open the paddles, realease the water, open the gates when you are level with the canal below.....then away you go.

However, some canals have staircase locks, where you have to climb or drop through several levels, and for me, these are much harder to operate. This one has three levels, and believe me, working out how much water you need to climb one of these is an exercize of skill....and one I almost always need help with, as you need to judge how much water you need in each pound - otherwise you end up with too little to get over the lock cills, or you flood the system below - which usually will cause a bit of an outrage......

Anyway....luckily, I've other met boaters more familiar with these types of locks when I've encountered them, or there has been a handy lock-keeper around to help.

The locks I'm approaching here are on The Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
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