Canal boat exiting the Anderton boat lift

Saturday
Today, my brother, sister-in-law and nephew came over for the day. We had a lovely buffet lunch at the house, then went out in the afternoon to Marbury country Park, where we went walking, first along the mere and then along the Trent and Mersey Canal. Then we went over to the Anderton Boat lift.
The Anderton Boat Lift, the world's first of its type, was built and designed by Edwin Clark in 1875. It was built to speed up the movement of cargoes carrying salt, coal and clay between the Weaver Navigation and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The fifteen-metre height difference between the two waterways was a constant problem and cargo had to be moved using long chutes. Edwin Clarke's solution was to use a revolutionary new hydraulic lift, which could transport canal boats between the two waterways without the need to load and unload. The counter-balanced caissons containing the water and boats, weighing 252 tons each, were originally raised and lowered by rams set in pits underneath, using river water pumped with a small steam engine. Problems of corrosion led to conversion to electric power in 1908, using overhead pulleys, wire ropes and counterweights. However, by 1983 corrosion in the support structure made this system unsafe. Finally, in 2001/2002 it was converted back to hydraulic rams (but now using hydraulic oil), although much of the redundant overhead winding gear is still in place. In the evening we all went out for a pub meal, before Peter Judy and Ian returned home.

One year ago: Unknown shrub