Empty Lock

[teddington_lock]

Just thought you lot might like to see what the lock looks like when it's empty.

It was pumped out the other day for the first time since 1950.

We are having the sills replaced and some repairs to the chamber. Notice the mooring buoy in the chamber ? No one is sure where it has come from or how long it has been there !! Could possibly be a buoy from Richmond way , near Corporation Island that has ( at some point ) got hooked up on an incoming barge ??

The silt and other c**p in the bottom of the lock is fragrant , i can tell you. Think of the worst smelling bay full of rotting seaweed that you have ever smelt and times it by ten ...

 

[Chris_d]

Very interesting, for some reason it doesn't look as deep as I would expect.

 

[teddington_lock]

From the top of the cappings to the very bottom of the lock is approximately 19 feet.

 

[Captain Coochie]

Where does that tunnel go ? Found any treasure yet ? Looks great fun !

 

[rr_123]

i assumed that that was the fill tunnel?

If my mate's ray-banns are still in the bottom, he'd probably like them back, they may be back in fashion now, he dropped them in 1988...

 

[Captain Coochie]

Fill tunnel my foot ! It's bound to be a hidden pirate cave full of loot /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[boatone]

[ QUOTE ]
Fill tunnel my foot ! It's bound to be a hidden pirate cave full of loot /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I find myself delightfully in favour of your explanation !

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

[ QUOTE ]
Fill tunnel my foot ! It's bound to be a hidden pirate cave full of loot /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Surely not, it will be a portal to Narnia.

 

[boatone]

Well, whatever,.....it's certainly been 'locked' for a long time /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Richard Shead]

Howard will jump on soon but I think they are called Culvert? sluices and they allow water in the side of the lock as well as the gates thats why you have four sticky up things on the gates and not two!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

[ QUOTE ]
Howard will jump on soon but I think they are called Culvert? sluices and they allow water in the side of the lock as well as the gates thats why you have four sticky up things on the gates and not two!

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't be dull, even if you are right. Cuchilo and I have far more fun explanations.

 

[Richard Shead]

I duno being accused of being not helpful on one forum and then being accused of being dull on another....

Oh well I am off to do the proper day job now!

 

[TrueBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
I duno being accused of being not helpful on one forum and then being accused of being dull on another....

Oh well I am off to do the proper day job now!

[/ QUOTE ]

It's tough at the top....

 

[No Regrets]

[ QUOTE ]
Fill tunnel my foot ! It's bound to be a hidden pirate cave full of loot /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not that at all /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It's the opening to a bottomless pit, installed by DEFRA a few years ago.... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[TrueBlue]

Once upon a time,

not so very long ago, when I was new to the Thames, I asked a lockie, why should one leave a lock empty after use.

The reply was that a lock is a free standing structure, and must be emptied. I queried that but no further explanation was forthcoming.

Having had some rudimentary engineering training several aeons ago, i thought -

(a) it can it really be freestanding as it needs to be tied into the surrounding countryside else it might float away ( /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif )

(b) If it is truly freestanding, then it need water in it to stop the walls caving in.

And that's the point of this post - the large yellow thingies are EA's version of an Acrow prop: presumably there to stop the walls falling in??

So, oh Mighty Teddington_lock, please explain.

Need a believable explanation of why the lock should be left empty(ing)
Is a lock chamber really free floating within structural terms?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[jaws]

While we're on the subject of Teddington Lock. Is there any reason why the whole of the Barge lock isn't being used when necessary? I went down with 11 boats in April and the lockie only used half the lock which left 3 boats having to wait for the next lock through.
I have 18 boats from our club coming through on 25th May in the early morning and ideally i'd like them all to lock through together if possible.

 

[BarryH]

It amazes me that a hole in the ground can generate so much interest.......

 

[No Regrets]

[ QUOTE ]
It amazes me that a hole in the ground can generate so much interest.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, this is no ordinary hole in the ground though....

It's a free floating structural hole in the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[ThreeSummers]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It amazes me that a hole in the ground can generate so much interest.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, this is no ordinary hole in the ground though....

It's a free floating structural hole in the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

...with a cave

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Steve Clayton]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It amazes me that a hole in the ground can generate so much interest.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, this is no ordinary hole in the ground though....

It's a free floating structural hole in the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

...with a cave

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
So I'm carrying a bottle of water, a blanket, a set of keys, a torch, and enough food for one meal.

How do I get past the poisonous snake in the cave?