Panama Canal expansion TV program

[Concerto]

Just been watching a very interesting TV program on the expansion of the Panama Canal to take the largest container ships. There are a number of clever processes used in building it and how the locks operate. It can be watched here for free, you just have to register. It is nearly an hour long, but worth watching.
Impossible Engineering, Series 3, Episode 1 - The Panama Canal Redevelopment on UKTV Play

 

[capnsensible]

Should you ever get the chance, don't miss out on the visitor centre at Gatun Locks. The view over the ca nal is awesome.

 

[Bilgediver]

Should you ever get the chance, don't miss out on the visitor centre at Gatun Locks. The view over the ca nal is awesome.

The best view of the action is out in the lakes. The course is more crooked than straight and to watch the ships approach at a considerable angle to each other and then pass port to port not that far apart gives some admiration for those concerned.

Mind you they do sometimes get it wrong at the loks and allow the stern to swing out too far which then causes the bow overhang to play bumper cars with the nearest mule.

 

[mjcoon]

Mind you they do sometimes get it wrong at the loks and allow the stern to swing out too far which then causes the bow overhang to play bumper cars with the nearest mule.

I recollect being puzzled why they were called mules. We in UK have historical experience of boats being towed by horses rather than mules. Maybe mules were more compact for underground towing purposes. Nowadays the phrase "drag mule" is almost familiar...

 

[capnsensible]

Perhaps because the original Spanish speaking operators referred to them as 'mulas', mules in English?

 

[seagoggles]

If it's interesting to anyone here who hasn't heard of or read it, you might wish to check out David McCullough's The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914. It is still considered by the majority of both professional and amateur historians to be the defining text on the history of the Panama Canal (even though it doesn't discuss more recent developments due to its timeline and publication date).

 

[seagoggles]

Sorry, I forgot to add that for those interested in the forerunner to the Canal - the Panama Railroad - the first complete and authoritative history of it was published last year. The book is simply called The Panama Railroad and is written by Peter Pyne. It's currently only available as a hardcover, so the price will likely drop this summer and when the softcover version is available.