Summer and fall 2014 this blog posted lots of lock photos, a sample of which is here, but today there’s a treat. Winter work on the canal requires that the water level be drawn way down for maintenance inside the locks. Bob Stopper, a regular canal contributor and much more, took these photos inside lock 27, basically a machine that’s worked in the same way for a range of different traffic for over a century.
To get a sense of what we’re seeing here . . . the “door” at the far end is 300′ away and the width here is 44.’ The “steps” we are looking at are the upper sill. When Urger would sail into this lock, we needed eight feet of water above that concrete sill . . . or we’d hit with the keel. In the distance notice the port holes on both sides along the “floor” and the minimum water “scum” lines.
Here is a close up of the port holes and water lines.
Here we are behind the port holes in the water tunnel now iced over. Through here, the lock fills and dumps.
Now from the top of the lock looking at the same scene: the “door” is called a mitre gate and again, for scale the lock is 300′ by 44′. Notice again the water line and the port holes.
Here we are inside looking back at the sill, upper mitre gates, and “ribbon rail” dam that’s been temporarily installed across the canal to do winter maintenance.
Here from farther outside the ribbon rail dam. Notice the repainted mitre gate.
Here’s a close up of the bottom of a mitre gate showing the sill rubber seal and the white oak mitre timbers where the gates meet in canal center, and .
along each edge there’s a quoin timber attached to needle sill gate.
These grates are called trash racks at the entrance to water-fill culvert. In reality, they keep debris like large trees from entering.
And the is a wagon-body valve in situ on z-rails in a fill culvert. How large is it?
I took this photo at lock 2 last summer. This wagon-body valve was waiting the arrival of a crane for installation deep inside the lock. My estimate is that each of the wheels is greater than three feet in diameter. Maybe someone can help confirm that estimate.
Here’s a view of the lower gates of lock 19 I took in late June 2014. Lock operators were clearing water-logged tree branches jammed between the bottom of the mitre gate and the sill. Remember that there’s at least eight feet below their rowboat.
Much gratitude to Bob Stopper for sharing his photographic journey inside lock 27. Here, here, and here are links to Bob’s article in three parts from Wayne County Life on this inside out look at a lock.
9 comments
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March 9, 2015 at 9:00 am
Daniel Meeter
I really liked this one, and learned a lot. Thanks.
March 9, 2015 at 12:28 pm
tugster
A friend on Facebook points out that the wagon-body valve measures 7′ X 9′ and weighs approximately 9800 pounds. If you’re standing near the upper door when one of these opens, you see a major whirlpool created by the rush of water through the water tunnel and through the port holes into the lock chamber.
March 9, 2015 at 3:58 pm
tugster
More numbers via FB: “For locks with lifts up to 12 feet,the valves and culverts are 5 X 7 feet, and there are 16 ports-8 per side. For locks with lifts between 13 and 22 feet, the valves and culverts are 6 X 8 feet,and there are 22 ports- 11 per side. For locks with lifts 23 feet and greater, the valves and culverts are 7 X 9 feet, and there are 28 ports-14 per side.
March 9, 2015 at 5:48 pm
Anonymous
thanks for the Erie Canal pics. My wife and I are taking our retired uscg 36ft motor lifeboat through the canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson then down to my old stomping grounds in the 6th boro this Spring./Users/naomifisher/Desktop/P1010966.JPG We live in Wa. State now.
March 9, 2015 at 6:06 pm
tugster
anon . . . keep in touch. there’s a retired USCG lifeboat down in the 6th boro you may want to look up: https://tugster.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/government-boats-28/
March 9, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Anonymous
I have to get my wife to show me how to add a photo to my comments. Yes you are probably referring to the MLB at the Mariners harbor yacht club. We will be stopping there. Your home page pic of the Bayonne Bridge has brought back a lot a lot of memories including the collision between the tankers Alva Cape and the Texaco Massachusetts which I witnessed from the B&O RR tug Roy B. White. Terrible accident!
March 9, 2015 at 8:10 pm
tugster
about the motor lifeboat, are you trucking it ‘cross country? about the collision from back in 1967, i’d love to hear more about what it felt like to see the inferno and think about the loss of life . . . http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg545/docs/boards/texacomass.pdf
March 9, 2015 at 8:20 pm
tugster
anon . . . is your boat the blue and white SEA WITCH? if so, i got a pic of it in seattle in 2010. email me at parrotlect@gmail.com?
March 9, 2015 at 10:48 pm
glen
No, our boat is a fully restored to service condition MLB # 36391 and we have not been to Seattle yet. I will add a picture as soon as I can figure out how. Can someone help me with that? I will reply with an email. I know I can attach pics to that.