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Tom

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On Sunday I was mostly volunteering to clean up a section of my local (derelict) canal.

Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On the Nob End section (titter tee hee), or Prestolee Locks to avoid rudeness, we cleaned up all the years of shite that had accumulated. I couldn't do the Saturday due to work, so did Sunday.

There are 6 locks here, 2 groups of 3 staircases separated by a pound. The whole thing is derelict but most of the stonework is still intact, among other things. Its a beautiful area and will look great once fully restored.

Manchester Bolton and Bury canal working party - a photoset on Flickr

This is how it used to look when in operation:

800px-Nob_End_Locks_2_-_John_%26_Margaret_Fletcher_collection.JPG


And a few months before we started:

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After (there are 2 of these cobbled sections we cleared, I did one of them, this bloke did the other):

2373899869_dceff646ef_b.jpg
 

Tom

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Before:

2374911882_73000de8ed.jpg


After (this isn't the same hinge but you get the point)

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Other pics of the work today:

You can see the 2nd and 3rd locks here - the pound between the 2 sets of staircases is the green bit near the bloke with the red top.

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2374704502_eb8a1fd0b4_b.jpg
 

Tom

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Each lock has 2 pedestrian staircases. They are mostly intact, any missing steps are either next to the steps, or in the canal bed. The handrails are over 200 years old and utterly rock solid.

2374710690_f9db8be2ec_b.jpg


Top lock, above this the canal branches east to Bury, and Northwest to Bolton. A bridge across the water is missing.

2374764310_e5b4129f6f_b.jpg


The coping stones were inaccessible before I cut these trees back and cleared them up. Now people and cyclists can walk on the stonework instead of the mud.

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There are two of these pyramid shaped coping stones. They were originally on the gate at the top, as gateposts. No doubt one day they'll be back on.

2374779612_10b69b32f4_b.jpg
 

Tom

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Someone installed a water pipe at some point after the canal went out of use. It won't carry much water now!

2374713766_80b5eb76c4_b.jpg


Anyway, thats what I got up to. My muscles still haven't recovered, its like doing 10 hours in the gym :)
 

Chilly

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Nice work - is it going to be flowing water again? If so when is it scheduled to be plugged back into the network? Will get my narrow boat down that flight when its online again in a few years (several, many, decades?).
 

Trem

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Nice work - is it going to be flowing water again? If so when is it scheduled to be plugged back into the network? Will get my narrow boat down that flight when its online again in a few years (several, many, decades?).

Aye same question from me.

Its one thing caring about this country and its heritage but its another actually doing something about it so bloody well done Tom, you put a lot of us to shame.
 

Tom

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Well the Salford arm of the canal is currently being restored here (this image is 4 months old, the washwalls are all completed now and it looks great):

800px-Middlewood_locks_nov_2007.jpg


This is on the opposite side of the Irwell to Granada Studios. You can't see it on Google Earth but you can see the area here - if you zoom into Manchester the 'bloody bridge' is where the canal emptied into the Irwell (bloody bridge was so named because a woman was found murdered there). That area now looks like this (this image is a few months old):

617px-Mbb_canal_exit_to_river_irwell.jpg


That entire area will be apartments and the like (google Middlewood locks).

middlewood04.jpg


The plan is to work up the canal, through Salford, regenerating the area as they go. The entire route of the canal has been protected from any future building, nothing can now be built that will interfere with the future restoration of the canal. Its reckoned that the canal will be fully operational again within the next 10 years, the only sad thing is that its unlikely to get into Bolton again because the A666 is in the way.

I love the area, I go cycling there all the time, and I grew up near the canal. Some people might think its a silly thing to do but honestly, I love these working party days - if nothing else its bloody good exercise (a day's shovelling is very hard work) and the many members of the public walking past absolutely love what we do - and the more people who understand the history of the area, and future plans, the more people will look after it, spread the word around, etc.

Revealing features that haven't been seen in 50 years or so is just brilliant IMO.

If anyone wants to get involved in anything like this just have a look at the WRG website - although I'm a member of the canal society, those guys work all over the country doing this kind of thing.

I find it very rewarding.
 

Doh_boy

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Good work tom. :)

Is that regeneration picture part of the 'Green quarter' development? Looks vaugely like that area.
 

bob269

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Aye same question from me.

Its one thing caring about this country and its heritage but its another actually doing something about it so bloody well done Tom, you put a lot of us to shame.

So the volenteers sort the shit out, then it's passed over to british waterways who get overpaid (from tax payers money) for doing an half assed job of maintaining it in the future (remember i said i could get you a job on there ;) )
 

Gumbo

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I think I'd be well tempted to do my days course to get a chainsaw ticket, the sight of all those stumps and a bow saw made me ache just to look at it.

Good job Tom, the engineering involved in the canal system blows my mind, it's great to see it all being brought back, even if not into full service. It's really interesting to just uncover it all so you get some appreciation of what used to be there.
 

Tom

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Threadnomancy! The first section of this canal was opened today:

2869859397_423e8f62e2_b.jpg


Only a few hundred yards, but its a start!
 

leviathane

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can't believe it was allowed to disappear in the first place, looked really nice. Good work.
 

Raven

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Just a shame they seem to be building flats there, like any other waterside piece of history it will be full of scummy salesman soon :(
 

Tom

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Just a shame they seem to be building flats there, like any other waterside piece of history it will be full of scummy salesman soon :(

Flats will be better than what was there when the canal was in use - a massive smelly brickworks bigger than the Moon....
 

Tom

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Unavoidable unfortunately due to the presence of a new road, and mahoosive victorian sewer they found blocking the way.
 

Chilly

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I wonder what the optimum lock depth is for maintence cost etc when you have a hill to climb? Obviously one lock is cheaper than 10 but are 6 shallow locks cheaper than 3 very deep ones?
 

Tom

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I would imagine its more about the amount of water used in each chamber, side ponds, etc, but really I don't have a clue.
 

raw

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Always wondered what they were doing to that bridge by trinity way, now i know :D

Well done.
 

Chilly

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theres another one in brum thats loldeep - I drove my parents boat thru it years ago.
 

Mazling

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It's always fascinating to walk along a canal and find bits of 'ancient ruins' hiding ... nice work tom.
 

Tom

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Do your parents still have their boat Chilly? Owning a narrowboat is something I'd like to do at some point in my life. Obviously they have their limitations but it looks like a nice pastime.

I've always thought that if the shit hit the fan and I had to flog my house, I'd end up in a boat.
 

Chilly

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yup, I spent a week on it during August. Was fuckin great, had mates with me all week so had plenty of help for locks etc. We have a 62ft one, which is almost as big as you can get and still get into locks and can sleep 8 in beds with room for tables etc too. For a 2-3 man jobbie you could go to 40ft and have plenty of room I rekon. I'm not sure about prices these days, but the hull of ours was £18k 23 years ago (its the same age as I am) and one of my parents friends paid off his share by living and working on the boat for about 6 months doing all the fitting (panelling, electrics, gas, engine, etc). Brand new youd be looking at quite a lot these days I'd say.
 

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