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Lock with no gates

Frothblower

Frothblower

Lubrication In Moderation
I was walking along the Canal towpath today near Wharton Street Nechells on my lunch break, when I spied a Lock with no gates, scratching my head and thinking wouldn't this make the water level lower between the 2 other locks but as you can see the water is normal. Maybe Mr Cromwell will give me a logical explanation.
The 3rd photo is a mooring place for Star City near by.



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Frothblower as the waterlevel seems OK its a cert, the gates were no longer needed.. Lock gates are used to allow a boat go up or down an incline ...from Saltley Viaduct to nechells power station there is only two locks or was
 
It's possible that it was never needed. Errors are made along the way and changes in plans. So that if the gates were in they may have just removed them or maybe they were never in. I believe the St Lawrence Seaway has a similar situation (far larger though) where the elevation change is just a few inches. It to may not have been needed.
 
Frothblower,I think you will find it's a stop lock,these are built at a number of points along the canal length,and they are built to enable timber to be slotted in the brickwork across the canal,so allowing either water to be drained from a particular section for maintenance,or in the case of a breach to prevent the whole of the canal being drained.We saw a number of them when we spent a week cruising on the canals in July.

Graham,the guillotine lock at Lifford Lane on the Birmingham -Stratford Canal was a stop lock.


Colin
 
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Colin, Stop locks were built to prevent different canal companies using each others water as with the Saltley Stop lock but today no longer needed ..the same as the Guillotine lock at Lifford Lane
Whenever two canals joined by diffent companies their was a Stop lock

The Timber slotted into the canal was so put so the canal could be drained for Maintence work to be carried out or if the canal started leaking etc.. they were not called stop locks
Dams rather than locks
 
That's got you all talking.
Their were gates there, you can see where they went.
Thanks for input:great:
 
Maintenance dams were provided for at bridges over the canal. This was usually a narrow point in the canal and also bricked. Slots must have been provided in the brickwork for lowering thick planks to form the dam. Planks were also stored near by for this purpose. What happened when there were long stretches with no bridge is not known. Maybe as stated narrow bricked sections were constructed for this purpose. There is a thread on here where this was done to move a section of the canal over to alow for railway tracks. The dam colapsed with disasterous results.
 
While passing yesterday I took a look at the missing lock in question and I was right in my reply
It was the Salford Stop lock which kept the Birmingham Fazeley Canal apart from Birmingham Warwick Junction Canal (The old Saltley cut) as the private canal companies all merged the lock gate that kept them apart was no longer needed so it was taken out as the canal was level at this point ...so problem solved Frothblower
 
Thanks Cromwell, as you say "problem solved"
That visit to the lost lock got me interested in the Canals again, so my wife and I took our six year old grandson to Brindley place Yesterday and he loved it. We had breakfast on a narrow boat and a good look round. Ever tried explaining to a six year old how a lock works, not easy. We took him to Minworth lock to see a boat use it but none came, shame that but I think he got the gist of it.
 
Stop locks used to have gates, an it was common to have two sets at either end for the regulation of water. The stop lock often formed the boundary between two canals and the one, who was there first, was keen to ensure water loss was reduced unless it could be charged to the other concern. There was a small difference in water levels at these points.

There were stop locks locally

(1) Gas Street- BCN/ Worcester & Birmingham
(2) Digbeth- BCN Digbeth Branch and Warwick & Birmingham Canal (from 1844 when canal to Salford Bridge made)
(3) Salford Bridge- BCN/ Birmingham & Warwick Junction Canal
(4) Tipton Green- BCN and Dudley Canal (original stop in Tunnel)-
(5) Horseleyfields- BCN/Wyrley & Essington Canal
(6) Autherley- Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal/ Birmingham & Liverpool Junction (later Shropshire Union)
(7) Lifford- Worcester & Birmingham/ Stratford upon Avon- originally a barge stop lock, rebuilt as narrow with the guillotine gates
(8) Hawkesbury (Sutton)- Coventry/ Oxford Canal
(9) Fradley- Coventry/ Trent & Mersey Canal

On the BCN there were also "Stops" for gauging purposes such as Capponfield, Sneyd and Rowley.
 
Mention is made of temporary methods to de-water a length of canal to make small or larger repairs. It is known as stanking - from the verb stank. Nothing to do with smell, but I guess when the water was removed the odour may not have been too sweet! :eek:
 
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