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Locks on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire navigation are huge. They need to be, to allow through the last remnants of commercial traffic.
 Humber Princess still brings oil up to Rotherham from Hull. There are occasional aggregate runs by Waddington barges, but their local steel deliveries seem to have ceased. The locks are automated. Just as well, considering they are only manned when the oil tanker passes through. Even when the boats are empty, it is an awesome sight to see one filling the lock. Here Humber Pride makes a rare run while Humber Princess had her bottom seen to.
 Lock operation, for us leisure users, is fun. Until it all goes wrong. It is advisable to carry two BW Watermate keys. Mexborough Low Lock regularly gives trouble.
The key to the problem
We followed the instructions. Insert key. Turn it clockwise. A humming noise tells us that the electrically powered hydraulic pumps are running. Great! Press the button to raise the sluices. Wait the prescribed three minutes. Nothing happens. Now what? Has it gone wrong or are we idiots?
Start again? Can't. Key won't come out and pumps continue to hum. Okay, follow emergency instructions. Phone the number given on the panel. It is an 0800 number. A recorded voice tells us that this number is not free from mobiles. 'Please dial again without using the first digit'. Then the line goes dead.
Lucky no-one is drowning
There is an alternative given on the panel. Use the emergency phone on the lock office wall. We find that it is enclosed in a cabinet. This requires to be opened using a BW Watermate key. Ours is stuck in the control panel. We have a spare somewhere on the boat. We find it. We open the panel. We follow the instructions on the inside of the door. We press the button on the phone. A recorded voice tells us that the number is no longer in use! Some emergency phone! Lucky no-one is drowning.
 What now? Okay, even though the problem is not of our making we will pay for a mobile telephone call to BW. We phone the 0800 number, leaving off the first '0'. We get a 30 second recorded message telling us that this number is for emergency use only (We knew that. That is why we're using it). If we want to leave a message, press button one.
We would be stuck all weekend
No, we're not falling for that one. We could be stuck here all weekend. 'If we have a genuine emergency and wish to speak to someone right away, press button two.' Well, it isn't life threatening, but Okay, at least this way we should get a response. Button two is pressed.
Hoorah! A human being. But not one who is familiar with the waterways. We explain the problem. But first they want our name and number. Again, extremely lucky no-one is drowning. We tell them which waterway we are on, and at which lock. 'And you are stuck in it?' Well, not quite, but we agree, just to get something done. We are asked which lock and which waterway again. We are told a message will be passed to the duty BW supervisor. He will phone back within ten minutes.
White van man
Great! Action! We wait 30 minutes. No phone-call. Eventually a man in a white van turns up. 'Sorry I'm late. They sent me to the wrong lock!' He switches over control to the lock office, and we're through in minutes..
What was the problem? The gates at the far end of the lock weren't completely shut, even though the light on that panel said they were. We checked. It was a regular occurrence. It should be fixed, we are told.
I mention the non-working emergency phone. 'It's been disconnected to save money. BW assume that everyone has a mobile phone nowadays!' But do they? Would an elderly passing dog-walker witnessing an accident have one? Does the location have coverage?
Same again
All this happened on the way up to Sheffield two weeks ago. Exactly the same thing happened at the same lock on the way back two days ago, but this time it was the other gates that were slightly open. Not so that you could see the gap, though.
I spoke to the crew of the local trip boat about it. He showed me a trick that by-passes the relays on the lock gates. The lock has been a problem 'for years'. Wouldn't it be better to fix it?
Questions
- What's the point of putting a free landline number on the lock control panel? Who carries a landline in their pocket?
- Why is the line cut dead when a call is made from a mobile phone? A warning message followed by connection would make more sense.
- Why put a long recorded message on an emergency phone line? It wastes valuable time.
- Why aren't the telephone numbers of phones contacting the emergency line automatically recorded, thus saving time?
- Why have an emergency phone in a cabinet that is locked by a watermate key? Not all members of the public have one.
- What is the point of an emergency phone that is not connected?
- Why isn't a notice put on the outside of the phone cabinet stating that the line is out-of-use, thus saving a lot of time searching for a spare key?
- Why hasn't the problem with the lock gates been fixed? It is only adjustment.
Commercial Use
 It was good to see aggregate barges in use on the Aire and Calder too. They bring sand up from the Trent to Castleford.
They always slow down when passing moored boats, but it is advisable not to moor on pins or use the centre line. The draw can still be severe. But what a sad sight to see all the tom-puddings lying out-of-use now that the coal run from Knottingley to Ferrybridge is no more.
 It goes by local roads now. The tilting mechanism handling the coal at Ferrybridge power station has been dismantled.
If they can't make better commercial use of our wide and deep waterways, what chance is there of putting the rest of the system back to work? The aggregate run on the lower Grand Union is heavily subsidised, and the operator is working all the hours he can to try to make it pay. But with waters that badly need dredging, what chance does he stand?
Tony Haynes |
