ONCE again the Anderton Boat Lift is broken and of course out of use for boaters accessing the Weaver.
Or any boater wanting to get back off the Weaver onto the Trent & Mersey Canal, Keith Gudgin tells us.
Closed regularly
This is the second time this year the lift has been closed, and has been closed on a fairly regular basis since it was first re-opened in 2002. Last year it being closed during the same period, both in April, May and July.
This time it failed at noon yesterday, Wednesday, with the information from Canal & River Trust that it will remain closed 'until further notice', which is not too helpful for boaters stuck by the stoppage.
No details are given for the cause of the stoppages other than it 'is currently closed due circumstances beyond our control'.
Failed on first trip
The very first public working of the lift portended its future, as after taking the Press from the Weaver in the trip boat, the gates failed to open when it reached the top and the Trent & Mersey Canal. The first picture shows the band playing as the lift was preparing for its first public working, with the second picture showing the confetti celebrating its first public trip—that alas failed.
Though engineers were swarming all over the structure at the time, all their combined efforts failed to get the top gates to open, and so instead of the short cruise along the canal and a return to the lift, the Press were simply taken back down, with red faces all around.
We were told at the time that the problem was matching all the now required safety devices to the old Victorian structure, that was designed with none, but alas it was not allowed to carry boats and passengers without the safety devices, that obviously were not designed in the original structure.
So the lift keeps failing...