Stoppages uncovered

Article published autumn 2004

So what is a stoppage? Each winter, our canals, rivers and towpaths are occasionally closed for essential maintenance work, such as re-fitting lock gates and repairing bridges. This ensures that boaters, walkers, anglers and cyclists can continue to enjoy using the waterways.

The stoppage at Apsley involved a team of eight waterway operatives from British Waterways South East working to replace the lock gates at Apsley Lock. The replacement lock gates were craned in over third-party land. This had to be carried out 'blind', with waterway operative, Tom Park, acting as the 'eyes' of the crane driver. It was his responsibility to stand by the lock gates and communicate with the driver via walkie-talkie to ensure that the gates were lifted into place safely and accurately. This operation took approximately 4 hours in total.

The old lock gates are to be re-used at the Iron Trunk Aqueduct at Cosgrove, where the gates will form part of an installation to show what the original site would have looked like before the aqueduct was built.