So why are the Birmingham and Fazeley's Curdworth (and Minworth) locks' racks red-tipped?
(I told you I'd have some photos for you!)
Ansty
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A bit late getting away this morning, but when we did it was a still,
bright, cold start and the frost in the shade hasn’t cleared all day. We
did encoun...
2 hours ago
7 comments:
They'd run out of white & couldn't afford a tin of paint because of the cut backs ??
SORRY !!
They are on the port side?
To hide the blood from the trapped fingers?
The painter was a Liverpool* fan?
* Insert "reds" of your choice.
A political comment from the painter?
Alf, Roger, Graham/Jill - very good! Any more suggestions, anybody?
The paddle gear at Foxton and Watford is colour coded to show which order to open them in, could this be the same?
No, Roger, the locks are all single locks separated by reasonable length pounds, no side ponds. The paddles are operated in the usual way.
Dave of nb Sir Edmund Hillary comments:
The definitive answer from the Lockie responsible (Don Clive):-
Hi Dave, the obvious answer ---- all over the canal system when we started boating very few locks and lock gearing WEREN'T even painted!! with the advent of BW some were painted after a fashion but not lock gearing, all that was done was to 'slap' grease all over the gearing......Hartshill, when I started, had a full time 'Painter' but with the gearing he only painted (after a fashion) the 'paddle starts' white, so I got permission and started doing the painting. The racks on the gearing were all different lengths and more for my own benefit, so that I could tell at a glance, if the paddles were fully down, I painted the relevant amount of rack that should protrude above the gearing red, the white tips you are on about were just for decoration..................I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore you.......incidentally, I never got re-imbursed by BWB for the cost of the red undercoat and topcoat!!!.....do you think it's too late to put the bill in to the new 'Trust'??.........Don.
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