A leisurely start again. We did not have a long way to go today and as our first obstacle was the sliding railway bridge I thought it best not to leave too early anyway. Not that actually that should have made a lot f difference. We drifted up the canal expecting the bridge to open but it didn't. No 
help for it but to moor up and investigate. Actually, a good idea, as it would allow an opportunity to see how it works. The bridge was dotted with men in Hi-Vis clothing and hard hats, so clearly some maintenance was going on,so probably we were going to have to interrupt them. On reaching the deck of the bridge via the towpath gate we could see that the track was up. Enquiring from the nearest chap how long it would be before we could go through, he replied "Anytime. You have the right of way. Go and speak to the signalman". The signal box was very interesting with pictures of the orignal bridge from which the design was taken. 
He told me that the bridge work was really a side issue to a major project to renew foundations on a section of track that was sinking into the marsh. Millions had been spent on piling and a concrete raft further on.
The picture below shows the trackbed with the concrete base
Our journey was stopped by a series of swing bridges. Some hand worked, but all requiring a key. One was interlocked with the adjacent level crossing for the railway which adjoins the canal for a substantial part of the way to Thorne. It was necessary, therefore to get the crossing keeper out of 
his box to deal with the hinged railway crossing gates before the bridge could be unlocked. Most of the manual gates had interlocking barriers that needed to be set correctly before the bridge can be turned. Only the large lifting bridge at Wykewell was fully automatic.
Comments