Rochdale Canal, Lock 40 – Calderbrook, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 39.605 W 002° 04.909
30U E 560675 N 5946095
The Rochdale canal is 32 miles long and connects Manchester on the west side of the Pennine Hills and Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Waymark Code: WMD4NN
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/18/2011
Views: 2
The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.
The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into one deep lock.
Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.
In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages. The whole length finally reopened in September 2007.
Details of this lock
Lock 40, known as Punchbowl Lock is on the western side of the summit and near to Calderbrook
This part of the canal is next to the road that crosses the canal from the A6033 at Timbercliffe.
The road bridge that crosses the canal here was originally a small arch bridge, but at some point was widened to give better road access. Many of the original small arch bridges were built next to the locks because the canal is always narrower at those points.
The affect of the bridge widening was that the arms on the lock gate were now too long. The novel solution was to cut off part of the arm and attach it at right angles.
The locks on the Rochdale canal are normally wide enough to take two boats side by side, but this is one of a number that are now restricted to only on boat at a time.
Waterway Name: The Rochdale Canal
Connected Points:
The City of Manchester on the west side of the Pennine Hills and the town of Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1804
Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00
Site Status: Operational
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Logs marked as “visits” should be made after physically visiting the waymark location. Include a picture taken during the visit. Notes may be logged by individuals who have visited the web site or looked at the online information and would like to provide comments or feedback on the waymark.