Office Lock On Leeds Liverpool Canal - Leeds, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.584 W 001° 33.092
30U E 595413 N 5961472
This is lock 2 on The Leeds Liverpool Canal which at 127 miles long is the longest canal in Northern England.
Waymark Code: WMN52T
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/28/2014
Views: 2
The locks on this canal were designed to carry the ‘short boats’ that had twice the capacity of the narrow boats used on other canals.
The locks therefore had to be wide enough to allow the 62 feet long, 14 feet wide boats through them. Most of the locks were also grouped together to give long runs between the locks although not all were staircase locks like this with no gap between each lock.
The boats were mainly used to carry bulk cargoes such as coal, stone and limestone. Commercial traffic ceased in 1964, but the locks are still used to carry leisure boats which have become very popular. Ironically the leisure craft are normally narrow boats, because there are links to other canals, and wider boats would not be able to pass through the locks on the other canals.
The construction of the canal was started in 1770 and the first section opened in 1774.
The Lock
This lock near the start of the canal in Leeds is next to the canal offices and lock keepers cottage. The canal office was opened in 1816 after the full length of the canal was completed.
The lock is adjacent to bridge 226, which gave vehicular access to a canal wharf located between locks 1 and 2, and where goods were loaded and unloaded.
The top gates of the lock have a wooden walkway built into them to give boat users access to both sides of the canal to operate the locks.
Waterway Name: The Leeds Liverpool Canal
Connected Points:
Connects the City of Leeds with the City of Liverpool.
It also has a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation at Leeds and the Bridgewater Canal at Leigh.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1777
Elevation Difference (meters): 1.00
Site Status: Operational
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
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