Écluse 25 Méditerranée - Canal du Centre - near Rully - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This is lock number 25 Méditerranée on the Canal du Centre. It does not have a recognised name as is the case from all the locks from 12 Méditerranée to the end of the canal at Chalon-sur-Saône at lock 34bis Méditerranée.

It is the highest of a chain of seven locks to the east of the town of Rully. The seven locks are not really a flight but there is generally only 1/2 kilometre between each lock.

When the locks were extended to the Freycinet standard in the 1870s, seven of the first 20 locks were removed and several of the remaining locks were deepened. Consequently some locks are seen with two numbers, the original number and the post-Freycinet number.

The Canal du Centre runs from Digoin at its western end up to Chalon-sur-Saône at the other, thus providing a route from the Loire to the Saône. This canal therefore enabled through passage from the Mediterranean via the Rhône onto the Saône and then the Loire to the Atlantic at Nantes.

The canal was opened in 1792 primarily to transport coal from the mines around Montceau-les-Mines. It is 112 kilometres long and has 61 locks which are not manned; they are set from a command centre that boaters have to keep in touch with by telephone as they travel the canal. Once in each lock the boater has to pull a cord to start the lock operation. When the operation is complete and the gates open they have one minute to leave the lock before the gates close – that could be fun if they're sharing with a lot of boats.

The locks are all built to the Freycinet standard size of 38.5 x 5.05 metres.

There are 26 locks on the western side of the summit numbered 1 to 26 with a suffix of Océan indicating the lock is on the Atlantic side of the summit.

There are 35 locks on the eastern side of the summit numbered 1 to 35 with a suffix of Méditerranée indicating the lock is on the Mediterranean side of the summit.

Waterway Name: Canal du Centre Connected Points: The Canal du Centre runs from Digoin at its western end up to Chalon-sur-Saône at the other, thus providing a route from the Loire to the Saône. At Digoin it meets the Canal Latéral à la Loire which then joins the River Loire which runs to the Atlantic at Nantes. At Chalon-sur-Saône it meets the River Saône which then joins the Rhône which runs down to the Mediterranean. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1792 Elevation Difference (meters): 5.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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