Écluse 2 - Cendrecourt - Petite Saône - Cendrecourt - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This is lock number 2 on the Petite Saône and it is called Cendrecourt. It can be found at the downstream end of the Cendrecourt lock cut to the west of the village of the same name.

Like all locks on the Petite Saône this one is automatic. The boater twists a pole overhanging the river 100-200 metres from the lock. This action sets the lock in motion and a red and green light appears to show the lock is being set. When the lock is ready the red light goes out and the boat enters the lock and makes secure. A metal rod set in the side of the lock is then lifted to set the remainder of the operation in progress. If two red lights or no lights at all are shown then the lock is out of operation.

In terms of navigable characteristics and standards, the river Saône is divided into two sections:

- Petite Saône from Corre to Auxonne, (150 km)
- Grande Saône, from Auxonne to Lyon (215 km)

As this lock is on the upper section aka Petite Saône, the following information is extracted from www.frenchwaterways.com for the Petite Saône:

Although forming part of the important link between the Rhine/Moselle basin and the Rhône, this section of the waterway is completely unspoilt and ideal for cruising. The river winds lazily through charming pastoral landscapes, the longer meanders being bypassed by lengths of canal incorporating standard 38.50m locks. These canal sections cut almost 30km from the natural length of the river (407km from Corre to Lyon). Because the kilometre posts are still in place, the original distances are retained in the route description below (with a note each time the route is suddenly shortened). There are two tunnels: Saint-Albin (PK 48) has a length of 681m, a width at water level of 6.55m and a maximum height of 4.10m, while Seveux-Savoyeux (PK 76) has a length of 643m, width 6.50m and headroom 3.60m. In both cases, the restricted wetted cross-section of the tunnel is retained for some distance beyond each entrance and one-way traffic is enforced, controlled by lights. At certain other locations identified in the distance table passing and overtaking are forbidden. The right-angle junction with the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne is controlled by lights from Heuilley lock (17).

History – The Saône has always been the most navigable of French rivers, with a very gentle gradient and regular flow, albeit subject to floods which can make the broad valley look like an inland sea. The Roman general Vetus envisaged a canal from the Saône to the Moselle. Natural navigability made merchants an easy prey for local lords and tax collectors, and chains were laid across the river in many locations, to collect tolls. Colbert declared them illegal in 1664, but it seemed to Delalande – writing in 1778 – that ‘the easier the navigation, the more its natural advantages have been abused by exactions of all sorts’. Navigability in the industrial era was introduced, as on the other major rivers, after the movable weir was invented by Poirée. By 1847 there were five weirs and locks on the Saône. The canalisation as completed above Auxonne has not changed, while development of the high-capacity waterway downstream meant the replacement of 12 early weirs and locks by only five in the 215?km. The last, at Seurre, was completed in 1980. The entire waterway remains in the national priority network, and may one day be adapted to form the high-capacity Saône-Moselle waterway (Vetus’ dream!)

Waterway Name: River Saône Connected Points: The Saône is fully canalised over a distance of 365km from Corre, where it is joined by the Canal des Vosges (Canal de l’Est, southern branch), to its conflu­ence with the Rhône at Lyon-La Mulatière. It also forms the backbone of the French waterway network, being joined by four major canals linking with the other main river basins: the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne (PK 127), the Canal du Rhône au Rhin (PK 160), the Canal de Bourgogne (PK 165) and the Canal du Centre (PK 221). Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1847 Elevation Difference (meters): 4.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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