Écluse 18 Océan - Thiellay - Canal du Centre - La Thiellay - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This is lock number 18 Océan on the Canal du Centre and is known as Thiellay. It is situated near the viallage of La Thiellay.

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 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): 4.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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