Écluse Basses Fermes (Abandoned) - River Marne - Beauval - France
Posted by: ntpayne
N 48° 56.775 E 002° 55.747
31U E 494809 N 5421483
This is an abandoned lock on the River Marne and was known as Basses Fermes.
Waymark Code: WM113KJ
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 08/10/2019
Views: 6
This is an abandoned lock on the River Marne and was known as Basses Fermes. All that remains is one side of the lock which now forms the bank of the river.
There are still bollards in place and the position of the gates can be seen. There is also the remains of the original lock cottage.
There are 18 operational locks on the River Marne and the sizes are as follows:
Lock 18 - 125m long by 11.4m wide
Lock 17 - 100m long by 11.4m wide
Locks 1-16 - 45m long by 7.4m wide
Just before Créteil a 13km loop is cut off by a cut with a lock and a tunnel. The loop itself is still used for half its length by commercials down to some container ports. There is also a lock on this section which is also 125m long by 11.4m wide.
Locks 2-7 are operated by the boater using poles hanging over the lock entrances to set the operations in progress.
Locks 1 and 8-18 are operated by permanent lock keepers operating in control towers. They are contacted by VHF short wave radio.
History: The Marne was a heavily navigated free-flowing river until the 19th century. However, it had one gated short cut, 500m long, the Canal de Cornillon in Meaux, which was built in 1235, possibly the oldest canal in France. The ‘modern’ canalisation was started in 1837, and inaugurated up to Épernay in 1867. It included a number of canals by-passing the more extravagant meanders. Locks are wider than the Freycinet gauge, but shorter than those of the Canal Saint-Denis in Paris, of similar width. The Marne remains in the national VNF network as a commercial navigation. For this reason we have indicated the average opening dates of the locks as 1/1/1850.
More information can be found on the River Marne by following this link here:
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visit link)