19th February 2013
The new gates were fitted today at Wheeldon Mill Lock. Below we have photos and videos.
If you have not yet seen our article about planning for these new gates and how the lock works, click here.
Hargreaves Lock Gates are installing the gates as contractors to Derbyshire County Council, which owns this part of the canal.
First they had to remove the old gates. This is one of the bottom gates.
Then the balance beam from the old top gate went.
Next the top gate itself came out.
Notice how much smaller this is than the bottom gate.
By this time the new gates had arrived. This is the new top gate. Note the little lug on the left.
The wood is Ekki an African hardwood that Hargreaves buy from a sustainable source; for further information, click here.
The top gate is going in. The little lug is at the bottom on the right. This fits into a cup so that the gate can pivot when it is opened and closed.
This is where one of the bottom gates will go. Note the curve in the stone. The new gate has a matching curve. Also see the equipment on top at the right. These are the ground anchors that hold the top of the gate in place.
The top gate being lowered. See the little lug on the bottom right. Note that the gate is trapezoidal. This is because the walls of the lock are not vertical. This also shows really clearly how the paddle gear works.
Here you can see the curve of the gate that will fit into the curve on the wall.
The bottom fits, now to secure the top with the ground anchors. They go through the little hole at the top of the gate by the guy who is kneeling.
First the strap is greased.
The strap goes through the hole and the lugs on the end go through ground fixings.
Metal plates are knocked through to hold the whole thing in place. The gate now pivots in the cup at the bottom, is held snugly by the curve and is kept in place by the ground anchors at the top.
All that remains is to fit the balance beam.
Lo and behold – a new set of gates. There’s lots of fettling still to do, but that’s the heavy work complete.
It’s not long before some of the local residents come to inspect the work.
For a video of the top gate balance beam being fitted, click here.
For a video of one of the bottom gates being fitted, click here.
For a video of a bottom gate balance beam being fitted, click here.