Grantham Canal - bits of rusty metal and other interesting stuff.

Something very appealing, even as a one-off, about seeing traditional methods in use even now,

 

Well Donk is a place in East Flanders (Oost Vlanderen in northern Belgium. It is also a reference to an American car. Take your pick.

 

Also the name of one of the characters in Crocodile Dundee.

 

Donk in Dutch refers to a rise in the terrain above a marshy area. You see it in several place names. A high bit is important in Holland

In the Uk the additive 'sey' to a village name has the same idea, eg Badsey in my area. There is a slight rise as you enter the village.

 

There's a restored narrow boat called Badsey, normally moored outside the cafe of the same name at Hillmorton Locks, on the North Oxford canal; NB not the Grand Union as stated here: https://www.badseysociety.uk/village-life/a-narrowboat-named-badsey.

 

Actually, it's just the plain old Oxford Canal, there's no such such thing as as the North Oxford Canal or the South Oxford Canal, it was all one canal, built under the one Act by one company.

The same goes for the Stratford Canal....and don't even get me started on the "Mon & Brec"

 

All this talk of Donk the horse reminds me that when I was about 2* I had a hobby horse whose name was Donkda-donkda. His name came from the sound he made being dragged up and down the stairs.

[*Full disclosure: Donkda-donkda is still at my Dad's house somewhere... he's getting on a bit now.]

 

I'm aware of that, but it's often referenced in that way in canal literature. Whatever you want to call it, it is separated from the southern portion by a bit of the Grand Union.

 

Names should matter - I'm sure some people would take exception to the North Great Central Railway and the South Great Central Railway, or the Dorset & Somerset Jointed Railway! Don't pay any attention to what's printed - there's even a bridge on the Oxford now with an "official" name which originated as part of an in joke which slipped through the final proof reading of the original Nicholson's Cruising guides.

Incidentally, the separate sections is another myth: The Oxford is one canal, it's not separated by a bit of the Grand Union and never has been. The GUC attempted to buy the Braunston turn to Wigrams length from the Oxford Canal Company in the early 30's; the OCC gave serious consideration to selling it but eventually decided against it. Instead they came to an agreement with the GUC over the improvemtns the GUC wanted to make as part of its widening scheme and toll rates for traffic passing between the former Grand Junction and the Warwick & Napton canals . The GUC must have been remarkably confident that they were going to buy it though, because if you know where to look, they planted a GUC boundary marker next to a bridge they rebuilt on the Oxford.

Apologies for the off-topic

 

And then there was the Wrsgan Navigation in the Deviation days of the Ffestiniog Railway.

 

You're right, names do matter.

I posted what I thought was an interesting aside about a restored boat bearing the name of the village mentioned by Breva in his post (#424).

You have taken me to task over my use of a common modern misnomer for the section of canal concerned and in doing so have focused attention on that rather than the point I thought was interesting.

Thanks for that!

 

Hi folks,

Something visible happening at Lock 13 apart from the vegetation clearance.

The team have started installing the temporary by-wash which will enable work in the lock chamber to get underway.

Not my photo.



On a sad note. We have lost one of the society's stalwarts, Tony Jackson, who has succumbed to Motor Neurone Disease after a shockingly short period of time following diagnosis. Tony was an important member of our Events Team and a driving force in our annual Discovery Day where, amongst other attractions, he organised the very popular duck race. Tony had an encyclopedic knowledge of canals in general and ours in particular. With his partner, Tony gave talks and presentations at many social groups around the Lincs/Notts/Leics area, raising a considerable sum of money for the society. One of his social media handles was 'Ayeup me duck' and he maintained our Facebook and Twitter pages. Tony was also an accomplished maker of classic rocking horses and such was his reputation, he didn't have to look for work, the work came to him. A sad loss and a hard act to follow.

 

A nice piece on YouTube from David Johns

 

Damn!! You beat me to it!!

 

Sorry about that! I have been following David for many years through his channels.

 

A sad cautionary tale, beware of unsupported walls. Stay safe out there..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gwql9edwgo

 

Yes, a very sad incident which has heightened our own awareness that our activities can bite.

I'm told that work on Lock 13 is being held in abeyance whilst the correct shoring plan is confirmed and the equipment needed is obtained. It hasn't stopped work elsewhere on the canal - the paddles at Lock 18 on the summit pound need changing because of a serious leak, so the Lock 13 construction team are focussing their efforts there whilst other workparties are dealing with a seriously breached bank at Culvert 12 on the 19-mile stretch between Lock 12 at Muston and Lock 11 at Cropwell Bishop. C&RT have provided a copious amount of sandbags and tarpaulins to effect a temporary repair until such time as they can provide the materials to rebuild the bank. Replacing the paddles at Lock 18 also allows the top gates at Lock 18 to have a close inspection.

Our large workboat "Centauri" has made an unscheduled trip up our slipway because of what was thought to be a major fault due to a misaligned prop shaft - turned out it was a mass of discarded monofilament which had wound itself tight around the shaft and into the shaft tube to the point it was almost stopping the propellor from turning. Some surgery with a very sharp knife and some harsh words eventually removed the monofil but unfortunately, Centauri is now marooned at our depot until the Lock 18 paddles are sorted and the stop planks removed. One consolation is that the slipway has saved us a whole lot of money since it was constructed; the savings made by not having to hire a crane to lift boats in/out of the water has almost matched the cost of the slipway. Every cloud and all that...

 

Found this clip of work in progress on another canal at a slightly Higher or even lower altitude.
A place where I have spent many shifts in the main tunnel and driven through with vans and even artic tippers.

 

Another recently made video of the canal.

 

What started this thread, was a question about a lump of metal that had been discovered in the undergrowth whilst we were clearing the ground at the start of the lock restoration programme. The on-site archeologist had nearly p'eed himself whilst excitedly identifying it as a section of fish-belly rail dating from the days of William Jessop who was the engineer in charge when the canal was being built/dug. However, the learned members of this noble forum correctly identified it as a firebar from a steam engine.

Nearly 10 years later, to the day, whilst we are doing a bit of restoration on another stretch of the canal we have discovered not one, but two sections of what appear to be genuine fish-belly rail which have been used as lintels in a structure that was built around 1800. I've been asked not to reveal the precise location (which is on private land) until the archeologists have had the opportunity to examine the items which are still supporting a wall. Once we've got a positive ID, I'll take some photos to up-load.