Cirrus_Minor wrote: ↑

Thu May 06, 2021 2:11 pm

There are tunnels at Foulridge and Gannow (Burnley).

CaptainKirk wrote: ↑

Thu May 06, 2021 1:47 pm

Had a discussion here and no one can say why it goes underground at Earby? Only fields above apparently. Stroppy landowners perhaps?
I bet someone on here know.

tim_noone wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 8:43 am

I believe the residents of Barley are in discussions for an underground Road tunnel running from roughlee under pendle hill to chatburn. Why for I dont know.. stroppy residents perhaps?

nonayclaret wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 8:34 am

The canal has to be kept full of water for obvious reasons. This is done from feeder reservoirs along the route. The canal is essentially a long strip of water passing over the Pennines and its highest part (pool) is near Foulridge. Gravity drags water out of the canal from here to the west and east because it drops to almost sea level at its terminal points of Leeds and Liverpool. It is only stopped from acting like a river temporarily by the locks, but as boats use these a constant re-supply of water is needed. This supply is most important at the top level otherwise the canal would slowly dry up from there downwards. The canal is gravity fed with water and needed to be below Foulridge Reservoir so that this could happen. So, they kept it as low as possible at the highest point to allow the maximum supply of water to get into it to re-fill it. This is why there are large reservoirs in the Foulridge area. That's my theory.

Lowbankclaret wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 11:48 am

I think you are very close to the reason there. The Foulridge stretch is the highest point of the canal. As you say the canal has to be fed with water at this uppermost point. I think each time a lock is used it uses about 300,000 litres of water. I am fairly sure the 4 reservoirs used to fill the Foulridge stretch are Foulridge upper and lower. Slipper hill and whitemoor. I think the reason they did the tunnel was because of the height of these reservoirs. I helped bring a boat back from Leeds last year and Foulridge tunnel was fun.

Bosscat wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 1:08 pm

Would have been a heck of a task legging the barges (2 men on a plank across the barge, moving the barge with their feet) through these tunnels back in the days of horse drawn barges...
7000658.jpg

Bosscat wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 1:08 pm

Would have been a heck of a task legging the barges (2 men on a plank across the barge, moving the barge with their feet) through these tunnels back in the days of horse drawn barges...
7000658.jpg

Lowbankclaret wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 11:48 am

I think you are very close to the reason there. The Foulridge stretch is the highest point of the canal. As you say the canal has to be fed with water at this uppermost point. I think each time a lock is used it uses about 300,000 litres of water. I am fairly sure the 4 reservoirs used to fill the Foulridge stretch are Foulridge upper and lower. Slipper hill and whitemoor. I think the reason they did the tunnel was because of the height of these reservoirs. I helped bring a boat back from Leeds last year and Foulridge tunnel was fun.

TheFamilyCat wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 6:37 pm

For some reason I recall from A-Level geography nearly 30 years ago that the watershed runs right through Foulridge (across the main road, just before the Hare & Hounds we were told).

Rain that falls on either side of it ends up in either the North Sea or Irish Sea.

Why I can remember stuff like that but not the wife's birthday is beyond me.

1968claret wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 8:16 am

If you mean the one at Foulridge, it is a simple matter of the gradients of the land. The engineers had two options, dig through the hills to go under the land or build locks to allow you to go over.
The problem with locks was that they created bottlenecks in the canal system and the mill owners, the finance behind the canals, wanted the quickest route from a to b.
It is why we have the long mile stretch through Burnley. A cheaper option was to have locks at gannow and stoneyholme ends. But this would have slowed the barges. So instead they built a mile long stretch above the town. Amazing to think that this was man made pretty much by hand!

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 8:33 pm

Never even thought of that. They’d struggle to build it proper with machines these days.

Quickenthetempo wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 9:01 pm

They would be able to build it no problem.

The difference is they had time to build properly in them days, whereas things are built quickly to maximize profits these days.

karatekid wrote: ↑

Sat May 08, 2021 9:24 am

Why do the distance markers on the towpath for Leeds and Liverpool always seem to point in the wrong direction?

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 9:23 pm

Foulridge, I think, is the centre of the L & L canal system.

The two reservoirs put the water in - one side of the tunnel the flow is right to left (towards Liverpool) and if you're stood on the same side of the canal on the other side, the flow is left to right, (towards Leeds).

Though I fully accept that this doesn't explain the existence of the tunnel, this could all happen without it.

Lowbankclaret wrote: ↑

Sat May 08, 2021 10:58 am

As I understand it there are 4 reservoirs that provide water for the canal. Upper and lower Foulridge, slipper hill and Whitemoor.

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 9:23 pm

Foulridge, I think, is the centre of the L & L canal system.

The two reservoirs put the water in - one side of the tunnel the flow is right to left (towards Liverpool) and if you're stood on the same side of the canal on the other side, the flow is left to right, (towards Leeds).

Though I fully accept that this doesn't explain the existence of the tunnel, this could all happen without it.