I walk past one everyday on the way to work, one day the middle of the locks is full of water, other days it’s not. How do they work? Is someone adjusting them every day or so? How do boats get through?
In: 5
Yes, people are adjusting them – depending on whether they want to go up or down.
If the lock is full of water it means the last boat to go through went up. If it is empty the last boat to go through went down.
Think of it like a normal lift – just one that doesn’t get used much. Sometimes it will be at the top (if someone just came up), sometimes at the bottom (if someone just went down), occasionally moving between them.
If you want to use the lock, if the water (like the lift car) is already at your level you just go into the lock, close the gates behind you so nothing – including water – can get in or out that end (like closing the lift doors), and then you open the small water gates in the other end so water can flow either out of the lock into the lower part of the canal (if you are going down), or into the lock from the upper part of the canal (if you are going up). The water level in the lock will eventually reach the same level as whatever part of the canal it is “open” to (so the bottom if you are going down, the top if you are going up) as water either flows into or out of the lock. Once you get to the level you are at you can open the main gates at that level and move off (ideally closing the small water gates behind you, so the next person doesn’t have to).
If the water isn’t already at the level you want when you get there, you have to cycle the lock your way first (like calling a lift car to your level); so bring the water in the lock to your level, go in, bring the water in the lock to the other level.
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