Peterborough Lift Lock

I am going to jump out of sequence for just a minute and tell you about our second lock of the day. It was the Peterborough Lift Lock that is Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. It is the first of three super exciting and different locks that we will travel through on the T-S Waterway and certainly a highlight of our trip.

As we approached the lock we were instructed to enter the left caisson, which as you can see is totally submerged. We are going to be lifted with a huge tour boat in the caisson with us and no boat in what will be the lowering caisson. The Peterborough Lift Lock has dual lifts that are the highest hydraulic boat lifts in the world, with a lift of 65 feet. The lock has two identical ship caissons (think bathtubs) in which vessels ascend and descend. Both caissons are enclosed at each end by pivoting gates. The gates on the caissons fit into slots on the gates on the canal reaches so that they open in unison. The caissons are guided up and down on either side by rails affixed to concrete towers.



No external power is needed: the lift lock functions by gravity alone using the counterweight principle. One caisson always ascends and one always descends during each locking cycle. When one caisson reaches the top position, it stops 12 inches below the water level of the upper reach and the control valve is closed. After the movement has settled the water will drop the additional foot to the match the canal water level.



The lift lock was designed by Richard Birdsall Rogers. In 1896, he travelled to Europe to see existing lock examples in operation. The final project included many engineering firsts. It was the first lock to be built entirely of concrete and at the time was the largest structure ever built in the world with unreinforced concrete. This was a considerable accomplishment at the time when conventional locks usually only had a 7 foot rise.



This is the photo I took as we neared the top...I did not want to lean too far over the edge... The lift lock officially opened to the public to a crowd of thousands on July 9,1904,and remains in full use today. It was so exciting and it all happened WAY TOO fast. I wanted to turn around and do it all over again but alas, we only have a one-way canal pass. Fortunately, we will have another Lift Lock when we reach Kirkfield.