Left: view from inside the lift.
What am I? I am 127 years old and I can raise a 252 ton object 50 feet into the air. I was the first of my kind ever built in the world - and now I have been restored to working order.
The Victorian engineering masterpiece in question is the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire, reopened at Easter 2002 after twenty years of inaction. The boat lift was built in 1875 to raise canal boats and their cargos from the River Weaver up to the level of the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Right: a boat enters a watertight tank underneath the lift, ready to ascend to the upper level.
"The fantastic partnership that has made this re-opening possible has transformed a remarkable example of our industrial and engineering heritage and created a new focus in the North West for visitors and investment," said British Waterways chief executive, Dave Fletcher.
The lift was the prototype for much bigger versions built and still operating in Europe. Engineer Edwin Clark built the lift using an ingenious system of hydraulic rams to enable boats to be transferred from one waterway to the other without the time-wasting transhipment of goods from boat to boat.
Left: view at the top - now the watertight gates are ready to open.
By 1904, a major overhaul was needed. The use of river water had caused serious corrosion to the lifts hydraulics. The hydraulic rams were removed and a massive assembly of shafts, gears, weights, wheels and pulleys erected over the lift. With the addition of an electric motor the modified lift was completed in 1908.
In 1983 the lift was closed after serious corrosion was discovered during a routine safety inspection. Now a partnership of public, private and voluntary organisations are helping to restore canals at the same rate that they were built at the height of canal mania in the 1790's and the Anderton Boat Lift is now one of British Waterways flagship restoration projects.
The £7 million scheme has restored the Anderton Boat Lift back to its original working order, reviving this "Cathedral of the Canals". The Lift has been restored to the hydraulic operation mode of 1875 with the 1908 structure and pulley wheels retained as a static monument.
The restoration has been supported by major grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, WREN, Vale Royal Borough Council and the North West Development Agency. The Waterways Trust, a charity dedicated to breathing new life into Britain's waterways, led a fundraising partnership that has raised £1million towards the restoration costs.
As part of this, the Anderton Boat Lift Appeal raised £400,000. Thousands of people, including the Anderton Boat Lift Trust and the Friends of Anderton Boat Lift have given their support.
Right: a trip boat will give passengers the chance to experience the Anderton Lift.
Members of the public can now experience the unique feeling of being transported skywards in a Victorian engineering extravaganza unique in Britain. Trip boats for foot passengers are operating through the lift and boaters can navigate themselves through on payment of a fee.
"The opening of the Anderton Boat Lift today marks the beginning of our programme of major waterway re-openings this year - adding 220 miles to the network."
"All over the country, sustainable waterway renewal is delivering real economic, social and environmental benefits to millions of lives. This is reinvention, not simply restoration," added Dave Fletcher, British Waterways' Chief Executive.
Facts:
The original structure is approximately 60ft high overall.
The difference in height between the two water levels is 50ft
The Lift is 85ft in length
The original structure is 49ft wide
Each tank weighs 91 tonnes empty and 252 tonnes when full of water
Each tank is 75ft long, 15'6" wide and 9'6" deep at the centre and will hold two narrow boats or one wide-beam barge.
