Yellow light ?

 

After a good night we pulled ropes through rings and dropped down Fall Ings lock leaving the Calder and Hebble Navigation and joining The Aire and Calder where we have the pleasure of electric locks.

A lot of the locks this way have these square holes half way up the lock with 4 or 5 on each lock wall . I’ve tried to find out what they were used for but had no luck. Anyone have an idea what they are or where used for ? .

Yet again we are on a river and going with the flow. It’s funny that when ever we are near or under a railway bridge a train always goes over making us jump.

It was then to Stanley Ferry and over the famous aqueduct where we crossed the iron troughed bridge which is suspended between bow-spring girders .It’s similar to the one in Sydney but this one was built a long time before that one .

Passing Stanley Ferry works where all the lock gates are made for this area. We have seen many gates with Made at Stanley Ferry stamped on them so now we know where they came from.

Here we go and it’s electric lock time . Every lock has a set of traffic lights to warn you of the state of the lock as you approach . Last night we both read the meaning of what the lights meant .

Red light = lock in use moor up and wait

Yellow light = The lock keeper is away and you will have to do it yourself

Green light = proceed in to lock

Red and Green together = the lock is ready and the lock keeper will prepare it for you

flashing red ligh = flood conditions unsafe to continue

Anyway as we were approaching the lock we could see that it was on yellow ,so I said to Carolyn what does that mean and she said I don’t know I’v’e forgotten and how funny was it that I had forgotten as well . We must remember to write things down . In the end we found out that yellow meant self service so we followed the instructions and dropped down the lock with no trouble.

After a couple of hours and a couple more locks we made it down to the junction near Castleford and made a left turn where we joined the river Aire and instead of going with the flow we were against it ,so more revs needed and more fuel used .

It was then a good hours cruise to Lemonroyd lock which has a 13 feet and 6 inches rise.

Not only that but it was enormous and made us look very small inside . Like all the other locks we have done the yellow light was on and we were on self service. Not knowing how fast and turbulent the lock was going to be I put our centre rope through one of the vertical wire’s on the side of the lock so that I could control Inca as we went up  In the end it was very gentle and there was no need to have used it . I suspect it’s like The Thames locks that go on half speed when in self service operation.

We picked up this mooring above Lemonroyd and opposite the marina which will do us before an early start in the morning when we hope to get in to Leeds and pick up a mooring in the basin/

                                                                                                                     Happy Days