Bow Locks (was A bit on the side)

[Dava]

Just shows how effective the vertical dimension is when used well, with the two rail levels & road bridge overall, higher than it is wide.

 

Dava

[Dagworth]

That layout looks the Dogs, I mean, Cats Bow Locks.

 

I like the fact you squeeze the tiniest signalling details into their relevant positions even on a small project like this.

 

This layout would look good at any exhibition(Are you taking bookings?)

 

Andy.

Thank you  

 

(and yes)

 

Andi

[Dagworth]

I've been doing a little more construction and some detail work, the abutment for the road bridge is close to completion and the platform now has a wall, some ticket machines and some red lights behind the stops. All the buffer stops are now fitted. Next step will be the platform signage and deciding what to do for the backscene.

 

 

 

 

 

Andi

[Clive Mortimore]

Backscene, building roofs typical of the area. The little yellow man on Google street scene is your friend.

[ess1uk]

Great layout

[Andrew P]

Any updates then Andi, seeing as you say you've been working on it today?

[Dagworth]

Any updates then Andi, seeing as you say you've been working on it today?

waiting on paint drying before I take some more photos. Main work has been putting the capping on the retaining walls, painting the retaining walls and paintng the platform walls. Also making some yard lights for the lower level but they are still in primer at the moment.

 

Andi

[Clive Mortimore]

Yo Badge

 

Just read on Lord Bullock of Abbotswood's thread that you are showing this little fella in October. Bagsie first reserve operator (I take it Rich is helping) or your/ the spare* seat  on the demo table.

[Gwiwer]

Bow Locks is a location well-known to me.  I used to cycle the towing paths around there daily and tried (with a camera far too poor for the job) to grab some arty shots of the LTS class 302s and District Line CP and R stock crossing the huge girder bridge at Three Mills.  Most of those paths have been closed now in response to the absence of maintenance in some cases and the need to construct the London 2012 Olympic settlement in others.  It is still possible to cycle off-road through the heart of the "wetlands" if one knows the way.

 

Berk Spencer Acids land must remain unused for many years owing to contamination.  You can cap the soil but you cannot so easily ensure nothing noxious lies beneath.  The "firm next door", Edwin Shirley Trucking, were equally well known as they provided the fleet of lorries required by rock bands on tour.  Coaches for the band themselves were provided by Plymouth-based Trathens who had a London depot in Brentford.  It wasn't unknown fora Trathens coach of very luxurious specification to be parked up in Edwin Shirley's yard right next to Berk Sepncer's acid works!

 

Back to the layout and it's a lovely use of small space and one which I might have to emulate fairly soon.  I've been wandering around RMW looking at small projects recently in the light of potentially changed circumstances by next year and came across this topic which I hadn't noticed before.

 

Harking back to a post up above Bow Locks does indeed flood though perhaps not as often now as prior to the Thames Barrier being installed.  As evidenced below with apologies for the quality:

 

 

 

There might even be a scene worth modelling from this one:

 

 

[Ian J.]

When I was living in London, one of my walking routes took me past Bow Locks on a regular basis. I did see the river level get very high at times, but never to flooding between river and canal. There is a low wall between the two which looked more recent, and I wonder if that was built to prevent the river spilling over to the canal.

[Dagworth]

I'm pleased to say that Bow Locks has been invited to appear at Cheltenham Model Railway Exhibition on 29th and 30th of October http://cheltmodrail.org.uk/

 

Some new photos with the station and yard lights

 

 

 

 

Andi

[unravelled]

I like the lighting on those last shots. Very effective and believable.

 

One of the things which interested me about the real Bow lock were the extra gates to protect the locks when the tide was higher than canal level.

 

RIMG1231 by David Harvey, on Flickr

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[rob D2]

Looks great !

[eastwestdivide]

...

 

One of the things which interested me about the real Bow lock were the extra gates to protect the locks when the tide was higher than canal level.

...

 

 

There's a similar arrangement of pairs of gates facing in opposite directions at the entrance to the Keadby Canal from the River Trent - it allows boats to pass through at any state of the tide in the Trent, higher or lower than the canal.

Is the real Bow Lock the lowest one (on the navigation)? If so, that could be the purpose of those extra gates.

[ess1uk]

Those latest pictures look good

[unravelled]

There's a similar arrangement of pairs of gates facing in opposite directions at the entrance to the Keadby Canal from the River Trent - it allows boats to pass through at any state of the tide in the Trent, higher or lower than the canal.

Is the real Bow Lock the lowest one (on the navigation)? If so, that could be the purpose of those extra gates.

The Bow locks allow transfer to the (tidal) river Lea. The canal continues via the Limehouse cut and joins the Limehouse basin, where there is access to the Thames. I The Limehouse cut originally connected with the Thames, (again with a three gate lock), but that connection was abandoned in favout of the Limehouse Basin one.

 

Dave

[Ian J.]

The Bow locks allow transfer to the (tidal) river Lea. The canal continues via the Limehouse cut and joins the Limehouse basin, where there is access to the Thames. I The Limehouse cut originally connected with the Thames, (again with a three gate lock), but that connection was abandoned in favout of the Limehouse Basin one.

 

Dave

 

Where was that original lock? I walked around there many times while living in London 'tween 2004 and 2015 and can't think of how the Cut would take a direct route to the Thames from the look of it today.

[unravelled]

Where was that original lock? I walked around there many times while living in London 'tween 2004 and 2015 and can't think of how the Cut would take a direct route to the Thames from the look of it today.

I didn't think there were any traces left, but the bridge is still there over the mouth, and there is a decorative pond over much of the original route.. This is an OS map from the NLS collection showing the original setup.

 

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=51.5111&lon=-0.0355&layers=176&b=1

 

WARNING the NLS maps can eat up hours of your time...

 

Dave

[Ian J.]

I didn't think there were any traces left, but the bridge is still there over the mouth, and there is a decorative pond over much of the original route.. This is an OS map from the NLS collection showing the original setup.

 

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=51.5111&lon=-0.0355&layers=176&b=1

 

WARNING the NLS maps can eat up hours of your time...

 

Dave

 

Got you. I know that small bridge, it's just a bit up from the Limehouse Basin lock on Narrow Street.

[kevblokey]

As an aside, Bow Lock(s) was where the Big Breakfast and the original few series of Big Brother were recorded, for those TV addicts amongst you.

 

Great layout btw.

[Ian J.]

As an aside, Bow Lock(s) was where the Big Breakfast and the original few series of Big Brother were recorded, for those TV addicts amongst you.

 

Great layout btw.

 

Actually not quite. The Big Breakfast house is alongside Old Ford Lock, which is one 'upstream' from Bow Locks.

[Kelly]

Looks great. Liking the effect of the elevated platform, gives me an idea for something (oh dear, not another one!).

 

Though, I like your signature most of all, being somewhat of a Discworld fan, and having not long since come back from the convention, full of mad loonies that it was

[kevblokey]

Actually not quite. The Big Breakfast house is alongside Old Ford Lock, which is one 'upstream' from Bow Locks.

Dammit! There was me thinking I had something to contribute to this topic as well...

[Ian J.]

Just to 'rub it in':

 

There are in fact two locks with the name 'Old Ford Lock', one on the Regent's Canal near the junction with the Hertford Union, and the other one next to what is now the London Stadium:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Old+Ford+Lock+(8)/@51.5381704,-0.0211255,486m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48761d20eb5bf32f:0x14328927ee8608a8!8m2!3d51.5323877!4d-0.045437

 

The Big Breakfast house is the one with the swimming pool in the back yard. At time of typing this reply, the view of the London Stadium is during the conversion for West Ham's tenure.

 

Confirmation (if it can be called that) of the lock being the right one comes on the Old Ford Lock wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ford_Lock

[Bernard Lamb]

Funnily enough I was down that way the other week.

The bridge has had a refurbishment at a cost of £3.3 million.

The Limehouse Cut does not have a towpath so a floating pontoon has been installed for walkers and cyclists.

There was never a direct connection between the two rivers for walkers, you had to go out to the A12, along it for some distance and then double back To open up the area a new ramp is being installed leading from the towpath up to Twelvetrees Crescent Bridge and down to the other part of the river via the existing ramp or some new steps. The old foot bridge by the gas works seems to have been blocked off for many a long year.

There are plans to open up more footpaths, but the new bridge installed with the lock on the Prescott Channel around 2009, is still closed as is the old path round the back of the studio on Three Mills Island. There is also the remains of a narrow gauge line, mostly not accessible as it is within the gated film studio, on the island.

Bernard

Photo is looking south with the Limehouse Cut on the right.