Summary : The Anderton Boat Lift transfers canal boats between the Weaver Navigation and the Trent and Mersey Canal through a 50' 4" difference in water level. At the top level the lift is linked to the canal by means of a 162 foot long aqueduct which has twin channels. The lift was originally operated by water pressure; the two caissons were supported on 3 feet diameter rams working in the cylinders of the hydraulic presses, which were linked through valves. The caissons were of wrought iron, being 75 feet long and 16 feet and 6 inches wide, with gates at each end. By 1904 the lift, which was opened in 1875, needed overhauling and the main rams required renewing. It was therefore converted to a counterbalance structure driven by electric motors, with the caissons suspended from wire ropes carrying cast-iron weights, some 252 tons to each caisson. The lift, which is constructed of wrought and cast iron, was designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams, Edwin Clark and J W Sanderson, and was the forerunner of several similar lifts constructed in Europe. |