LAST WEEK HAS BEEN TERRIBLE for the trust's customer services.
With last week surely the worst on record they really dropping like flies.
It started with our Keith telling that the services on both the Shropshire Union and Llangollen canals were closed.
On the Shroppie it was the Wheaton Aston Services that were closed on Thursday. On the poor Llangollen Canal, suffering again, it was the water point at Froncysyllte that was not in use. So that was two on Thursday.
Then came Friday, and it was really unbelievable.
Moss Lane Services on the Lancaster Canal first had a problem with its suction to the pump, that was repaired but still out of use as 'a issue with the card reader.' Making three.
Then is was the Customer Service Facility Elsan at Stoke Bruerne on the Grand Union Canal that had packed up. Making it four.
[The picture shows a service facility on the Ashby Canal, that will be somewhat different in the future.]
Now it was the pump-out at the Customer Service Facility at Tyle Mill on the Kennet & Avon Canal that had bitten the dust—currently inoperable, we are told. Making it five.
And we haven't finished yet for there is the Customer Service Facility that has its Elson blocked at Whitley Lock on the Aire & Calder Navigation. So that is six.
Surely that must be it, but alas, for there is Lapworth Customer Pump Station/Elsan on the South Stratford Canal that has packed up.
And yes, it is the last, so altogether seven customer service facilities having one thing or another wrong with them over last Thursday and Friday. They ain't giving much service, eh?
With all these failures it looks like the contents of those four bins you now have to use for your different wastes will be piling up and taking even more space in your boat.
Eh?
The trust is now telling us that to get arranged access to the service facilities, please contact its customer services team in advance using either of the following methods:
The Canal & River Trust will provide the following CSF with the aim of achieving a
maximum cruising time between these facilities:
Water points—maximum one day cruising
Refuse/recycling points—maximum one day cruising
Elsan points—maximum one day cruising
Pump out—maximum two days cruising.
But at what rate of knots...
Cut off completely
So the new major breach on the LLangollen has cut the waterway off completely with the four locks of the Hurleston Flight closed, until further notice, where the canal connects to the rest of the system.
he trust tells.
And considering the repair on the Whitchurch breach, the waterway is going to be well and truly closed at the site of the new breach for a year or two.
And the cost? Quite a few millions, Keir will see to that. Unless it is put out to tender, that it certainly will not be.
Time and time again our Ralph and myself have told of the real advantage of the discarded lengthsmen, that would most certainly have seen that something was done with that broken culvert before it became another major breach.
And more than likely the Whitchurch one too, should a lengthsman had been patrolling. Not forgetting my often telling of the importance of maintenance. The new breach just showing its importance—and its cost!
More winter works cancelled
That long list of impressive winter works is most certainly not looking so good now, as two more are cancelled.
The planned bridge maintenance works at Crabtree Swing Bridge 32 (pictured) will no longer take place during the winter works that have been deferred and are expected to be rescheduled as part of a future winter works.
It was the 23rd June we were told the navigation closure was required to facilitate repairs and replacement of the mechanical and electrical components of Crabtree Swing Bridge 32.
Shropshire Union
Another winter works that has been cancelled is the sluice downstream of Stoke Hall Bridge 99 at Barbridge on the Shropshire Union Canal.
Our being told the works have been deferred and will now be delivered as part of a future programme.
So the winter works cancellations keep a coming. Just how many will it finished up with, ask I?
Not us
Did you get caught out on that wide world outage of Microsoft? People have told us they did.
But not us, for we have never considered the expensive yearly cost of Microsoft especially as users need to buy another program to protect it. But didn't work so well this time, did it?
Thomas's son built this site with Linux, a family of free and open-source software Unix-like operating system based on the Linux kernel, with Firefox that did not come a cropper with Microsoft!
And so allows us to publish narrowboatworld without being swamped with that ridiculous Google advertising to support it.
Victor Swift—telling tales for 26 years