Latchford Locks and Viaduct, Manchester Ship Canal
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Latchford Locks and Viaduct, Manchester Ship Canal by David Dixon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Latchford Locks and Viaduct, Manchester Ship Canal
Image: © David Dixon Taken: 11 May 2016
In common with all the others on the canal, there are two lock chambers side by side at Latchford. The shorter one is for smaller vessels such as tugs and coasters, enabling them to pass through using less water that would be needed if they had to use the main lock. The lift at Latchford is now 12 feet 6 inches, although it was originally sixteen feet six inches until 1909 when the canal was deepened to its present 28 foot clearance and the lift dropped to 14 foot 6. The lift was to be further reduced to its present level in 1956 when the water level was raised a further two feet between Eastham and Latchford. The hydraulic machinery here also provides power for the swing bridges in the Warrington area. https://web.archive.org/web/20081120203945/http://users.breathe.com/g8hxe/latchford_locks.htm (archived)
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
53.381201
Longitude
-2.54762