I WAS SOMEWHAT concerned at the claims by Jonathan Mosse about the amount of freight carried on our waterways, writes T Lang.
Since the days of British Waterways, and the lack of maintenance, I have seen none.
As to that inland 'port' for freight on the Trent at Nottingham, it is now filled in and has houses built on it.
And the further one that was proposed further down river was a disaster, as lorries were needed to take the freight to the barge and then another lorry required to take it from the boat and deliver it. And of course cranes at both ends to load and discharge.
Reading through the article it is obvious that he, or the IWA person, knows little of the waterways at present, when stating that unplanned stoppages are rare, when there is at least one a day.
And dropped a clanger by mentioning the Weaver and Severn for its freight. Just put the two names of the rivers in the narrowboatworld search facility and count their stoppages.
Another port at Leeds? From the docks I imagine.
But I remember the breach (pictured) that had the Aire & Calder stopped for nearly a year. So what price freight then? And how often is the Lemonroyd Lock closed these days, also stopping any freight.
All too often we have councils 'bringing back freight to the waterways', one particular on the Rochdale Canal with freight to and from Manchester with its 90 locks!
That would not be the one man operation as so flogged, but two men and taking days, as against less than an hour by road taken direct from source to destination.
One thing is very certain, the people who conjured-up their article obviously have no knowledge of todays' condition of our waterways, they telling unplanned stoppages are rare.
They obviously read just what IWA tells, and it never tells about the 30 odd stoppages a month. Canal & River Trust would not like it!
And so their comments are not based on fact—that there is no maintenance anymore to keep the waterways continually open, that is of course so necessary for moving freight.