Anderson boat lift

Today I visited the Anderson boat lift, one of the seven wonders of the waterways. Unfortunately the visitor centre was shut due to staff shortages and the lift is not in use for the rest of the season due to a mechanical fault. The concept of the Anderton lift is simple: two huge water tanks called caissons, each with watertight sealable doors, carry boats up and down. The original counter-balanced system was replaced in 1908 by electric operation, but the lift now works hydraulically again. Just one of the two caissons on the boat lift weighs 252 tonnes - apparently the equivalent of two and a half empty Boeing 757 planes. Each caisson lifts and lowers the tank 50 feet in the air. I also walked the towpaths both in the morning and afternoon.