10th July 1900, was the official opening day for the lift, any photograph with a flag pole, is from that special day. The Designer Gordon Cale Thomas rides on the edge of one tank.
As seen from the Locks, the engine room is nearly complete and the boiler house has its windows in. c1899.
Bottom basin with the locks to the left under the bridge and the lift in the background.
This is the view from the top of the incline as you would see it when approaching in a boat. You would sail into whichever tank was available and 12 minutes later be sailing out of the end.
This is the view from the top of the incline when one tank is up and one down. To make a watertight join the tank rubs on the wooden seal, and is then pressed into place with hydraulic rams.
GJCC.o inspection boat Gadfly in the tank, with engineers inspecting the works, this was one of the first boats to use the lift, possibly before any commercial traffic.
Nearly complete, the arm is lined with clay and barrow runs bring men and materials down to the dry canal bed. This arm is under restoration.
This is probably a Sunday school outing or similar, coal boats have been scrubbed out for a trip from Harborough to Foxton and up the lift. Today strict limits apply to passenger vessels, this exceeds them so much you cant count the number of people on the boats!
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