Anderton Boat Lift

	The Anderton boat lift is a miracle of cast iron engineering

Back in 1983 I visited the Anderton Boat Lift and found it closed and its future uncertain. It seemed a shame that such a marvellous monument from the Canal Age should be allowed to rust away to nothing, so I was delighted to learn recently that it has been re-opened.

I went along and found a lively exhibition centre with all sorts of fascinating exhibits and, of course, the wonderful lift itself - but boy, is it slow! In the second part of the film you'll have to watch carefully but there is movement there, promise.

What is even more interesting is that many years ago the lift was "modernised"; an electric motor raised and lowered each cassion aided by massive iron counterweights. Now the weights stand on the ground and the original hydraulic system has been reinstalled. The only difference is that the pumps are electric instead of steam.

Other canal films you may enjoy are the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct.