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The following is the Preface and Table of Contents from Canal Lock Design and Construction, The Rideau Canal Experience, 1826-1982, Microfiche Report 57 by Robert W. Passfield, Parks Canada, 1983. Republished by Friends of the Rideau as digital book DB-MR57, 2010:
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The Rideau Canal was built as part of a larger effort by the British Army Board of Ordnance to provide a secure military communication between the ocean port of Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario, via the St. Lawrence, Ottawa, and Rideau-Cataraqui river systems. In all, three canal systems were constructed: the Lachine Canal (1821-25); the Ottawa Canals (1819-34); and the Rideau Canal, built by the Corps of Royal Engineers under Lt. Colonel John By (1826-32). On the Rideau Canal project, plans were prepared for three different scales of canal lock and various mechanisms were proposed for operating the lock gates and sluices before the engineers settled on the design details of the 33 by 134 foot locks actually constructed. Thereafter, further design changes had to be made in response to problems encountered during the course of construction and in operating the finished canal. The present work traces the design evolution of the Rideau Canal locks through all three proposed scales of construction in the context of the contemporary state of canal engineering in the Canadas, the United States, and Britain. The design of the locks actually built is described in detail and deviations made in the basic design during the course of construction are set forth, as well as the method and materials of construction, and the specifications governing the same. Subsequent changes in the operating mechanisms and materials of construction are described and dated through to the present, and the lock structures and operating mechanisms assessed in terms of their operational efficiency and durability in the context of particular problems that necessitated design modifications and/or changes. In preparing this study, a conscious effort was made to analyse and integrate the vast amount of information conveyed by an extensive collection of Rideau Canal plans, drawings, paintings and photographs held by various public archives and Parks Canada with material extracted from the reports and correspondence of the succession of superintending engineers who were responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Rideau Canal over the years. A selection of drawings, plans, paintings and photographs have been reproduced herein to illustrate the text. For ease of reference, the text has been sub-divided by subject matter into five major sections and numerous subsections as indicated in the Table of Contents. Introduction I The Proposed 20 by 108 foot Gunboat Lock Planning and Layout . . . . . . . . 5 Masonry of the Lock Chamber . . . . . . . . 11 Lachine Canal Locks Prototype . . . . . . . . 16 Sluice System of the Gunboat Lock . . . . . . . . 18 Sluice Valve Operating Mechanisms . . . . . . . . 20 Lock Gates of the Gunboat Lock . . . . . . . . 27 Gate Operating Mechanisms . . . . . . . . 29 Origin of the Floor Chain/Crab System . . . . . . . . 30 Gate Operating Mechanisms on other Canals . . . . . . . . 31 Supporting the Lock Gates: The Roller Wheel . . . . . . . . 35 The abortive Goose Neck Anchor Design . . . . . . . . 39 Construction Progress . . . . . . . . 41 II The Proposed 50 by 150 foot Steamboat Lock The Argument . . . . . . . . 44 Lock Chamber Design and Configuration . . . . . . . . 47 Proposed Wall Details . . . . . . . . 50 Proposed Breastwall and Sill Details . . . . . . . . 52 Floor Details . . . . . . . . 54 Lock Gate Design . . . . . . . . 55 Lock Gate Sluices . . . . . . . . 57 Lock Gate Operating System . . . . . . . . 58 Layout and Lifts on a Slackwater Navigation . . . . . . . . 60 Masonry Savings attributable to the Lock Configuration . . . . . . . . 62 a) Potential Savings in the Breastwork Masonry . . . . . . . . 64 b) Potential Savings in the Masonry of the Floor Inverts . . . . . . . . 66 Lock Wall Design . . . . . . . . 70 Potential Savings in the Masonry of the Side Walls . . . . . . . . 74 III The Approved 33 by 134 foot River Steamboat Lock The Kempt Committee . . . . . . . . 77 The Walls of the 33 by 134 foot Lock . . . . . . . . 85 Dressing and Laying the Stonework of the Lock Walls . . . . . . . . 95 The Coursed Rubble Masonry Backing of the Lock Walls . . . . . . . . 105 Clay Puddle Walls . . . . . . . . 108 The Breastwork . . . . . . . . 113 Remedying Defects in the Breastwork Design and the Use of Hydraulic Cement . . . . . . . . 120 Grouting and Jointing the Lock Masonry . . . . . . . . 129 Deviations in the Sill Construction: Wood Sills . . . . . . . . 138 Deviations in the Breastwork . . . . . . . . 142 Lock Chamber Floors . . . . . . . . 145 a) Inverted-Arch Masonry Floors . . . . . . . . 146 b) Bare Rock Floors . . . . . . . . 152 c) Wood Floors . . . . . . . . 154 Structural Details of American Wood Floored Locks . . . . . . . . 157 Initial Plan for Constructing Wood Floored Locks . . . . . . . . 159 Wood Gate-Recess Floors in the Locks with Masonry Floor Inverts . . . . . . . . 162 Wood Gate-Recess Floors in the Wood-Floored Locks . . . . . . . . 163 Proposed Variations in the Wood Floor, Structural Design . . . . . . . . 166 Structural Details of a Wood-Floored Lock as constructed . . . . . . . . 168 The Wood-Floored Lock at Beveridges Lockstation . . . . . . . . 172 Design Defects and Durability of the Wood-Floored Locks . . . . . . . . 177 Tailbay and Forebay Floor Aprons . . . . . . . . 184 IV Lock Operating Mechanisms The Locking Process: Lock Lifts and Sluices . . . . . . . . 189 The Culvert Sluices . . . . . . . . 194 The Original In-Culvert Sluice Valves . . . . . . . . 197 Improvements Made to the In-Culvert Sluice Valves, 1833-34 . . . . . . . . 199 The Original Wall-Face Culvert Sluice Valves . . . . . . . . 203 Modifications in the Wall-Face Sluice Valves, 1834-35 . . . . . . . . 208 Elimination of the In-Culvert Sluice Valves, 1839 . . . . . . . . 218 V The Lock Gates: Design Evolution The Lock Gates Built in 1830-32 . . . . . . . . 239 Gate Ironwork: a) The Reinforcing Plates . . . . . . . . 246 b) The Gudgeon . . . . . . . . 247 c) The Roller Wheel . . . . . . . . 252 d) The Anchor Plate (Spider) and Collar . . . . . . . . 257 e) The Sluices in the Lower Gates . . . . . . . . 264 Painting the Lock Gates . . . . . . . . 274 The Stone Coloured Lock Gates . . . . . . . . 279 Gate Operating Mechanisms: a) The Floor Chain/Crab System . . . . . . . . 282 Provenance of the Iron Work . . . . . . . . 290 b) The Swing Beam/Crab System, 1834 . . . . . . . . 292 c) The Push Bar/Crab System, 1900-1901 . . . . . . . . 300 d) The 1982 Systems . . . . . . . . 306 Testing the Lock Gates: 1831-1832 . . . . . . . . 310 Lock Gate Design Modifications: 1840 . . . . . . . . 313 Lock Gate Design Modifications: 1850 . . . . . . . . 317 The Jones Falls Lock Gate Collapse, July 1869 . . . . . . . . 320 Lock Gate Design Modifications: 1864 . . . . . . . . 326 Lock Gate Design Modifications: 1918 . . . . . . . . 330 Longevity of the Lock Gates . . . . . . . . 335 Lock Gate Design Modifications: 1982 . . . . . . . . 336 Appendix A: Cements . . . . . . . . 348 Appendix B: Tools and Building Materials . . . . . . . . 352 Appendix C: Lock Gate Ironwork, 1832 . . . . . . . . 361 Appendix D: Constructing Swing Bars, 1839 . . . . . . . . 362 Appendix E: Lock Gate Specifications, 1861 . . . . . . . . 365 Appendix F: Lock Gate Specifications, 1864 . . . . . . . . 369 Endnotes . . . . . . . . 373 Bibliography . . . . . . . . 474 Addendum: Lock Gate Removal, Ottawa Locks, October 27, 2009 |