Erie Canal Lock 8

Erie Canal Lock 8. . , New York State Canal System National Historic Landmark 2016, Original Erie Canal locks measured 90 feet long and 15 foot wide to fit canal boats around 60 feet long and seven feet wide. When New York State began building the expanded Barge Canal, new locks measured more than 320 feet long and 45 feet wide with a depth of 12 feet of water to accommodate boats up to 300 feet long., Locks E8 through E15, along the Mohawk River, featured a dam based on a design found on the Moldau, the Czech Republic's longest river. Here at Lock 8, construction of the three-span movable dam began in 1908. At 510 feet wide, it can raise and lower boats by as much as 15 feet, when activated., People often mistake the dam for a bridge, but the walkway you see is strictly used for maintenance. Beneath the dam's trusses are steel frames holding giant steel plates. Below the surface, stretching the full width of the river floor is a concrete sill. When the frames are swung open and lowered by chains to sit on the sill, they form a dam., Thank you to the Schenectady County Historical Society, Historical Marker Database and the Historic American Engineering Record No. NY-383., [ Photo Captions ] , - Locks E8 through E15 include two-story concrete cabins at all four corners of the lock chamber. These keep electric motors and switchgear safe from water. Dam gates can be moved up or down, similar to a window shade, to help control the volume of water and rate of flow. , - A steam shovel at work at the site of Lock 8 looking north at Scotia, N.Y.