DSK wrote:
Roger Long wrote:

Cool! I was supposed to be going through there in about two weeks.
The best laid plans...


Jeff wrote:

In case you haven't guessed, this is the Waterford Flight, the first 5
locks in the new Erie Canal.


??

How "new" is it?

Roughly 100 years newer than the old Erie Canal. They are two
different canals. The original was opened in 1825. In 1905 they
started completely rebuilding, including abandoning much of the
original route. The "new" canal was opened in 1918.



Anyway, I'm not going to say you're wrong, but it looks nothing at all
like my charts of the area. We were just reviewing that chart book,
planning a Great Loop cruise.


Are you sure you have the correct chart? Chart 14786, page E-40 (on
my 1998 edition).




... It is also where the Champlain Canal starts.


No, that's not true. The Champlain Canal starts many miles up the
Hudson. The *route* to the Champlain Canal, and thence to Lake
Champlain, starts there.

The first lock on the Champlain Canal is 2.5 miles north of where the
Erie joins the Hudson, though it is still in Waterford. And the
Federal Lock at Troy is 2 miles south. Every reference I've ever
seen (including chart 14786 and the NY State Barge Canal site lists
Waterford as the beginning.




... The Waterford Flight is the largest lift in the shortest distance
of any lock system in the world.


Take a look at Dempolis, Alabama.

The lift at Demopolis is 40 feet, and there are no other locks for
many miles. The lift at the Waterford Flight is 169 feet.