Lock gate gear

This gear is the last bit in the geartrain that opens and closes the lock gates - the big doors that hold the water back.  I had a long chat with the lock keeper at Lock 9 one day and he was very patient with me.  I thought that the water pressure against these doors would be so immense that gears like this wouldn't stand a chance.

I was right.

Basically, the doors are only shifted when the water is at the same level on both sides of the door.  Obvious in retrospect, but I had an Aha! over that.

This particular gear is the upstream side of Lock 7 in Niskayuna.  Vischer Ferry is the official location I think.  I found it incredible that the river had got all the way up here - you can see the mud caking the bolt at the right rear.  Amazing technology, these locks.  Almost all of it dating back to the early parts of the 1900s.

F Number	5.4
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	33.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 66.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Lock 7

The NY State Canal system remains closed after Irene.  There are worries about silt, debris and fluctuating water levels along with physical damage to the lock gates and valves.

This is the soonest I've been able to get to Lock 7 in Niskayuna.  There were early (and mistaken) reports that the dam that creates the navigation pool here (Vischer Ferry Dam) had a leak.  It wasn't a leak as much as the water level was so high it was working its way around the south side of the dam.  In the end, lots of fill was brought in and the dam remains safe.

I walked to one of the boaters stranded here by the closed canal system.  All the boaters are in a pickle.  They have power here at Lock 7 but no fresh or waste water hookups, and that makes staying there for a long time untenable.  The only option is to find a big crane and a hauler to carry them over land to the Hudson, where they'll have to find a marina that can take them off the hauler, and in some cases, step the mast so they can sail instead of using the diesel.

It was a sobering thought, bringing to mind the many thousands in Schoharie , Prattsville and Windham who still have no electricity or running water, and who have a foot of mud they need to try to shovel out of their living room.  Irene may not have killed many, but it's going to be a long winter.

This photograph is a pretty good rendering of the colour of the river right now.  It is still full of silt, and is this caffe au lait colour.  It has a strange smell, too.

James at Newtown Daily Photo runs a theme called Weekend Reflections. Around a hundred photo bloggers post a photo containing a reflection; beautiful work. Click the link and go see!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	29.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 58.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire