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Barge Blocks Bridge
Posted on 01/06/2007
Loughborough Newsdesk
What do you do if you are towing and old barge with a tug along the Loughborough section of the Grand Union Canal and you get to the sharp left turn at Canal Bridge?
The answer is simple, you get stuck.
Several onlookers watched as people pushed and shoved for several hours on Friday night as they tried to get the barge around the corner and under Canal Bridge. However the barge was having nothing of it and just didnt want to get through.
As dusk fell a long tow rope was connected to the back of a vehicle on the tow path to assist in the effort, however because of the angle this pulled the barge closer against the canal side under the bridge. Presumably this would have been no different to 100 years ago except a horse would have been used instead of a modern vehicle.
At one stage the rope connecting the barge and the vehicle gave way under the strain, fortunately the vehicle remained in control and didnt career further up the canal, or possibly into the canal.
Using a combined effort of the vehicle pulling and people pushing the barge away from the canal side, the barge was eventually freed as light failed. Luckily inLoughborough were there to see the event and managed to catch a few pictures to record the event for posterity.
