Clear sky at night. It did cool at night for fine sleeping. Another hot day - high in the upper 80s But cooler than yesterday. A nice breeze came up as the temperature rose. Some thunderstorms in the later afternoon but only little rain and far away lightning.
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I will start with the sunset from yesterday - that occurred after I made the day's post.
You know me, I love a wonderful sunset - best time of the day.
We planned to travel 16 miles to the Big Chute railway and stay there the night. That way I would be able to visit the visitor center and watch some boats make the transit. There was Lock 43 Swift Rapids that was located about half way.
We left a little after 8:00 to arrive after the lock had opened for the day. The landscape has changed to be more rocky and with more evergreens - feels like home - except that the smell was more pine today than spruce - but we used our imagination again. There were a number of small lakes and many locations where there had been a lot of rock excavation. Really scenic, eh?
Lock 43 is a very large lock by TSW standards. The drop was 47 feet. There were a few locks this large back at Campbellford and Healey Falls but those were up events. And this one emptied fast - almost like a ride a Disney - only better - no cussed waiting in line for 130 minutes (love how they think if they put it in minutes you somehow will thing it is shorter that if they posted times in hours - like 6.97 hours - just kidding on that one but standing for 130 minutes feels like that)
The ride to Big Chute was very enjoyable. We still are amazed at the many large "cottage" homes that are along the waterway. We stopped taking photos.
But there were a great number of scenic views still ahead. Including Austin Island - the name of our oldest grandson.
And then we rounded a bend and there was the Big Chute Marine Railway.
In short the table rides on two different rail tracks with the front pair on one rail set and the rear on another. As you look at the photos you will see that each pair of tracks varies as the table moves. The variation in the rail track heights keeps the table level. Simple and efficient.
They have been having trouble with the operation of the Railway all spring. It would be very jerky and stop unexpectedly. I was there when Rob the electrical maintainer was just completing a reboot of the control system. It actually worked and seems to have restored its smooth operation. You can see that he even invited me in to have a look around at the machinery. Four wire drums are operated by four 200 hp DC 600 volt motors. The maximum speed of the table is 180 feet-per-minute which is fast when you are standing there watching it - and I will find out tomorrow how fast it is to ride it - Another better than Disney ride!!!!
This is the old carriage that was used when traffic was heavy - it was used until 2003 - but it didn't stay level - now that's a Disney ride!!
Good Night and May God Bless
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