Floodgates

The 1939 floodgates were installed at South Kensington, Embankment, Charing Cross, Waterloo, London Road, London Bridge, Wapping, Bethnal Green and Bank.
The 1950s floodgates were installed at Russell Square, Tottenham Ct. Road, Green Park, Kennington, Moorgate and Liverpool Street.
The 1960s floodgates were installed at Green Park

I share an interest in the Floodgates, or rather lack thereof since the Thames Barrier was commissioned so I understand.

As an avid collector of the Video 125 DEV's of LU as I've afforded them, there are numerous "interesting" views worth pausing and trying to examine in still frame.

I understand there were in fact two forms of floodgates - original ones being sliding horizontally, and later ones being vertical?

Unfortunately, these days any discussion or information might well be questioned since 9/11 on an "open" forum such as here, as "sensitive".

What is in the public domain and quite clear is that for whatever reasons, London will face a tidal surge that will test the Thames Barrier, and almost certainly lead to localised flooding east/seaward of the barrier, quite possibly in the coming decade, let alone to 2030.

The comparatively recent Jubbly floodgates are unlikely to cope alone against such threats.

What is sheer common sense is that should a flood occur, water will flow to the lowest point and a few inches of flood near a station might not pose a threat to residents and pedestrians bu could have ominous consequences if it flowed for a tide down lower through the LU system.

Fortunately, I am sure Mayor Ken and LU officers are well aware of this, carried out risk assessments, and put in place suitable precautions.

It obviously costs money, and as it has a dual security purpose (since 9/11 etc) against a terrorist attack involving flooding or air movement, is unlikely to become public.

I have recorded on VHS the excellent albeit short lived (I wonder why?) BBC documentaries "Crisis Command". I recollect only about 4 were broadcast around 2005.

One, at least, involved the Thames Barrier and LU scenario and was rather disturbing. It left the viewer wondering if in fact any floodgates were still operational, and on whose decision they would be activated.

I trust with submitting IMHO rather broader comments on the thread of "Floodgates", I have not upset anyone. Setting aside anyone travelling at a time of problem, the knock-on effects of LU being flooded affecting Londoners and Business Life have no doubt amply been considered, evaluated, and appropriately planned for and established as a contingency precaution, the details of which will for obvious security reasons be restricted.

BBC Radio 4 also broadcast a relevant and imaginative documentary I have on C90 cassette - "The Day The Lions Drowned". The date, if I recollect from memory was 6 March 1981?

Arising from the OP, I understand the former flood control centre located in the northern Holborn Kingsway Tram Tunnels (I jest not! A Flood Control Centre located in a tunnel!) was also abandoned after the Thames Barrier Commissioning.

Yet another BBC Documentary I have on VHS points out there are numerous local sources of flooding, privately owned and not maintained subject to inspection and standards, that could cause flooding in east London that could affect the LU.

To my best knowledge, all I've set out above is in the public domain, and hence I trust no-one will take offence at my posting it here, contributing to this thread.


Cheers,
OPNR

Essentially the difference between the WWII floodgates and the Cold War floodgates - all to do with (sadly) blast radii.

well the ones at south ken and embankment district have been welded up and also the detection circuit has now been removed

Presumably that's the explanation why both visuals for gates 13/14 at Embankment and Gate 15 at S. Ken are unlit on the board at Earl's Court?

I would expect it will wait until re-signalling, but if there was a failure it would cause problems even though there's an illuminated A.

No those visuals have been in the diagram at Earls Court since opening (1965 ) they were also in the diagram of Cromwell Curve signal box.

sounds like it as it use a normal safety relay either that or its being forced fed

I wouldn't trust floodgate visuals at Earls Court! Russell Square floodgate relay room was rewired four or five years ago.

AFAIK the floodgates remain detected in the signal circuitry everywhere. The last floodgate relay room that I worked in was on the Picc at Green Park but I also worked in the floodgate relay rooms at Moorgate, Kennington and Liverpool Street during various related works over the years.

I am not surprised to hear of floodgates being welded up, I would also not be surprised if major work would be required to make all the floodgates operational. On the Bakerloo line during the resignalling of the late 1980s the watertight cable ducts were bypassed at some sites by the new signalling cables and that meant chopping away the wall adjacent to where the gates fitted. I've no idea if that would've been made good some time later but it was not at the time.

When I worked on the cable diversions for the Old Street tunnel relining in the early 1990s I cut back the 28 pair floodgate telephone cable between Moorgate and Old Street for the duration of the works and then reinstated it. At the time nobody seemed to know whether floodgates were obsolete or not but my recollection is that the cable contained no 'live' floodgate telephone circuits. However, I believe the control lines would've been in separate cables diverted by others.