I’m always surprised when it happens. 99% of the time I’m just tolerated, but every once in a while someone asks. Happened last night. I was sooooooooo happy.
I’m always surprised when it happens. 99% of the time I’m just tolerated, but every once in a while someone asks. Happened last night. I was sooooooooo happy.
Finally someone who is interested in the stingless bees of central america, the minor canals of France, and narrow gauge rail in southeast asia.
So, what’s your first question? I bet it’s about the canal de berry and why it never sustained enough traffic to be upgraded to freycinet gauge.
Are you really going to leave me hanging after offering???
In the department of Cher Napoleon established a vast forest of Oak. The purpose was to have materiel ready to built ships for his navy. This was a strategic resource, the same way steel, tungsten, etc. are today.
With the changes in shipbuilding, at least for naval vessels, the need was diminished for timber masts and planking.
The city of Montluçon had been a producer of cast iron for a long time. Canals are an ideal way to transport that long distances.
The oak forests shifted to being a source of charcoal both for the charcoal itself and for the production of cast iron. The ‘pigs’, ingots of cast iron, could later be wrought or further refined into steel.
Pretty much the tl;dr is that demand dropped off, because Oak was no longer needed for war and higher quality iron could be sourced more cheaply from the north and east, with better connections. It was thought that upgrading the canal was not cost effective, so it slowly died.
The canal itself had issues, it often suffered from insufficient (water) influx, and leaks. It was not terribly well waterproofed as the area is low in clay soil. It’s quite lovely through many parts, though there are some dry areas. The Locks still exist, and many of the Lock Keepers houses are there. They were all built to the same plan from Oak and stone, with lovely Tomette (hexagonal terra cotta tile) floors in the kitchen.
There is of course more, where it links (it doesn’t exist in a vacuum), the general depopulation of what the French call the ‘Diagonal Void’, and probably other important things that i will remember next week and think ’ that’s important, why didn’t I write that down? Now they think I’m an idiot’.
That was an incredibly interesting read about a topic I never knew I’d find interesting. Thanks!
I just read the Wikipedia page on that diagonal. Also something I had never thought about before.
And don’t assume I think you’re an idiot for not adding more. I knew nothing before I read this and now I know a lot. If you do remember something (and remember this comment), feel free to reply. I love learning stuff
Thank you, it was very nice of you to say. I really am better at it in person, I tend to get off on a lot more tangents, which can be interesting or tedious depending on your point of view.
There are some stunning areas in the diagonal, if I was a digital nomad with n EU passport that’s where I would base myself. Lots of beautiful old houses for little money, bit like Akiya in rural Japan.
God we’d be such fast friends in real life…if you could put up with my own tangents and rambling, anyway. I love having conversations that lead me to 10 tabs of Wikipedia
I had a long time partner who had her own things. It was pretty normal for us to talk during and after dinner, then retreat to our own worlds. She or I would ask what the other was doing sometimes, “nothing, just reading” meant you were 10 pages deep, and chasing all the citations.
Ah, you’ve just described my dream wife lol
I’ve never been diagnosed but I’m pretty sure I’m somewhere on the spectrum…it’s a shame I can’t just put “looking for an autistic partner” on a dating profile without looking like a wacko.
More about this canal, please
Wow how did you know? That was my exact first question!
Why narrow guage specifically?
Because narrow gauge is always the odd man out. If you used narrow gauge (and there are many, the term encompasses quite a few different sizes) there was a reason. Could be something like tight turn radii, or as simple as bigger costs more.