Caldon and Uttoxeter, 1793 9 28 136 4.8 From Taunton bridge to the mouth of the Avon, below Bristol. The operations on this canal were at a stand in 1824. From Ancholme to Caistor. A branch of the Grand Trunk canal, terminating at Uttoxeter. Caledonian, 1822 217 190.5 8.6 40 bot. 20 This stupendous canal passes through a chain of lakes, or lochs, and narrow arms of the sea; and, by making 213 miles of canal, and deepening the beds of the rivers Lochy and Oich, and dredging to deepen a part of Loch Ness (in the whole a distance of 4 miles, making the total length of excavation 25 miles, with a lockage, up and down, of 190 feet), an interior navigation of 250 miles is opened across the central part of Scotland, from the Murray Firth, on the eastern coast, to Cantyre, on the western, and about opposite to the northern coast of Ireland; being one half of the distance of the navigation between the same extreme points, round the northern coast by the Orkneys. It has 27 locks, including the tide-locks, one of them 170, but most, if not all, the others 180 feet long, and all 40 feet wide; thus opening a ship-navigation through the midst of the country, rising, at the summit-level, 94 feet above the tide-water of the eastern coast, and 964 feet above that of the western, showing the ocean to be 24 feet higher on the eastern. At fort Augustus, where it leaves Loch Ness in a northwesterly direction, this canal is cut through the glacis of the fortification, thus adding to the military defences as well as to the appearance of the fort, which, with the five locks of masonry rising behind, presents a grand combination of civil and military engineering amid romantic mountain scenery. From Loch Ness, passing in the westwardly direction of the canal to Loch Öich, 13 mile, the land is 20 feet above the water line, which, with the depth of water in the canal, makes an excavation, in this distance, of 40 feet in depth, with a bottom of 40 feet in breadth. To save rockcutting, in descending, in the westwardly direction, as before, from Loch Oich to Loch Lochy, the natural difference of the surfaces of the two lakes being 22 feet, the whole area of Loch Lochy, which is 10 miles in length and 1 in breadth, is raised 12 feet. In the last 2 miles, before the canal, in its westerly direction, enters Loch Eil, there is a descent of 64 feet, which is passed by 8 connected locks, each 180 feet long by 40 in breadth. These locks are founded on inverted arches, exhibiting a solid and continuous mass of masonry 500 yards in length and 20 yards wide, in which, as late as 1824, and 5 years after its construction, no flaw had been discovered. The gates are of cast-iron. This system of locks has received the fanciful appellation of Neptune's Staircase; and the appearance of large vessels, with their masts and rigging, descending these stupendous locks, from the hill towards Loch Eil, is most majestic and imposing, exhibiting a striking instance of the triumph of art. In the distance of 8 miles, from Loch Lochy to tide-water in Loch Eil, the canal, in passing along the north-westerly bank of the river Lochy, crosses, by aqueduct bridges, 3 large streams and 23 smaller ones. Since the construction of this canal, upwards of a million of forest-trees have been planted along its borders. The cost of this great national work was, for 11,000 £905,300 Machinery, cast-iron work, &c., 121,400 Timber, Quarries and masonry, Shipping, .. Houses and buildings, . Labor and workmanship,... 418,000 Add, to complete the dredging,. . . 7,200 .4,600 £912,500 Assuming the number of miles operated upon to be 25, the canal cost £36,500 per mile. It was constructed under the direction of Thomas Telford, Esq. From a sea-basin on the Severn, near Cardiff, to Merthyr; is connected with various railways, one of which is 263 miles long. Nunber of shares, 600; cost, £172 13. 4d.; price in 1824, £265. From the Dee, at Chester, to Nantwich, where it communicates with the Whitchurch branch of the Ellesmere canal. From the Trent, at Stockwith, to Chesterfield; has 65 locks and 2 tunnels, together 2850 yards long. and 94 feet wide. The lower part of the canal is navigable for boats of from 50 to 60 tons burthen, and the higher, being but 26 or 28 feet broad, is navigable for boats of only 20 or 22 tons burthen. These boats are 70 feet long and 7 feet broad. Number of shares, 1500; cost, £100; price in 1824, £120. A part of the line of canal between London and Liverpool. From lake Gilp to lake Crinan. Number of shares, 1851; cost, £50; price in 1824, £2 10s. From the Erewash canal, at Langley, to Cromford. It has several tunnels, and passes the river Derwent by an aqueduct 200 yards long and 30 feet high. The arch over the channel of the river is 80 feet broad. Another aqueduct over a branch of the Derwent is 200 yards long and 50 feet high. Each aqueduct cost about £3000. Number of shares, 460; cost, £31 2s. 10d.; price in 1824, £270. From Grand Surry canal to Croydon. It has 23 locks. Number of shares, 4546; originally, £100; price in 1824, £4 10s. From the river Dove, between Swinton and Mexburgh to Barnesley canal. The boats are from 50 to 60 tons burthen. It has two branches, of 34 and 13 miles in length. From the river Trent to Derby. Number of shares, 600; cost, £110; price in 1824, £140. It has a branch, the Erewash, 84 miles in length. From the Kennet and Avon canal to the river Stour; but not completed in 1824; has a branch 9 miles long. From Dublin, at the mouth of the Liffey, to the river Shannon, near the town of Moy. It passes 24 miles across a marsh, in which the absorbing nature of the soil rendered the work enormously expensive. From the Worcester and Birmingham canal. It has 61 locks; 3 tunnels, one 3776 yards in length, another 623 yards, and the other 2926 yards, all 134 feet wide; and near one of them, the Laplat tunnel, it passes 9 locks, nearly contiguous. Number of shares, 2060; originally, £100; price in 1824, £63. This canal is proposed to commence at Leith, in the Forth, and terminate in the Clyde, at Glasgow. The enterprise was suspended on account of a supposed insufficiency of water, and is not known (1829) to have been resumed. This canal is said to be the first constructed in England for agricultural purposes, as well as trade. It has 1262 yards of tunnelling. Number of shares, 3575; cost, £133; price in 1824, £68. From the Trent toCromford canal. Is a part of the Liverpool line, joining the Grand Trunk with the Coventry canal. It is entirely level. The Fazeley and Birmingham, and the Birmingham, are continuations of this. From the tide-water, at the junction of the river Carron with the Forth, to Glasgow. It was the first considerable work of the kind undertaken in Scotland, having been commenced in 1777 and completed in 1790. It ascends, from the Forth to the summit, by 20 locks, 156 feet, in 104 miles, and keeps this level 18 miles, to Glasgow, and, one mile beyond that city, terminates in the Monkland canal basin. About 2 miles north of the port of Dundas, near Glasgow, a branch of the canal passes off 8 miles, crossing the Kelven by a magnificent stone aqueduct, to the tide-water at Bowling bay, to which it descends by 19 locks, 74 feet in length and 20 in breadth. When full, it has 8 feet of water. From the Dee, at Kirkcudbright, to Dalry. A channel for ship navigation, to avoid the windings of the Sev18 ern from Berkley Pill, where it leaves that river, to Gloucester, where it joins the river again. Number of shares, 1960; price in 1824, £100, and a loan of £60 per share, making the investment £160 per share. Grand Junction, 1805 93 587 6.3 36-24 4 Paddington br., 6 other branches, 13 40 A part of the line between London and Liverpool, from Brentford to the Oxford canal at Braunston. It has 101 locks; passes the river Ouse and its valley by an embankment about half a mile in length and 30 feet high. It has a tunnel at Blisworth, 3080 yards in length, 18 feet high, and 163 wide; and another at Braunston, 2045 yards long, the other dimensions being the same as those of the Blisworth tunnel. Number of shares, 11,657); originally, £100; price in 1824, £270. From the Thames, at Rotherhithe, to Mitcham. It is of large dimensions, being navigable by the Thames boats. The company pays to London, annually, £60, for the junction of the canal with the Thames. From the mouth of the Ex, at Topsham, to Taunton bridge; in 1824, was but partially finished. Number of shares, 3096; cost, £79; price in 1824, £6. A part of the line between London and Liverpool. It has 4 tunnels, in length 3940 yards, and 9 feet wide. Number of shares, 1300; price in 1824, £2150. The tonnage is from 3d. to 44d. per mile. From the Leicester and Northampton Union canal, near Foxton, to the Grand Junction, east of Braunston tunnel. Number of shares, 1521; cost, £100; price in 1824, £50. The canal has, besides, a loan, at 5 per cent. interest, of £19,327. From the Trent, near Holme Pierpoint, to Grantham. It has divided 8 per cent., and left a clear surplus of £3000 to meet unforeseen accidents. Number of shares, 749; cost, £150; price in 1824, £160. It is supplied with water wholly from reservoirs. From the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal, at Bury, to the Leeds and Liverpool, at Church. From the Severn, at Gloucester, to the Wye, at Hereford. It has 3 tunnels, of 2192, 1320 and 440, making, in all, 3952 yards. In consequence of the opening of this canal, the price of coals at Ledbury was reduced from 248. to 6s. per ton. Shares, originally, £100; price in 1824, £60. From Ramsden's canal, at Huddersfield, to the Manchester, Ashton and Oldham canal, at Duckenfield bridge, near Marsden. It has a tunnel of 5280 yards in length. Number of shares, 6312; cost, £57 14s.; price in 1824, £26. From the Avon, at Dole-mead, near Bath, to the Kennet and Newbury. It has an aqueduct bridge over the Avon. The boats are of 25 or 26 tons burthen. Number of shares, 25,328; cost, £35 58.; price in 1824, £24. From the Severn, at Areley, to Kingston. It has two tunnels of 3850 and 1250, making 5100 yards. From Kirby Kendall to Houghton. It has tunnels at Hincaster and Chorley, 800 yards long in the whole. It passes the Loyne by a stone aqueduct, 50 feet high, on 5 arches, each of 70 feet span. It has also a road aqueduct, near Blackmill, 60 feet high. The boats are 56 feet long and 14 broad. Number of shares, 11,699; cost, £47 6s. 8d.; price in 1824, £29. From Liverpool to Leeds. The boats navigating between Leeds and Wigan are of 42 tons burthen; those below Wigan, and on this side Leeds, of 30 tons. The tunnels at Foulbridge and Finnloy are, in the whole, 1609 yards long. It has a beautiful aqueduct bridge over the Ayre. The locks are 70 feet long and 15 wide. The number of shares is 28973; originally, £100 each; price in 1824, £380. Tonnage on merchandise, 14d. per mile; on coals and lime, 1d.; on stone, Id. |