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Legging (canals)
Legging is a method of moving a boat through a canal tunnel or adit containing water. This method of navigating through canal tunnels and adits was commonly used in canal tunnels during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Legging in canal tunnels Early canal tunnels were built without a towpath as this would require a much larger bore, and hence cost more to build. Prior to the introduction of motorised boats, legging was one of the few options for getting a boat through such a tunnel. Two people were required. They would lie on a plank across the bows of the boat, and holding the plank with their hands, would propel the boat with their feet against the tunnel wall. This was quite a dangerous activity and resulted in many deaths. In later years 'wing' boards were hooked on to the boat to make the operation safer. At Crimson Hill tunnel, alternate stones in the walls were recessed to provide better tread for the leggers. While the boat was being legged through the tunnel, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speedwell Cavern
Speedwell Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. The cave system consists of a horizontal lead miners' adit (a level passageway driven horizontally into the hillside) 200 metres below ground leading to the cavern itself, a limestone cave. The narrow adit is permanently flooded, so after descending a long staircase, access to the cave is made by boat. At the end of the adit, the cavern opens up with fluorspar veins, stalactites and stalagmites, and the so-called "Bottomless Pit". This chamber has an underground lake with a high waterfall and an extremely deep vertical shaft, now choked to within of the surface by rock spoil dumped by miners. The original depth of the shaft has been estimated, from the amount of spoil placed in the shaft over the years, at around . The mine was developed in the 1770s but the limited lead ore deposits meant that it was not profitable and it was closed down by 1790. At the foot of Winnats Pass, it is a tourist at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapperton Canal Tunnel
The Sapperton Canal Tunnel is a tunnel on the Thames and Severn Canal near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England. With a length of , it was the longest tunnel of any kind in England from 1789 to 1811. Construction, following an Act of Parliament, began in 1784. Twenty-six shafts were dug along the line of the tunnel and workfaces dug in each direction eventually joining up before the diameter of the tunnel was expanded. Difficulties were encountered related to strata of Great Oolite (solid limestone) and Fuller's Earth clay. These caused roof falls and narrowing of the channel which continued after the tunnel opened in 1789 and required frequent maintenance. The stone portals at either end are listed buildings. Boats passed through by legging until 1911. The canal was abandoned by 1933 and subsequent roof falls mean that it is no longer navigable. Cotswold Canals Trust have proposed restoration. History The Thames and Severn Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwood Tunnel
Norwood Tunnel was a , and brick (3 million of them) lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England. Origins The Chesterfield Canal's Act of Parliament was passed on 28 March 1771. James Brindley was appointed as the chief engineer, and having raised the capital in just four months, the proprietors instructed him to start work on 11 July 1771. John Varley was the Clerk of the Works, and undertook the day-to-day management of the project. With plenty of optimism, they decided that work should start at Norwood Hill on the construction of the Norwood Tunnel. The work was difficult, and there were numerous accidents, with some men losing their lives, although the company appears to have been benevolent towards the families of those bereaved by the work. Brindley told the committee on 26 June 1772 that he expected the tunnel to be completed in two years, and the wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morwell Down Tunnel
Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local government and administrative centre for the City of Latrobe. Morwell is located in the centre of the Latrobe Valley urban area, which has a population of 77,168 at the 2021 Census and is home to many of the greater urban area's civic institutions, administrative functions and infrastructure. The city is known for its role as a major energy production centre for Victoria as the centre of a major coal mining and fossil-fuel power generation industry. Morwell's centenary rose garden located in the central business district, won an award in 2009 for being a 'garden of excellence'. Since 2018, the town has hosted the International Rose Garden Festival Morwell (IRGFM). Naming The name of the town of Morwell is likely to be derived from a local In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maida Hill Tunnel
Maida Hill Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Regent's Canal in London, England. The two other tunnels on the Regent's Canal are Islington Tunnel and Eyre's Tunnel. History The Regent's Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in July 1812. The plans had been drawn up by James Morgan, working as an assistant to the architect John Nash. With some influence from Nash, Morgan secured the post of Engineer, Architect and Land Surveyor for the new company, and oversaw the construction of the canal. However, he had little experience of civil engineering, and so the company advertised for designs for the locks and tunnels. The tunnelling work was awarded to the contractor Daniel Pritchard, who was also responsible for the much longer Grand Union Canal tunnels at Husbands Bosworth and Crick, and went on to become a specialist tunnelling contractor. The original plans for the canal did not include a tunnel at Maida Hill, but objections to the planned route resulted in one becoming neces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lapal Tunnel
The Lapal Tunnel (old spelling Lappal Tunnel) is a disused canal tunnel on the five mile dry section of the Dudley No. 2 Canal in the West Midlands, England. It takes its name from the settlement of Lapal. History The narrow brick-lined tunnel, built in 1798 by William Underhill, had no towpath. It had a very small bore — at 7 feet 9 inches, barely wider than the boats which used it, with a headroom of only 6 feet. Boats originally took about three hours to complete the passage by legging or poling, so in 1841 a steam engine was built at the Halesowen end which drove a scoop wheel to load the tunnel with water. Stop gates could be opened at either end to assist boats along the tunnel in either direction. The tunnel suffered many collapses, and after a collapse in 1917 due to mining subsidence it was abandoned. It runs under Lapal, the M5 motorway near junction 3 and Woodgate Valley Country Park. The canal between Halesowen and Selly Oak is disused and some sections ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islington Tunnel
The Islington Tunnel takes the Regents Canal, Regent's Canal under Angel, London, Angel, Islington, as the longest such tunnel in London. The way for short boats and barges only opened in 1818; the pavements above are waymarked so the otherwise discontinued towpaths are connected. The canal's Eyre's Tunnel, Eyre's and Maida Hill Tunnels, to the west, are much shorter. History Islington Tunnel opened in 1818 and was built by the engineer James Morgan (engineer), James Morgan. The Regent's Canal was authorised by Act of Parliament on 13 July 1812, and a month later James Morgan, who had previously produced plans and sections to support the application, was appointed as Engineer, Architect and Land Surveyor for the scheme. At the time, Morgan had little civil engineering experience, and the company decided to hold a competition for the design of the locks and tunnels, with the entries to be assessed by William Jessop and two other engineers. Although entries hoping to win the 50 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Brindley
James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born into a well-to-do family of yeoman farmers and craftsmen in the Peak District, which in those days was extremely isolated, Brindley received little formal education, but was educated at home by his mother. At age 17, encouraged by his mother, he was apprenticed to a millwright in Sutton, Macclesfield, and soon showed exceptional skill and ability. Having completed his apprenticeship he set up business for himself as a wheelwright in Leek, Staffordshire. In 1750 he expanded his business by renting a millwright's shop in Burslem from the Wedgwoods who became his lifelong friends. He soon established a reputation for ingenuity and skill at repairing many different kinds of machinery. In 1752 he designed and built an engine for draining a coal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harecastle Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire between Kidsgrove and Tunstall. The tunnel, which is long, was once one of the longest in the country. Its industrial purpose was for the transport of coal to the kilns in the Staffordshire Potteries. The canal runs under the Harecastle Hill near Goldenhill, the highest district in Stoke-on-Trent.'Tunstall', in'' A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8'', ed. J G Jenkins (London, 1963), pp. 81-104. British History Online, accessed 21 September 2016. Although described singularly as a tunnel, Harecastle is actually two separate but parallel tunnels built almost 50 years apart. The first was constructed by |
Greywell Tunnel
Greywell Tunnel is a disused tunnel on the Basingstoke Canal near Greywell in Hampshire, which is now a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. History Construction of the canal had been authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1778, and the engineers John Smeaton, Benjamin Henry Latrobe and William Jessop were appointed in 1787. After a survey by Jessop the proposed route of the canal was changed to include the tunnel, in order to avoid passing around Tylney Hall whose owner had objected. The canal construction contract was awarded to John Pinkerton in August 1788, and construction started in October 1788. The tunnel construction had been initially subcontracted to Charles Jones, even though he had been dismissed by the Thames and Severn Canal company in 1788 after failing to complete the Sapperton Tunnel project; in his defence, he had been asked to build it bigger than originally specified and line it with bricks at no extra cost. However, Jones was dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterley Tunnel
Butterley Tunnel is a disused canal tunnel on the Cromford Canal below Ripley, in Derbyshire, England, opened to traffic in 1794. Along with Butterley Works blast furnaces, part of the canal tunnel and its underground wharf were declared a scheduled monument in 2013. Origins The tunnel was 2,966 yard (2712m) long, wide at water level, and from water to soffit (depending on the water level). At the time of building it was the third longest canal tunnel in the World after Sapperton and Dudley. Thirty-three shafts were sunk during construction with the workings dewatered using a Woodhouse steam engine. Water was provided for the Cromford Canal from the Butterley Reservoir situated on the hill above the tunnel. The Butterley Reservoir is itself crossed by a stone railway embankment currently used by the locomotives of the Midland Railway - Butterley's preserved steam railway. Water flowed from the reservoir directly into the tunnel via an adit along the tunnel from the weste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
