|
Roving Bridge
A roving bridge, changeline bridge, turnover bridge, or snake bridgeWilliam George Victor Balchin, ed., ''The Country Life Book of the Living History of Britain'', 1983, , p. 109 is a bridge over a canal constructed to allow a horse towing a boat to cross the canal when the towpath changes sides. This often involved unhitching the tow line, but on some canals they were constructed so that there was no need to do this by placing the two ramps on the same side of the bridge (see middle photo), which turned the horse through 360 degrees. On the Macclesfield Canal this was achieved by building spiral ramps and on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and others by constructing roving bridges of iron in two cantilevered halves, leaving a slot in the middle for the tow rope. This was also called a split bridge. For cost reasons many ordinary Stratford bridges were also built in this way as they had no towpath. Bridges were also necessary at canal junctions and where the towpath was interrupted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
BCN Main Line
The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton route from the many other canals and branches built or acquired by the Birmingham Canal Navigations company. BCN Old Main Line On 24 January 1767, a number of prominent Birmingham businessmen, including Matthew Boulton and others from the Lunar Society, held a public meeting in the White Swan, High Street, Birmingham''Smethwick and the BCN'', Malcolm D. Freeman, 2003, Sandwell MBC and Smethwick Heritage Centre Trust to consider the possibility of building a canal from Birmingham to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near Wolverhampton, taking in the coalfields of the Black Country. They commissioned the canal engineer James Brindley to propose a route. Brindley came back with a largely level but meandering route via Smethwick, Oldbu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Water Transport Infrastructure
Marine architecture is the design of architectural and engineering structures which support coastal design, near-shore and off-shore or deep-water planning for many projects such as shipyards, ship transport, coastal management or other marine and/or hydroscape activities. These structures include harbors, lighthouses, marinas, oil platforms, offshore drillings, accommodation platforms and offshore wind farms, floating engineering structures and building architectures or civil seascape developments. Floating structures in deep water may use suction caisson for anchoring.A History of Naval Architecture, By John Fincham See also *, a temporary water-excluding structure built in place, sometimes surrounding a working area as does an open caisson. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Photo gallery File:VolturnUS 1-8 in Castine ME.jpg, University of Maine's Floating wind turbine VolturnUS (floating wind turbine), VolturnUS 1:8 was the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Widebeam
A widebeam is a Canal craft, canal boat built in the style of a British narrowboat but with a beam (nautical), beam of or greater.The Canal and River Trust (CRT) gives more than one minimum width for a wide beam on their website: "anything wider than []" in ''Wide beam, wider considerations'' and "[A narrowboat is] up to a maximum of 2.2m wide ... [and a widebeam is] up to double the width of a narrowboat or even wider on larger rivers" ''All craft great and small'' . However in April 2020 the CRT started to issue licences that charge more for any canal boat that has a beam of or greater, and is now the de facto definition for the minimum width of a widebeam. The nature of a widebeam The Canal and River Trust (CRT) gives no precise definition of a "widebeam", merely distinguishing it from List of the types of canal craft in the United Kingdom, other types of canal craft such as: narrowboats, Thames sailing barges, Dutch barges, other barge types, Fiberglass, GRP cabin cruisers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Narrowboat
A narrowboat is a particular type of Barge, canal boat, built to fit the narrow History of the British canal system, locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commercial canal traffic gradually diminished and the last regular long-distance transportation of goods by canal had virtually disappeared by 1970. However, some commercial traffic continued. From the 1970s onward narrowboats were gradually being converted into permanent residences or as holiday lettings. Currently, about 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising. For any boat to enter a narrow lock, it must be under wide, so most narrowboats are nominally wide. A narrowboat's maximum length is generally , as anything longer will be unable to navigate much ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Horse-drawn Boat
A horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking beside the canal on a towpath. United Kingdom The Romans are known to have used mules to haul boats on their waterways in the UK. Boat horses were the prime movers of the Industrial Revolution, and they remained at work until the middle of the 20th century. A horse, towing a boat with a rope from the towpath, could pull fifty times as much cargo as it could pull in a cart or wagon on roads. In the early days of the Canal Age, from about 1740, all boats and barges were towed by horse, mule, hinny, pony or sometimes a pair of donkeys. Many of the surviving buildings and structures had been designed with horse power in mind. Horse-drawn boats were used well into the 1960s on UK canals for commercial transport, and are still used today by passenger trip boats and other pleasure traffic. The Horseboating Society has the primary aims of preserving and promoting Horseboating on the canals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Spiral Bridge
A spiral bridge, loop bridge, helix bridge, or pigtail bridge is a road bridge which loops over its own road, allowing the road to climb rapidly. This is useful in steep terrain, or where the approach road to a bridge would terminate too far from the bridge's end. Despite its name, the typical shape of a spiral bridge forms a helix, not a spiral. Many multi-storey car parks feature such a design as this. Pigtail bridge In the Black Hills of South Dakota, a particular form of spiral bridge, locally called a 'pigtail bridge', was introduced in 1932 by Cecil Clyde Gideon, the self-taught superintendent of Custer State Park turned highway designer. He called them “spiral-jumpoffs”. During the planning for Iron Mountain Road, there was a need to negotiate sudden elevation drops while preserving natural features for this scenic highway; the corkscrew design allowed for a spectacular—albeit expensive—solution to this problem. In order to blend the bridges with their surround ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mule Ramp
A mule ramp, or horse ramp, is a very gently sloping ramp that can be negotiated by pack animals. Originally, mule ramps were used in steep terrain in the open countryside. They usually have steps. Use indoors From road and track construction the principles of design found their way into building architecture. An interior mule ramp consisted of a spiral, curved or straight ramp within a building that had a gentle incline and non-slip floor. Such ramps may be continuous but more often have transverse steps at large intervals. These are found in churches, castles and other buildings. Later, the very similar equestrian staircases were built as showpieces in palaces, for riders to climb to the upper floors on horseback. The term mule ramp first appears in specialist literature in the 19th century. The name is probably derived from attempts to explain the name, Mule Tower (''Eselsturm''), for the northeast tower of Regensburg Cathedral (11th century). This tower had a continuous sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
History Of The British Canal System
The canal network of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. In the post-medieval period, some rivers were canalised for boat traffic. The Exeter Ship Canal was completed in 1567. The Sankey Canal was the first British canal of the Industrial Revolution, opening in 1757. The Bridgewater Canal followed in 1761 and proved to be highly profitable. The majority of the network was built in the "Golden Age" of canals, between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Canals Of The United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a History of the British canal system, varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by List of navigation authorities in the United Kingdom, navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts. The majority of List of canals of the United Kingdom, canals in the United Kingdom can accommodate boats with a length of between and are now used primarily for leisure. There are a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Smethwick
Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before being placed into West Midlands county. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider built-up area subdivision has a population of 53,653. History It was suggested that the name Smethwick meant "smiths' place of work", but a more recent interpretation has suggested the name means "the settlement on the smooth land". Smethwick was recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Smedeuuich'', the ''d'' in this spelling being the Anglo-Saxon letter eth. Until the end of the 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the south Staffordshire village of Harborne. Harborne became part of the county borough of Birmingham and thus transferred from Staffordshire to Warwickshire in 1891, leaving Smethwick in the County of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Smethwick Junction (canal)
Smethwick Junction () is the name of the canal junctions where the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal from Birmingham splits into the BCN Old Main Line and the BCN New Main Line near to Smethwick, West Midlands, England. History The Birmingham Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1768, and ran from Aldersley Junction, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, to central Birmingham. Twenty locks (later 21) raised the level of the line through immediately after Aldersley Junction, and it then followed the contour, which later became known as the Wolverhampton Level, to Spon Lane, where three locks raised it to to pass over Smethwick summit, and shortly afterwards, six locks dropped it to the Birmingham Level, which it followed for the rest of the way to its terminus. Traffic on the canal increased rapidly, and the summit level was lowered in the 1790s, cutting out three of the locks at each side. At the same time, the remaining three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
