, 1894-02-28

1914 AAAoNAO ~ a. ~ "" ACS 80
necessary. This week, however, the Canal
has not attained its full depth, TWEEN y feet
being mentioned rs the measurement. by
the aid OF the electric light the navigation
will proceed uniiItelruptedly day and night,
and as the passage through the locks from one
level to another only occupies some seven
minutes on All average, 40 vessels may be
accommodated IN twenty -four hours. at The
narroweGt point two large steamers can
easily pass each other. The rate Of speed is
fixed at four miles an hour, ard the whole
length of the Canal will be travetsed IN
about ten hours.
An extensive system Of inland canals Is
joined TO the Ship Canal along the line OF
route. In all, fourteen, connected with such
divergent places as the Peak Forest, Mac
clesteld. Leeds, Stockport, Shropshire, Bury,
and Rochdale, effect a junction. BY means
of the smaller canals, clay, for instance re-
ceived in Cornwall, via Eastman and
Runcorn, can be sent in small vessels right
into the midst Of the lotteries. One of the
most impoItant.of these canals, that known
as the B~ridgewuter, with its branch canals,
is the property 81 the Ship Canal Company,
and has proved'a very remnnerative under
taking. Next in Importance co" es the
Weaver Canal, which serves for the Che
shire palt trade. AT S~Altport. whore it meets
inc (dIAl plOI}6i IL lHC SfC"F'I l ONi "
of six hundred tons-by means If the Weston
Marsh Lock-can sail up it 10 NorthwiclL.
AS to other meHns Of communication the
railways of the Company extend alongside.
near the whole length Of the CqQal, ana con
meet it at various important points with the
lines Of the leading railway companies. Thus
six companies have Inject communication with
Manchester Docks, and five with Darlington
Coal Basin.
In the work Of 'constTuction there was i'm
mense trouble with the railway lii es and
roads crossing the line OF route between Acton
Grange and Barton. All the railway lines
had to be raisei, and to cross the Canal on
bridges sevonty-fve feet high from the
waters level, SO as to allow shipping 10 pass
under: Runcom Bridge between kuncosn
and Widnes governing the height. High
deviation lines one and q third miles long
on each side Of the Canal were constructed
leading to the bridges. IN aII, seven high
level railway bridges and two high level road
bridges were built, and in addition there are
seven swing road bridges, all in the sections
from Runcorn to Manchester. at Irat1Ord
Road, Stafford, is one Of the heaviest swing
bridges extant-weighing 1900 tons. At
Barton, the Bridgewater Canal, at q higher :
level than the Ship Canal, and temporarily
divided in two by it, comes over by means OF
a steel 6QuGOuCG ZOO 1901 lOuBJ MA LOU OSSp3
and nineteen feet wide, which acts as a link
between the two sides. During tue passage
Of vessels with high masts on the Ship Canal
underneath, the a~quedust is swung on a
pivot by hydraulic power, the water BEING
retained in it by lifting gates at either end.
Or. put in another form, the a~queduct is a
movable tank which, by a combination of
gates, will retain the water when it is
swinging round, whilst the other gates will
simultaneously prevent the water from the
iBridgewater Canal running during the time
the connection is interrupted. 1t takes the
place of the old BrindIey Aqueduct. which
has been pulled down. At Runoorn, whore
the Canal comes into the Mersey, a vertical
concrete wall. 1850 feet long aid sixteen
feet wide at the top, had to be constructed
TO keep the Canal and the river apart.
Another point of great interest centres in
the docks. Commercial men speak of the
Canal as one large dock, but here mention
will only be made of the larger ports. Prac-
tically there are seven docks at Manchester
and Stafford. The water space at Stafford
amounts to seventy one acres, the area of Il e
Aouavs to 129 acres, and is walk around tire
quays means nearly three miles and a'half.
The Manchester docks possess q water area
of thirty-three and q half acres, a quay area
euontv fhraa and sleno+h Of nuavs extend.