The Manchester Ship Canal

14 WILLIAYS ON THE NANCHESTER SHIP-CARAL. [lIiriutes of

0 November, 1S97. Sir JOHNWOLFE BARRY, E.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.

(Pap-No. 3046.)

ii The Manchester Ship-Canal.” By Sir EDWARDLEADER WILLIAJIS, M. Inst. C.E.

HISTORICAL. THE necessity for providingeficient water comnunication between Manchester and Liverpool was recognized as early as the year 1721, when Nr. Thomas Steers, who was then constructing the first dock at Liverpool, issued a plan for canalizing the Rivers Mersey and Irmell between Warrington andManchester. The tideway between Warrington and Liverpool had been long previously used by small coasters and barge traffic. An Act was then obtained bycertain persons called therein “ undertakers,”who carried out the works as designed by Mr. Steers. Another Act passed in l794 incorporated theundertakers into a company. TheRivers Mersey andIrwell wereimproved bycuts to straighten their courses, and locks and weirs mere built to enable barges carrying about 50 tons to pass to &Tanchester. These barges were towed down the tideway between Warrington and Liverpool as soon as steam-power was introduced. Frequent delays were caused by the shoals between Warrington and Runcorn at low tides, and therefore about the year 1521 a canal was constructed between those towns, with tidal basins at Runcorn. The Mersey and Irwell navigation was, for many years, largely used in competition withthe Bridgewater Canal, whichwas opened throughout for Liverpool traffio on the 31st December, 1772. The navigation was purchased in 1844 by the Bridgewater Trustees, the owners of the canal, and was worked in connection with it, competing successfully with the railway companies. In 1872, both navigations, with the Runcorn docks and the Duke’s dock at Liverpool, were sold to the Bridgowater Navigation

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WILLIAMS ON THE MANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. 15 Company, who transferred them in 1886 to the Manchester Ship- Canal Company for thesum of %1,712,000. The illersey and Irwell navigation was then utilized for the construction of the ship-canal, whilethe Bridgewater canal and docks continue to carry a large trade. In 1825 the first company proposing to construct a ship-canal to Manchester wasformed; and on the advice of Mr. Telford, Past-PresidentInst. C.E., and Mr. John Bennie, Nr. William Chapman was instructed to make a survey and to report on the best route for bringing sea-going vessels to 1fanchester.l In June of thatyear he presented a detailed reportwith plans. He stated that the approaches to Dawpool on the River Dee “are as good as those of any port in the United Kingdom,” and he therefore selected that place for the entrance to the canal. Docks were to be constructed at Dawpool for thelargest class of vessels, their cargoes being lightered to BIanchester, the smaller vessels passing to Manchester, a distance of 51 miles. Fourteen locks were proposed, with a rise of 110 feet above high tides, the last 25 milesbeing on one level. The dept,h of the canal was to be 16 feet, and the locks 110 feet by 28 feet. Steam-pumps were to be used for maintaining the level of the canal if the local streams flowing intoit werefound insufficient. Theplan shows the canal as first skirting the Dee ; it then passes to Dlanchester, by Frodsham, Grappenhall,and Altrincham. The estimate was Sl,560,000. It is obvious that this canal would have been of no use for the present size of steamers, and Dawpool has long ceased to be a proper entrance fora ship-canal. In 1838 SirJohn Rennie, Past-PresidentInst. C.E., made a survey on behalf of a Committee of Traders at Warrington, and reported in favour of a ship-canal between that town and Runcorn to avoid the difficulties of navigatingthat part of theRiver Mersey on low tides. He considered that the river below Runcorn might be improved by low jetties, but on the whole he preferred a ship-canal between Runcornand Knotts Hole, near Liverpool, along the northernside of the estuary. In the year 1840, Mr. Henry Robinson Palmer, Vice-President Jnst. C.E., made a report to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company on the improvement of their navigation, so as to adapt it for sea-going vessels. The report deals fully with the condition of the tidal portion of the Mersey above Liverpool. Nr. Palmer was of opinion that the improvements should commence at Hale

See Tracts 4t0, vol. 7, in the Library Inst. C.E.

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 16 WILLIANS ON THE NANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. [&!kIutes Of Tlead, 2 miles below Runcorn, with a training-wall on t.he Lanca- shire side of the river, extending to Cuerdly Marsh, 14 mile above liuncorn. His plan shows anothertraining-wall commencing at the docks at Runcorn ; he considered that, by thus concentrating the scour, a depth of 10 feet of water would be ensured on the lowest tides. An entrance lock was to be constructed in a new cut across the Marsh, and other cuts with five locks and weirs were to be built higher up the river, wit11 sills at a level that would give it depth, with river-dredging, of 12 feet. to Manchester, and enable steamers of 400 tons burthen to navigatethe canalized rivers. ,Sailing vessels with fixed masts were to be discharged below the Bridgewater Canal Aqueduct at Barton, as Mr. Palmer considered the expense of passing ships over that canal, though practicable, wouldbe too costly. InJanuary and February, 18+1, meetings were held at Manchester to discuss the question of bringing ship- ping there, which are fully reported in the’‘ Annals of Electricity, -etc.,”May, 1841.l They were attended bysome engineers and merchants. Mr. Bateman, Past-President Inst. C.E., after Mr. Palmer’s report had been discussed, presented a report he had made for the Mersey and IrwellNavigation Company, with plansshowing a darn across the Mersey at Runcorn Gap, where the bed of the river is sandstone rock overlaid with sand and silt. Theproposed darn was to he constructed of rock and earth faced with heavy squared pitching, vith a puddled clay centre. Pour rows of piles were to be driven where the dam did not go down to the rock. The length of the dam would have been about 1,260 feet, and on the top a roadway was to be formed. Mr. Bateman proposed to construct two sea- locks on the Cheshiro side of the dam, and on the Lancashire side ten self-acting floodgates each of 33 feet span to admit the flow and ebb of the tide. At half ebb he proposed to empty the great tidal basin above the dam to maintain the channelbelow Huncorn. Mr. Bateman also reported on an improvement of the Mersey and Irwell navigation. No action was taken on these reports ; at that date the success of railways was proved, and it was generally considered that canals would beof small utility in the future, and Parliament sanctioned the sale of some important canals to railway companies. It was not until the year 1882 that the questionof a Manchester Ship-Canal was again revived, and on the 27th June a meeting of upwards of seventyleading merchants and manufacturers was held at the house ofMr. Daniel Adamson, whena Provisional

SeeiTracts 8v0, vol. 71, in the Library Inst. C.E.

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WILLIAMS ON THE X4BCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. 17 Committee was formed, and the Author and the late Mr. H. H. Fulton, M. Inst. C.E., were instructed to make surveys and report on the“feasibility of constructing a navigation to Manchester available for ocean-going vessels.” The late Ur. James Abernethy, Past-President Inst. C.E., was retained as consulting engineer. Mr. E’ultcn proposed to constructtraining-walls between Garston and Warrington, and to excavate a tidal canal thence to Manchester, 80 feet wide at the bottom, with extra width every li miles or 4 miles to enablevessels to pass. At Manchester a tidal basin was to be formed about 90 feet below the level of the land there. The depth of water in the canal was to be 22 feet at low water and 37 feet at high water of spring tides. The Author did not consider this scheme was practicable on account of the difficulty of navigation, and the great depth of the excavation; he therefore made a separa.te report in fawur of a canal with locks above Warrington, utilizing the waters of the Mersey and Irwell,with large sluices to pass off floods. The bottom width of the canal was proposed to be 100 feet, to allow of vessels passing at any point,a dimension which was afterwards increased to 120 feet. The depth was tobe 26 feet. Tht: report set forth that, “The higher the level at which the cargoes can bebrought in bulk the better both for speed and cost ip delivery, and there is no mode of lifting cargo SO good, in either respect, as utilizing water-power in a luck. The reduced cost of excavation in the channel and docks, and the smaller quantity of land required through the saving of large slopes, will be much greater than the cost of the locks required, while the locks will convert the upper portion of the navigation into still-waterpound* which may be widened at any point into docks, while the ease andsafety of navigating deep andquiet pounds alwap maintained at one level would be of great advantage.” The report8 were referred to Mr. Abernethy, and, after receiving his views on thematter, the Provisional Committee, on the 2Brd September, 1882, reported, “Mr. Abernethy, it will be observed, io the fullest extent approves of and endorses Mr. Williams’ scheme ; and after givingthe matter their mostcareful consideration, your Com- mittee has unanimously arrived at theconclusion that such scheme is perfectly feasible, and in every respect desirable.” It wasthen resolved to make applicationto Parliament for powers tocarry out the work, andthe Author wasappointed chief eogineer, Nr. Abernethyacting asconsulting engineer. 563,000 was raised fur the cost of the application in the Session of 1883. Onlytwo months remained for the prepar.t- [THE IXST. C.E. VOL. CXXSI.] C

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 18 WILLIAMS ON THE MANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. [Minutes of tion of theparliamentary plans, butthey were duly deposited andthe Bill passed acommittee of the House of Commons, but was afterwards thrown out by the Committee of the House of Lords. Sir John WoIfe Barry, President Inst. C.E., was then called in bythe Corporation of Warrington, and he reported inAugust, 1883, in favour of improving the navigation between Runcorn and Warrington by making a new channel, in preference to training and dredging the tortuous course of the channel of the Mersey. As the promoters of the ship-canal to Manchester resolved again to apply to Parliament, the WarringtonCorporation took no steps to carry out Sir JohnWolfe Barry’s report. In 1884 the Ship-Canal Bill passed a Committee of the House of Lords, but it was rejected by a Committee of the Commons. A thirdapplication was made in 1885 andthe Act was then obtained. In the last yearthe plan was modified to meet the strong opposition to training-walls in the Mersey, by substituting asemi-tidal canal along the Cheshire side of theestuary, commencing atEastham about 6 milesabove Liverpool-a very sheltered position where a good low-water channelhad always existed tothe Sloynedeep. The Bill occupied 175 days before these Committees. The cost of obtainingthe Act amounted to nearly .%150,000,the money spent by the opponents to the canal bringing up the total toover &250,000.

GESERALDESCRIPTION.

Commencing at Eastham, Fig. 1, Plate 1, three entrance locks have been constructed parallel with each other, GO0 feet by SO feet, 350 feet by 50 feet and 150feet by 30 feetrespectively. These locks maintain thelevel of the canal ata depth of 26 feet, subject to increase on all tides which rise above 14 feet 2 inches on the Old Dock Sill datum at Liverpool. The lower sill of the largest lock is 23 feet below Old Dock Sill, Liverpool, or 42 feet below high water of ordinary spring tides ; the upper sill is 28 feet below t,he ordinary water-level of the canal, A channel has been dredged below the locks to deep water, and a number of timber piers have been constructed on each side of the approach to .the locks for mooring purposes. The lock-gates are constructed of green-heart timber.The large lock hasculverts on each side, 12 feet high and G feet wide, which enable it to be filled or lowered so that a vessel canpass through in less than 10 minutes. Two 20-foot

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WILLIAAIS ox THE MAWHESTER BHIP-CANAL. 19 Stoneysluices adjoin the locks and assist to fill the canal when the tide rises above ordinary water-level, when all the lock-gates and sluices are kept open until the tide turns. The embankments and other works in the portion of the canal between Easthamand Runcorn, adistance of 13b miles, are described in separate Papers by Mr. Whately Eliot, M. Inst. C.E., and the Author(post, pp. 31 and 42). FromRuncorn to Latchford the canal passes inlandin an almost straight course ; near Runcorn the cutting is 70 feet deep, the next 2 miles average 35 feet; then for 4 miles the depth varies between 45 feet and 60 feet. As spring tides rise between 5 feet and 8 feet in this portion of the canal, coming in and passing out very quickly, thesiopes, which range between 13 to 1 and 2 to l, at first gave some trouble, but they are now all well protected with brickwork or rubble stone. Thetidal actionends at Latchford locks, whence a straight cutting, 3 miles long, connects the tidal portion of thecanal with the River Mersey, which, from this point to its confluence with the River Irwell, is absorbed in the more direct course of the canal. The water-level is here nearly on a level with the adjoining land,wbich has been embanked with the spoil from the cutting; the drainage on the north side of the canal passing into the Mersey as heretofore, a 5-foot siphon under thecanal providingfor landdrainage on theother side. The upper portion of the canal passes in cutting, between 30 feet and 40 feet deep, through the -,-alleys of the Mersey and Irwell, which, with their tributary streams, supply it with water between Man- chesterand Latchford locks; even in the long drought of 1896 there was ample supply of water for lockage purposes. Floods in thecanal aTe dealtwith by Stoney sluices con- structedparallel to the locks; theyare each 30 feet wide. At Mode Wheel and at Barton there are foursluices each, at Irlamfive, and at Latchford three ; fewer being required there owing to the River Mersey taking off all but the highest floods in its course through Warrington. The sluices are of the same construction as those at the Weaver Estuary @mt, p. 45). Owing to the large sectional area of the canal and the efficient action of the sluices, floods in the canal are of short duration and littleimportance. Tha niinirnum width at the bottom of the canal is 120 feet, which enables large vessels to pass each other at any point. The railway viaductsand the bridges afford the same width of waterway, except at RuncornViaduct,which is 92 feet,, and Barton Aqueduct, 90 feet wide. The swing bridge at Salford,which is above the largest docks, gives 75 feet width of waterway. c2

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 20 WILLIAKS ON THE NANCHESTEC SHIP-CANAL. [Minutes Of The locks at Irlam are described in a Paper by Mr. W. 0. E.. Meade-King, N. Inst. C.E. (post, p. 53): they are ?$ miles from Latchford. Similar locks have been constructed at Barton, 2 miles. higher up the canal, and at Mode Wheel, 3; miles above Barton. The Manchester docks commence at these locks, but the bottom width of thecanal for 2 milns below themhas been increased from 120 feet to 170 feet, to enable vessels to lie at wharves and discharge cargoes without interfering with thepassage of traffic on the canal. The total rise on the canal 'above the ordinary water- level below Latchford locks is GO feet 6 inches, giving an average of about 15 feet for each set of locks. Thetotal length is 35$ miles. The excavation amountedto about 64 millioncubic yards, including 12 million cubic yards of sandstone rock. The course of the canal being almost entirely through river vallegs or alongside a tidal estuary, the Boil moved was mainly alluvial, being light loam, gravel, sand, peatand clay; often in comparatively thin layers in irregular order, overlaying the sandstone rock. Part of the excavation was utilized in filling the course of therivers, after they had been diverted down finished portions of the canal ; but the greater part was run to spoil or to the railway embankments, the lead often being several miles. The rate of excavation varied between 2 million cubic yards and14 million cubic yards per month. Borings had been taken io determine the natureof the soil, hut it was afterwards found to vary so often, and at such short distances, that the borings proved of comparatively little use in determining the amount of slope to be given to the sides of the cuttings; the rivers were found in places to have cut out the rock to a considerable depth, and retainingwalls had to be built to keep hack the silt left in after the river had again changed it8 course. To suit the varied conditions, Ruston and Proctor steam-navvies proved of great service ; by adapting thesize of the buckets to the nature of the soil to be excavated,rock being blasted, they dealt well with every variety of excavation. Fifty-eight were used, as well as seventeen of the Whittaker type, which are light, and therefore easily handled. TVilson excavators, and land-dredgers of French and German manufacture, were also employed ; in favourable soil the latter would excavate 2,000 cubic yards per day of 10 hours when fully supplied with wagons. Owing to the large amount of bteam excavating plant, the number of men and boys employed never exceeded 17,000; 228 miles of temporarysingle lines, of railway were used, with 173 locomotives, 6,300 wagons and trucks, 124 steam-cranes and 102 fixed and portable engines, principally

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] v-ILLIANS ON THE IUANCHESTER SHIP-CABAL. 21 employed in pumping. The cost of planten~ployed was over ;E980,000. A description of the mechanicalappliances employed inthe excavation of the canal has already been given by the Auth0r.l

FLOODS. As theupper partion of the cannlwas excavatedalong tbe valleys of the Rivers Irwell and Mersey for a length of 20 miles, great difficulty and expense arose from the necessity of keeping open a channel for the flood and ordinary water of those rivers, whichwere intersected inthirty places. At these points dams were leftin at the end of each cutting;in some cases long new river channels were cut to pass off the river-water where the canal crossed the river severaltimes in a short distance, which occurred when the river course was serpentine, while the canalwas laid out in as straight a course as possible. After each cutting was completed,t,he dams wereexcavated anddredged out, andthe rivera were turnedthrough the connected cuttings. In addition to the cross dams, the sides of the cuttings were raised where the land was low; but, as the upper soil was light loam, when the meadows adjacent to the canal were flooded, the water percolated under the base of the longitudinal dams, causing heavy slips in the sides of the cutting which brought in the dams, and the cuttings then filled with water. In November, 1890, 13 miles of thecanal were prematurely filled, and in December, 1891, another flood filled 10 miles of cutting.The damage caused tothe slopes of thecuttings was great, and the plant was much damaged, while the delay to the work, and the cost of pumping out the water by additionalpumps, was serious. The effect of therush of flood-water domm the cuttings was to set the trains of earth wagons in motion at a high speed, when, on reaching a blr~ck, tbeypiled up on each other in a similar manner to the result of a collision on a railway.

RAILWAYDEVIATIOKS. Whenrailway companies obtained powers forcrossing the Itivers Mersey and Irwell below Manchester, Parliament imposed upon them certain obligations, in the event of those rivers being improved, so as to allow of sea-going vessels reaching that city.

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1891, p. 418.

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 22 NILLIANS ox THE WAX CHEST ER SHIP-CANAL. [Ninutee of In some cases opening bridges were to be constructed if hereafter found necessary ; but the:great increase of trade, and the import- ance of passenger traffic not beingdelayed, caused the Canal Company, on the recommendation of the Board of Trade, to adopt high-levelviaducts anddeviation railways, which were carried on embankmentsparallel to the existing lines,which were not interfered with until the deviation railways were ready for traEc. Thereare five suchrailways crossing the canal. At Acton Grange, near Warrington, the main lineof the London and North- Western Company, and their joint line with the Great WesternRail- way Company to Chester, cross the canal on one viaduct with four lines of rails. At Latchford the Warrington and Stockport, and at Irlam and Cadishead, the Cheshire Lines also pass over the canal on high viaducts. Thedeviation railways are each about 25 miles long, with gradientsof 1 in 13.5 on both sides of the canal, which gives a clear headway for vessels under the viaductsof not less than 75 feet at ordinary water-level. The Runcorn Viaduct, which had been previously constructed across the Mersey, gives a clear headway of 75 feet at high water of spring tides. The embankmentswere madewith spoil from the canal cuttings, only selected material being used, the lower part of the embankments being formed of sandstone rock debris wherever practicable. The viaductswere all designed to give thesame width of' waterway undcrthem as the canal at bottomlevel, 120 feet, andas the railways crossed more or less on the skew, the main girders varied in length between l50 feet and 299 feet. Someof the girders were of the hog-backed type, otherswere lattice girders, as the engineers of the respective lines preferred. The girderswere built of Siemens- Martin open-hearth mild steel, havingan ultimate tensile strength of 27 tons to 31 tons per square inch, withaG elongation of at least 20 per cent. in 8 inches, and a contraction of area not less than 35 per cent. A tensile strength test was taken from every charge, however small,and bend tests were also used. Drillingwas adopted throughoutthe work, withhydraulic riveting. Side- spans wereadopted either of arches orgirders; fortunately, as their height above foundation-level is over 100 feet, the foundations of most of the main piers were on rock. In the case of the Cheshire linesviaduct near Irlam, a slight settlement of' the mainpiers occurred after t.he completion of the work, causing cracks in the side arches, which were removed and replaced bygirders; no further movement has since taken place. The foundation of the piers was boulder clay which was proved by borings to a depth of 15 feet below foundationlevel. Afterthe set.tlement occurred,

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedinga.] WILLLAMS ON THE MANCHESTER , SHIP-CANAL. 23 deeper borings were taken, which showed a fine bed of sand under the clay. Messrs. Sir William Arrol & Co., of GlaEgow, were the contractors for the iron and steel work, exceeding 10,000 tons, of the railway viaducts and swing-bridges, except the Barton and Trafford Road swing-bridges, the former being constructed by Messrs. Handyside, of Derby, and the latter byMessrs. Butler & Co., of Leeds.

BRIDGES. Ferries have been adopted on the canal for unimportant roads and footpaths, but thereremained ninemain roads requiring bridges. Those at Warburton and Latchford were originally intended to be swing-bridges, but power wasafterwards obtained tocarry the roads over thecanal on embankmentsand high-level fixed bridgeswith a headway of 75 feet. Theyare of theForth Bridge cantilever type, with central spans of 206 feet and side spans of 58 feet each. Theroadway is 18feet wide withtwo footpaths 3 feet 6 inches wide. Whenthe cantilever portions were built out from each side, the central portion, 90 feet long, was lifted into its place ; thus no staging was required ; 780 tons of steel were used in each bridge. The contractors were Messrs. Handyside & Co., of Derby. There are seven swing-bridges, viz., Trafford Road, Manchester, Barton,Knutsford Road, andNorthwich Road, near Latchford, Stag Inn Road and Moore Lane, near Warrington, and old Quay Bridge, Runcorn. The last-mentioned five bridges have all a clear span of 120 feet; they vary in width between 20 feet and 36 feet. The heaviest areat Stockton Heathand Knutsford Roads, in each of which 1,083 tons of steel were used ; the others range between 507 tons and 672 tons weight each. The span of Barton Bridge, which works on the same central pier as the aqueduct, is 90 feet; the Trafford Road bridge is 205 feet long, weighing 1,800 tons, with a span of 75 feet; this bridge is only passed by vessels goingto the upper Manchester docks. The Moore Lane Bridge may be taken as the type for all the swing-bridges. It is 238 feet long, the longest arm being140 feet and the shortest98 feet in length; its width is 25 feet. The height of the main girders is 37 feet 8 inches, curving down to 6 feet at the end of the long arm, and 8 feet 94 inches at the end of the short arm. The upper and lower booms are trough-shaped, braced together;they are stayed at the top by cross wind-bracing. The roadway is carried by cross girders spaced 14 feetapart, connected bysix longi-

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 24 WILLIAMS ON THE MANCHESTERSHIP-CANAL. [Minutes Of tudmal road bearers, the road being made of 5-inch wood sets carriedon buckle plates. Themain girders are canied on four strong cross girders, bearing on the annular girder on which is bolted the cast-iron upper roller path ; between this path and the lowerroller path,which is fixed inthe masonry,a livering rotateswith bixty-four cast-iron conical rollers,each 2 feet 5.$ inches long, the diameters beingl foot 4%inches to 1 foot 12 inch ; the metal is 24 inches thick with turned faces. The bridges aye constructed to carry a moving load of 40 tous, and a dead load of 120 lbs. per square foot of road surface. Owing t,o the large number of rollers, the live ring and the wide roller- paths,the swing-bridges worksmoothly andeasily at a good speed. Theyare all moved by hydraulic power. The old Quay Bridge at Runcorn is actuated by gas-engines, and that at Moore Lane by oil-engines (both in duplicate) in consequence of their distance from the general hydraulicinstallations. The pumps are worked from theengines by belting; accumulatorsbeing cmployed of sufficient capacityto open and close the bridge. Boththe gas- and the oil-engines were constructed by Messrs. Crossley Bros., and these bridges workas well as those worked direct from thehydraulic mains. Thereare eight hydraulic installations on the canal, each with duplicate engines and boilers to allow of repairs;the mains exceed 7 miles in length and a pressure of 700 lbs. per inch is maintained in them. They work the cranes, warehouse lifts and capstans at the docks, coal-tips at Partington,the lock-gates and culvert sluices, andthe swing- bridges, except those before mentioned.

BARTOXCANAL AQUEDUCT. The Bridgewater canal crosses over the ship-canal at Barton, the difference inlevel being 2G feet. Thelimited water-supply of the old canal,the loss of waterand time that would have occurred if twosets of loclrs had been construct,ed to enable barges to cross the ship-canal on its level, as well as the incon- venience to vessels using the larger canal, made it advisable to adopt a movable aqueduct. The success of the lift at Anderton on the Weaver Navigation, designed by Mr. Edwin Clark,' where theAuthor utilized hydraulic power tolift boats 51 feet vertically to another navigation while floating in an iron trough, suggestedto him that the same principlc might be used for a

Miuuteslof Proceedings Inst. C.E., vol. xlo.

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WILLIINS ON THE XANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. 25 swing aqueduct. Theresult is thatthe first canal aqueduct, constructed 136 years ago by Brindley, has been replaced by the first one made to open to allow vessels to pass through. The old aqueduct was constructed of stone and brick, with three arches, the canal waterway being 18 feet wide and 4 feet 6 inches deep. Thenew aqueduct, Fig. 4, Plate 2, hastwo movable spans of 90 feet each, with a waterway 19 feet wide and G feet in depth; it workson a central pier 400 feet long and 50 feet wide, which carries also the adjacent road bridge. The pier is mainly builtof cement concrete with brickwork and granite in the part that talres the weight of the aqueduct, 1,400 tons, includingthe water which is alwaysin the iron trough through which the barges pass. The sides of the trough are 1 foot above the water-level ; it is carried by side girders 234 feet long, 22 feet 3 inches apart from the centres of the girders, which are 33 feet deep, tapering off to 28 feet 9 inches at the ends, with a side tow-path carried on a gallery 9 feet above the water-level. Water-tight iron swing-gates are provided at each fixed shore-end and also at each end of the trough ; when all four gates are open, barges pass alongthe aqueduct as usual. If a ship is to pass throughthe canal, all the gates are closed, the shore-gates keeping back the water in the canal, andthe other gates con- fining the water in the trough when it is swung open for the passage of the ship. The gates are worked by hydraulic power, . as is also thetrough, which can be swungwith barges init, the gross weight to be moved remaining the same. At each end of the trough, B water-tight joint is made by an iron wedge-piece of the shape of the cross section of the end of the trough, both endsand bottom being faced with india-rubber. The fixed and movable ends of theaqueduct are slightly tapered and about 1 foot apart;this vacancy is filled bythe wedge-piece, which weighs about 12 tons, and is lifted by four hydraulicrams sufficiently to allow the trough to be moved, the water between the gates being passed off into the ship-canal. The junctions just described are not at right-angles to the trough, but are slightly diagonal, so as to allow sufficient clearance for moving the trough. After it has been again closed, the wedge-piece is dropped on to its seating, being of the same taper as the ends of the trough and aqueduct. The arrangementsof the annular girder,rollers, &C., are thesame as those for the heaviest swing-bridges already described, but half the weight of the movable portion of the aqueduct is taken by a central hydraulic press, 4 feet 9& inches in diameter and 2 feet

3 inches deep, whichacts as the pivot and is free to turn; a hydraulic buffer and locking holts are also provided. The power is obtained from the adjacent hydraulic station, which is also used for the road swing-bridge;both are worked from a high brick tower on thecentral pier. Theaqueduct has never given any trouble, working quickly and withsmoothness-a result for which much credit is due to theconstructors, Messrs. Handyside & Co.

THEDOCKS AND WHARVES. As thecanal is virtually aseries of long narrow docks, by widening it vessels may be enabled to lie at any point without interfering with passing traffic, consequently wharves have been constructed at Saltport, Runcorn, Warrington, and other places. The wharves below the Runcorn viaduct enable sailing vessels, that cannot lower their masts sufficiently to pass under the viaduct, to have theircargoes lightered up toManchester. At Ellesmere Port, quayswith coal-tips andsheds have been constructed bythe Shropshire Union Railway andCanal Company. At Weston Point, the docks of the Weaver Navigation have entrances into canal the ; at Runcorn, the docks (purchased by the Ship-Canal Company) have similar entrances to the canal, and also to the Bridgewater Canal. At Partington, branches from the Cheshire Linvs Railway are connected with the Lancashire and Yorkshire coal-fields, and with the canal (which is there widened out 65 feet on each side) ; six piers for hydraulic coal-tips have been constructed, four tips being now at work ; the coal-wagons pass to and from the tips by gravity ; the piers are of concrete, connected by timber wharfing so as to form a continuous quay for ordinary traffic. At Irlam a wharfhas been constructedfor the Co-operative TVholesale Society, whichhas built large soapworks there. At Node Wheel, timber wharves have been erected by the Nan- chester Corporation, whohave built extensive abattoirs and lairages there capable of accommodating 3,000 head of cattle. n’ear this point a large dry gravingdock, pontoon and repairing yards, have been constructed by the Pontoons and Dry Docks Company, who have also provided pontoon and repairing yards on the Canal at Ellesmere Port. The Xanchester and Salford docks, Fig. 3, Plate 2, commence at Mode Wheel locks, which form their entrance. The area of the docks is 104 acres; there are 152 acres of quay space, with over 5 miles of frontage to the docks. The width of the entrance dock is 270 feet, with a quay wall on the north side; it extends to the

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Prmeedinga.] WILLIAMS ON THE MANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. 27 large turning basin, which is over f mile wide ; from this basin thereare three branch docks, each 225 feet inwidth, with quays between them 263 feet wide. Theseare provided with sheds of 71 feet span, set back 36 feet from the face of the dock to allowspace for lines of railway and movable hydraulic cranes. Between the sheds there is a road, 48 feet wide, with rails; all the railways round the docks are paved to allow of ordinary road traffic. The canal is continued from the turning basin, which has a timber wharf more than $ mile long on the south side, to the River Irwell above Trafford Road. This has been widened out to 200 feet to form an approach to the upper docks, which have five arms, each 120 feet wide, provided with sheds and lines of rails. On two of the quays of t.he largest docks, six three-storey fire- proof transit sheds have been built with aglass roof over the roadway between them ; this enables work to be carried on in bad weather, and saves the cost of sliding doors on the inner side of the sheds. The sheds are provided with hydraulic jiggers, and,in common with all the dock sheds, have the ground floor raised to the levelof the railway-trucks andwagons, which greatly facilitates the despatchof traffic. The dock walls are constructed of 7 to l cement concrete faced with 4 to 1 concrete ; at the water-line,18-inch granite fender courses are set, on which blue-brick facing is carried up to the granite coping, which is 2 feet thick and 4 feet wide; its surface being 8 feet above ordinary water-level. The bollards are hook- shaped, 6xed in thecoping so as not to interfere with working the movable cranes. Through all the dock walls a continuous ~ubway, 5 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 6 inches is provided for the hydraulic mains, water-and gas-pipes, hydrants for thehydraulic cranes in case of fire, are fixed along the quays 12 yards apart. The whole of Ihe docks and sheds are furnished with electric lightsupplied fromdynamos drivenby four invertedcylinder engines workedat a pressure of 100 lbs. per square inch. The docks have been supplied with a 304011 steam-crane, and 70 hydraulic and steam-cranes, all of which(except the 30-ton crane) are movable, and work at any point required on the railways which surround every dock. There are two hydraulic installations,one nearthe Trafford Road swing-bridgeand one at Mode Wheel locks ; they supply all the power required for working the locks, swing-bridges,cranes, and warehouse lifts. Messrs. Armstrong, Mitchell & Company were the contractors for the hydraulic and machinery originally requiredfor the docks, locks, swing-aqueduct and bridges, coal-tips, cranes, &c. The hydraulic machineryworked

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 28 WILLIAXS ON THE MAXCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. [Minutes of without any hitch on the opening day, and has given complete satisfaction since. The London and North-Western and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Companies have made branchlines to thedocks; the other railways in Manchester are also connected with the dock railways.The dock railwaysand sidings are over 30 miles in length,and the railway traffic nowaverages 2,500 trucksper week. A large amount of traffic is also dealt with by the inland canals, all of which communicate with thedocks ; a largeproportion is also carted traffic. Thirteen seven-storey and seven four-storey warehouses have been built for storing goods, and oil-storage tanks have been con- .strutted by the Corporation of Manchester, and other persons. A large grain silo is now being built at thedocks. Cosr. The expenditure of the Company to the 1st January, 1E97, has been :- k S. d. Construction of works (including plant and corn- pensation torailway companies, mill-omnera 10,193,979 1G 7 and other parties) ...... Purchase of canalsand navigatious .... 1,786,773 17 G ,, landcompensationand .... 1,289,765 8 9 Engineering and aurveying ...... 156,728 1 5 Pnterest on share and loan crtpitnl ..... 1,170,733 13 4 Parliamentary expenses ...... 175,966 16 2 General expenses ...... 394,819 2 2 f15,168,795--- 15 11 The capital of the Company was originally fixed at 210,000,000. It was afterwardsconsidered advisable to purchase the Bridgewater Canal, and the Mersey and Irwell navigation, with their valuable docksand properties at Liverpool,Runcorn, Warringtonand Nancbecter; it was also found necessary to obtain power to pay interest on capitalduring construction. Theparliamentary ,estimate for works, not including land, was 26,309,536 ; and that this sum was sufficient for the works, as then proposed, is proved by thefact that twoof the largestfirms of contractors each tendered for those works considerably under the estimate. The Act was obtained after numerous opponents had succeeded ininserting clauses (Occupying 180 pages inthe Act) often containing provisions for considerable additions to the works, nt greatly increased cost. The line of the canal had to be changed near Eastham and elsewhere, and for 20 miles the mater-level had to be lowered, causing a large addition to the amountof excayation.

The size anddepth of the locks was increased, andthe large Weaver sluices were added to the cost ; an arbitration had even to be heldto determine the character of theEstuary Works at Ellesmere Port, and heavy compensation has been paid to railway companies for interference with theirlines. After the contractfor the canalworks waslet toMr. T.A. Walker, another Act wasobtained to enlarge the docks at Manchester, and they were constructed with upwards of l mile of additional quay frontage. Mr. Walker carriedon theworks with much energy and success ; but his death in November 1889 led the Company to proceed with them by administration, under the charge of Mr. W. H. Topham, who had acted as chief agent for Mr. Walker ; ulti- mately thework waslet insections to Sir JohnJackson and Mr. C. J. Wills; Mr. E. D. Jones undertook the section at Runcorn which had not then been commenced. It is obvious that, after the upper part of thc excavation had been taken out, the remainder, and the difficult estuary work, could only be re-let to fresh contractors at higher prices. No heavy floods or damage occurred while the contractorswere executing the work, but great floods happened when the Company werecarrying themon, and they had to sustain the loss thus caused by damage and delay. The cost to date also includeslarge warehouses, dock sheds, railways, hydraulic and electricinstallations, cranes, BC., with a largedredging-plant, steam-tugs, spoil barges and othermatters not included in the original estimate. The cost of the plant, including dredgers taken over from the executors of Mr. Walker,after deducting sales, amounts to S861,205, which, after completing the heavy work of the canal, was greatly diminished in value. The additional land purchased cost over S300,000, but it is now anincreasingly valuable asset to the Company. The first sod was cut at Eastham byLord Egerton of Tatton on the 11th November, 1887, and the lower portion of the canal was first used for traffic in September, 1891. The whole length of the canal was opened for trade on the 1st January, 1894. The formal opening by Her Majesty the Queen took place on the 21st May of the same year. The traffic results since the opening are:-

1894. 1895. 1896. - - - Tons. Tons. Tons. In sea-goingvessels.-- . . . 686,1581,087,443 1,509,658 In barges ...... 239,501 316,579271,432 -- ____ Total . . . 925,6591,358,875 1,826,237 -7 -- --

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 30 WILLIAMS ON THE YANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL. [&butes of As chief engineer, the Author desires to acknowledge here the valuable assistance thathe received fromthe late Mr. James Abernethy, Past-President,from Nr. G. H. Hill, M. Inst. C.E., who acted for the Corporation of Manchester, from Mr. W. H. Hunter, M. Inst. C.E., the principal assistant engineer, and from the resident and assistant engineers generally.

Detailed accounts of the construction of the principal Divisions of the work are given in the following three Papers, the series being illustrated by a large numberof drawings from which Plates 1 to 5 have been prepared.

I \

Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF EXETER] on [26/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. PLATE 4.

C A N A L , ESTUARY. CANAL,

LONGITUDINAL SECTION- EMBANKMENTBETWEEN RIVERWALL BETWEEN NO MAN'S LAND Figs 9. 6 NO MAN'SLAND AND RUNCORN LdCK ANDRUNCORN LOCK.

C A N A L . ESTUARY CANAL.

LONGITUDINALSECTION-- EMBANKMENT IN POOL HALLBAY.

P O O L HALL BAY. INCE BAY INCE BAY. HALL POOL DETAILS OF SHEETING. SIRE.L.WTLLIAMS. W. ELIOT. W OE.MFBF.-WNG

...... !

PART ELEVATION,

l... .. v

NORTH WALL SECTION OF SOUTW WALL. .-F A- B a * jju

SECTIONS OF UPPER 81LL OF THE 46 FOOTLOCK THE U : *U

, SIECTlOt44L PLAN ON LINE G H,

SECTlOH ON LINE c D.

SECTlONPlL PLANON LINE A B . INVERTED PLAN .