THE POST - 1948 DEVELOPMENT OF, AND PROSPECTS FOR, INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT IN BRITAIN by MARK WALKER BALDWIN MA MSc MICE DIC A thesis submitted to the University of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Engineering Department of Civil Engineering Imperial College of Science and Technology March 1978 ABSTRACT The post-1948 development of, and prospects for, inland water transport in Britain Mark Walker Baldwin Although the Transport Act of 1947 brought a considerable number of British waterways under unified control, this did not provide suitable conditions for the continued development of freight-carrying waterways. The short-comings of the Act, namely its inclusion of many obsolete waterways and simultaneous exclusion of many profitable ones, had repercussions which are still felt today. A survey of the transport use of British waterways shows this clearly; normal estimates of waterway traffics are one order of magnitude too low. Despite numerous recommendations, the framework in which transport planning and investment takes place does not treat all modes equally. Waterways are especially discriminated against both at national and local level. This is contrary both to the spirit and the letter of EEC legislation, yet there appear to be no moves to correct this. Experience both at home and in other European countries show that waterways are well suited to trunk-hauling bulk goods, and that long life of craft and structures, large vessel size and low fuel costs more than offset the low speeds involved. Waterways also have significant uses besides transport; these include water transfer, and recreation, neither of which need seriously jeopardize navigation. The reasons for the current restricted extent of waterways in this country are not technical nor topographical; if all transport modes were treated com- parably, greater use of waterways would almost certainly result. Given Britain's needs for freight transport and water supply, there is a strong case for a complete reappraisal of the generally held views on waterways. 3 CONTENTS page no List of Illustrations 6 List of Tables 9 List of Abbreviations 12 PREFACE 13 CHAPTER 1 Brief history of inland waterway 16 developments in United Kingdom to 1947 CHAPTER 2 British commercial waterway policy and 27 administration, 1948 to 1962 2.1 The 1947 Transport Act 27 2.2 The Docks and Inland Waterways Executive 31 2.3 The Rusholme Report (1954) 39 2.4 Commodities carried by waterway 42 2.4.1 Solid fuels 43 2.4.2 Bulk liquids 45 2.4.3 General merchandise 45 2.5 Independent waterways 46 2.6 The Bowes Report (1958) 50 2.7 The 1962 Transport Act 55 2.8 Conclusion 55 CHAPTER 3 British commercial waterway policy and 57 administration, 1963-1975 3.1 The British Waterways Board, 1963-1968 57 3.2 The Transport Act of 1968 and its effect on 63 the British Waterways Board 3.3 The independent waterways 66 3.4 Public interest in waterways 79 3.5 Conclusion 83 CHAPTER 4 The present status of the waterway industry 85 in Great Britain 4.1 Introduction 85 4.2 Definitions of inland waterway and inland water 85 transport 4.3 British commercial waterways - extent and ownership 86 4.4 British commercial waterways - present transport 91 role 4.5 Coastal shipping 96 4.6 Organisation of the inland waterway industry 102 4.6.1 Track control 102 4.6.2 Carriers 104 4 page no 4.7 Government and Civil Service attitudes 110 4.7.1 The Transport Supplementary Grant 110 4.7.2 The Sheffield g< South Yorkshire 114 Navigation improvement scheme 4.8 Parliamentary Committees 117 4.9 Conclusion 118 CHAPTER 5 The role of waterways in Europe 120 5.1 Introduction 120 5.2 The European waterway system 121 5.2.1 Belgium 123 5.2.2 France 125 5.2.3 Germany (West) 127 5.2.4 Netherlands 130 5.2.5 Italy 131 5.3 International co-operation in Europe 132 5.3.1 Current European waterway projects 134 5.3.1.1 Main-Danube Canal 134 5.3.1.2 Rhone-Rhine Canal 136 5.3.1.3 The Moselle 137 5.4 FEC transport policy and legislation 139 5.4.1 Abolition of discrimination by carriers 141 5.4.2 Establishment of free competition 142 5.4.3 Transport as a public service 142 5.4.4 Normalisation of accounts 143 5.4.5 Aid for transport 147 5.4.6 Statistics and accounting 148 5.5 Conclusion 150 CHAPTER 6 Topography, industry and transport in Great 152 Britain 6.1 Introduction 152 6.2 Basic topographical features 152 6.3 The influence of port distribution on the need 157 for inland freight transport 6.4 Coastal shipping as a distributor 163 6.5 Inland demand for bulk trunking 165 6.5.1 Coal, coke and other solid fuels 165 6.5.2 Petroleum and petroleum products 165 6.5.3 Steel-making materials and products 167 6.5.4 Import/export traffics 171 6.5.5 Offshore traffics and refuse 174 6.6 Transit use of waterways 175 6.7 Coastal craft and sea-going barges 175 6.8 Conclusion 176 5 page no CHAPTER 7 Costs of waterway construction and operation 178 7.1 Introduction 178 7.2 Land-take and severance 178 7.3 Construction costs 184 7.4 Operation and maintenance costs of waterways 187 7.5 Operation and maintenance costs of inland craft 193 7.6 Conclusion 202 CHAPTER 8 Non-transport benefits and costs of waterways 204 8.1 Introduction 204 8.2 Water supply 204 8.2.1 Examples of water supply from canals 207 8.3 Water transfer 209 8.3.1 Examples of canals as water transfer 210 routes 8.4 Drainage 213 8.5 Recreation 214 8.6 Personal accidents 219 8.7 Pollution 223 8.8 Environment and amenity 224 8.8.1 Noise and vibration 224 8.8.2 Visual amenity 225 8.9 Conclusion 226 CHAPIER 9 Summary and Conclusions 228 Bibliography 234 Notes and References 239 APPENDIX 1 British waterways carrying commercial traffic 266 in 1947 but not nationalised under the Trans- port Act 1947 APPENDIX 2 British waterways carrying commercial traffic 268 in 1974 but not controlled by the British Waterways Board APPENDIX 3 British waterways not controlled by the British 273 Waterways Board on which carrying has recently ceased APPENDIX 4 British waterways, commercial traffic (tonnes), 275 by movement type and waterway type, 1973 and 1974 APPENDIX 5 British waterways, commercial traffic (t-km), 285 by movement and type and waterway type, 1973 and 1974 Index 291 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Number 1 UK, water and rail networks, estimated lengths, 1760-1900 20 2 British waterways, estimated freight tonnages, 1913-1948 25 3 Great Britain, sketch map showing waterways nationalised by Transport Act, 1947 29 4 British Transport Commission, waterway freight tonnages, 1948-1962 34 5 British Transport Commission, waterway freight tonne-km, 1948-1962 35 6 Great Britain, freight tonne-km, by mode, 1948- 1962 36 7 Sketch map showing Rusholme Report groupings, 1954 40 8 British Transport Commission waterways, freight tonne-km, by commodity, 1948-1962 44 9 Manchester Ship Canal, sea-borne and barge freight tonnages 1948-1962 47 10 Bridgewater Canal, freight tonnages, 1948-1962 48 11 River Colne Navigation, dues income, 1948-1962 49 12 Dartford gi Crayford Navigation, freight tonnages, 1948-1962 51 13 Sketch map showing Bowes Report groupings, 1958 52 14 Sketch map showing 'Future of the Waterways' groupings, 1963 60 15 Sketch map showing 'Facts about the Waterways' groupings, 1965 61 16 British Waterways Board waterways, freight tonnages, 1963-1974 67 17 British Waterways Board waterways, freight tonne-km, by commodity, 1963-1974 68 Illustrations Page Number 18 Great Britain, freight tonne-km, by mode, 1963-1974 69 19 Manchester Ship Canal, seaborne, barge and sludge 70 tonnages, 1963-1974 20 Bridgewater Canal, freight tonnages, by commodity, 1963-1974 71 21 River Colne Navigation, dues income and freight tonnages, 1963-1974 73 22 Estimated Thames lighter traffic, 1963-1974 75 23 Dartford g.( Crayford Navigation, freight tonnages, by commodity, 1963-1974 77 24 Great Britain, sketch map showing commercial waterways in north-east Midlands, by owner, 1974 89 25 Great Britain, estimated mainland coastline freight tonnages, by commodity, 1948-1974. 99 26 (a) Great Britain, tonnage of coal used by gas-works, 1955- 1974 101 (b)North Thames and South Eastern Gas Boards, number of craft owned, 1955-1974. (c)North Thames and South Eastern Gas Boards, total tonnage of craft owned, 1955-1974 27 (a) Central Electricity Generating Board, number of craft 103 owned, 1955-1974 (b) Central Electricity Generating Board, average size of craft owned, 1955-1974 28 Great Britain, inland carrying craft in Humberside area, all types, by capacity, 1975 107 29 Great Britain, inland waterway carriers in Humberside area, by company fleet size, 1975 108 30 Europe, commercial inland waterway network, 1977 122 31 Great Britain, mainland ground above 100m above sea level. 156 32 Europe, freight transport demand factors, by country, 1974 162 33 Great Britain, coal fields and coal-fired power stations, 1976 166 Illustrations Page Number 34 Great Britain, pipelines for petroleum, petroleum products and chalk, 1975 168 35 Europe, cost of oil transport relative to haul length, by mode, 1967 169 36 Europe, cost of oil transport relative to consignment quantity, by mode, 1967 170 37 Diagrammatic waterway cross-sections 180 38 France, construction costs of locks of various sizes, 1969 188 39 France, total costs of locks of 185m x 12m, 1969 189 40 UK, age distribution of coastal craft, 1974/5 194 41 Great Britain, inland waterway craft transport output per unit fuel consumption versus size of cargo carried, 1975 198 42 Europe, estimated break-even point between road and inland waterway transport, 1972 201 43 Main-Danube Canal, elevation showing