115-529: Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs 18 miles (29 km) from Etruria , Stoke-on-Trent , to Froghall , Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the 76-yard (69 m) Froghall Tunnel. The first plans by the proprietors of the Trent and Mersey Canal Company to construct a canal from the summit level to Leek were considered in January 1773. This would have been
230-626: A 2.5-mile (4 km) stretch of the canal from its factory in Milton to a new packaging plant near the Ivy House lift bridge in Hanley. The experiment was a success: transport by water reduced costs by 50 per cent and diminished the number of breakages of wares. Operation continued until 1990, becoming one of the last commercial narrowboat runs. Because the Caldon Canal was promoted and built by
345-528: A boat rally at Endon in May 1971, to publicise the need to restore the canal, and in February 1972 the government introduced a scheme to help local authorities to fund work on local facilities that were visually unattractive. Called "Operation Eyesore", it offered grants of up to 85 per cent for the work. Everything was now in place for the restoration, which was officially announced on 22 August 1972. Restoration of
460-494: A canal that could bring coal in from Cheshire . The owners of the River Weaver Navigation were also not happy about the proposals, because the route would almost parallel that of the river. Yet another route was published which, much to the shock of Wedgwood, did not at all include the potteries. Wedgwood, intent on having a waterway connection to his potteries, managed to send his proposal to Parliament, with
575-553: A change. Stanier introduced practices used at the Swindon Works that had been introduced by George Jackson Churchward , such as tapered boilers, long travel valves, and large bearings. His locomotives were not only more powerful, and economical, but they also ended the company's internal conflict. The war-damaged LMS was nationalised in 1948 by the Transport Act 1947 , becoming part of British Railways . It formed
690-591: A church have been built on the line of the canal. Incidentally this branch line had the first automatic, train-operated level-crossing in the UK, at Spath , just outside Uttoxeter. A few bridges from the Uttoxeter branch remain, with the occasional 'milepost', and Uttoxeter still has an area called "The Wharf". The Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust has put forward plans to re-open the Uttoxeter Branch. Part of
805-420: A competitive choice for residents of Southend , who could take LNER services from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street or LMS services from Southend Central to Fenchurch Street. The LMS was formed from the following major companies: There were also some 24 subsidiary railways, leased or worked by the above companies, and a large number of joint railways, including the UK's largest Joint Railway,
920-426: A day were moved from the quarries to the canal. Traffic gradually moved away from the canal to the railways. In 1904, Endon basin was built, where limestone brought from the quarries by the railway could be transferred to boats. One of the major users of the limestone, based at Sandbach, closed in 1920, and the cable railway to Froghall closed in the same year. Limestone was no longer transhipped at Endon from 1930, and
1035-741: A further 63 miles (101 km) of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge line. The expansionist policies of many of the constituent companies which formed the LMS, particularly the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway , resulted in the LMS owning or operating a number of lines outside its core geographical area. For instance, in 1912, the Midland Railway had purchased the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway which operated between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness , with
1150-631: A half hours. Most other major cities on the network were linked by trains with names which would become famous in railway circles including the Thames-Clyde Express between London St Pancras and Glasgow St Enoch , The Palatine between London St Pancras and Manchester Central , The Irish Mail from London Euston to Holyhead and the Pines Express conveying portions from Liverpool and Manchester to Bournemouth . Goods accounted for around 60% of LMS revenue, and
1265-414: A half million tons, could claim to indirectly employ a further 26,500 coal miners. For nearly ten years after its formation, the LMS had been run using a similar organisational structure to one of its constituents, the Midland Railway . In practice this meant that the commercial managers found themselves subservient to the needs of the operating departments. This changed in 1932 when a major restructuring
SECTION 10
#17327721649721380-616: A loop serving Tilbury . These lines were automatically included in the LMS Group, along with the rest of the Midland Railway system, which meant that the LMS had a considerable presence in a part of the country (south Essex) which could be said to form part of the natural territory of the LNER. The process of Grouping under the Railways Act did not address geographical anomalies of this kind, although this particular arrangement did provide
1495-576: A massive celebration was held in the Potteries where Josiah Wedgwood cut the first sod of soil. James Brindley was employed as engineer and work got under way." Six years before the complete opening of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1771, Wedgwood built the factory village of Etruria on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent, close to the canal. By this time, much of the canal had been built towards Preston Brook . The only obstacle that still had to be tackled by
1610-621: A much larger scale, with the Glasgow Empire Exhibition requiring 1,800 special trains, with a further 1,456 run in connection with the Blackpool Illuminations . The number of people moved was huge, with over 2.2 million holidaymakers arriving in Blackpool between the start of July and the end of September alone. Besides these mass-market events, the company also ran regular tourist excursions to
1725-538: A number of non-rolling stock items required for the everyday running of the railway. Two facilities were located in Derby, one known as Derby Loco and one as Carriage and Wagon . The former was opened in the 1840s by the North Midland , Midland Counties and Birmingham & Derby railway companies to meet their joint requirements for locomotive, carriage and wagon construction and maintenance. The latter site
1840-522: A significant source of revenue and the LMS became a specialist in the movement of large numbers of people, with locomotives and rolling stock often kept in operation just to service such seasonal traffic. In one year, the LMS ran 43 special trains to take spectators to the Grand National at Aintree , and a further 55 for the Cup Final at Wembley . Longer running events demanded operations on
1955-510: A tub-boat canal, as the boats were designed to carry just 5 tons, and rather than using locks, inclined planes were to be used at points where the level of the canal needed to change. Two more plans were considered, and the third included extra reservoirs which would supply the summit level of the existing main line. At a similar time, an independent company was planning a link to Leek, but the Trent & Mersey managed to block this. Having secured contracts with several owners of limestone quarries in
2070-821: A variety of destinations, such as Oban in the Scottish highlands, Keswick in the English Lake District , and even the First World War battlefields in Belgium , by way of the Tilbury to Dunkerque ferry service and the Belgian railways . Such was the importance of such excursion traffic that a special department was established in 1929 and oversaw the expansion from 7,500 special trains in that year to nearly 22,000 in 1938. However important
2185-613: A veteran officer of the LNWR , while commercial activities were headed by Ashton Davies, formerly of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway . Davies created a commercial research section, increased the sales force and provided them with specialist training. The emphasis of the organisation switched from operators dictating what was reasonable to the commercial managers asking what was possible to maximise sales opportunities. Thirty five district managers were appointed to oversee sales through
2300-804: Is Fradley Junction (with the Coventry Canal's "detached portion" ). The Coventry soon leads to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and branches off to Birmingham or (via another stretch of the Coventry Canal) to Coventry and a junction with the Oxford Canal and thence to the Thames and the 'Southern Half' of the English canals. The canal now heads directly to its terminus, passing through Burton upon Trent , Mercia Marina at Findern ,
2415-483: Is a 93 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (150 km) canal in Derbyshire , Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middlewich , it is a wide canal. The narrow locks and bridges are big enough for a single narrowboat 7 feet (2.1 m) wide by 72 feet (22 m) long, while
SECTION 20
#17327721649722530-496: The British Waterways Act 1983 . Under the act, a total of 82 route miles (132 km) were upgraded to Cruising Waterway standard. In 2003, many years of restoration work came to a close as Froghall Wharf, the southern terminus, was reopened to vessels. The work included a new wharf, refurbished toilet facilities and a new visitor centre. A disused lock, actually the first lock on the Uttoxeter Branch (see below),
2645-700: The Caledonian Railway , while Stoke works in Staffordshire were established in 1864 by the North Staffordshire Railway . Both were absorbed into the LMS with their parent companies, and while the former became the main workshops for the Northern Division of the LMS, the latter works were wound down, closing in 1930, all work being transferred to nearby Crewe. Smaller workshop facilities were also transferred to
2760-830: The Grand Junction Railway and by the time of grouping was the locomotive works for the LNWR. Wolverton works in Buckinghamshire had been established by the London and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s, and since 1862 (when all locomotive works had transferred to Crewe) had been the LNWR's carriage works. In 1922, one year prior to the formation of the LMS, the LNWR had absorbed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , including their works at Horwich in Lancashire, which had opened in 1886. St. Rollox railway works , north east of Glasgow, had been built in 1856 by
2875-641: The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) , jointly owned the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee lines. Being geographically the largest, and the most central of the four main post-grouping railway companies, the LMS shared numerous boundaries with both the LNER and GWR, although its overlap with the Southern Railway was limited due to the general lack of direct routes through London. The SR and
2990-753: The London Midland Region and part of the Scottish Region . British Railways transferred the lines in Northern Ireland to the Ulster Transport Authority in 1949. The London Midland & Scottish Railway Company continued to exist as a legal entity for nearly two years after Nationalisation, being formally wound up on 23 December 1949. The lines in Great Britain were rationalised through closure in
3105-858: The Midland & Great Northern , and one of the most famous, the Somerset & Dorset . The LMS was the minority partner (with the LNER) in the Cheshire Lines Committee . In Ireland there were three railways: All of the above operated, at least partially, in Northern Ireland The total route mileage of the LMS in 1923 was 7,790 miles (12,537 km). The early history of the LMS was dominated by infighting between parties representing its constituent parts, many of whom had previously been commercial and territorial rivals. This
3220-731: The River Soar Navigation (linking via Leicester to the Grand Union Canal ). Beyond the Cranfleet Cut the Trent is navigable all the way to its mouth at Trent Falls on the Humber Estuary . London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS ) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act 1921 , which required
3335-814: The Transport Act 1947 , along with the other members of the " Big Four " British railway companies ( Great Western Railway , London and North Eastern Railway and Southern Railway ), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-owned British Railways . The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Railways Act 1921 created four large railway companies which were in effect geographical monopolies, albeit with competition at their boundaries, and with some lines either reaching into competitor territory, or being jointly operated. The LMS operated services in and around London,
3450-578: The "flow-line" principle, similar to a modern assembly line , and the unit assemblies were taken to workstations, where the precision machining of the mass-produced parts ensured they all fitted accurately into position, building into a complete carriage as the unit moved along the flow line. The technique was already in use in Derby prior to grouping, and was adopted in Wolverton during 1925, with Newton Heath following two years later. By using this method,
3565-743: The "junction" with the River Weaver at Anderton Boat Lift near Northwich . After Anderton, the next major destination is Middlewich , where a junction with the 50-yard-long (46 m) Wardle Canal leads to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal which gives access to Chester , Llangollen and ( heading south on the Shropshire Union) a parallel route to Birmingham via Wolverhampton . South of Middlewich, having passed through Wheelock ,
Caldon Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-552: The 'spare' lock was replaced by a steel contrivance with guillotine gates. Theoretically, this was adjustable to compensate for further subsidence although, in practice it was less than successful and was ultimately removed altogether. Little evidence of 'Thurlwood Steel Lock' remains today. The boater can use the Macclesfield Canal to head for Marple, and the junction with the Peak Forest Canal (and hence, via
3795-743: The 1950s to 70s but the main routes survive and some have been developed for 125 mph inter-city services. Despite having widespread interests in a number of commercial areas, the LMS was first and foremost a railway organisation. It operated in all four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and in England its operations penetrated 32 of the 40 counties . The company operated around 7,000 route miles of railway line, servicing 2,944 goods depots and 2,588 passenger stations, using 291,490 freight vehicles, 20,276 passenger vehicles and 9,914 locomotives. The company directly employed 263,000 staff, and through its annual coal consumption of over six and
3910-569: The Ashton, Rochdale and Bridgewater canal) to complete the ' Cheshire Ring '. In September 2012 a serious breach occurred at Dutton Hollow near Preston Brook , which cost around £2.1 million to repair. The breach was south of bridge 213 and the canal was unusable between there and Middlewich Big Lock 75. The canal was officially reopened on 2 May 2013. After the Harecastle Tunnel (one way, alternating roughly every two hours),
4025-646: The Big Four companies to operate rail services in Northern Ireland , serving most major settlements in the region. On 1 July 1903, the Midland Railway took over the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway and operated it under the name of Midland Railway (Northern Counties Committee). On grouping, the network became part of the LMS, again operating under the name of the Northern Counties Committee , and consisted of 201 miles (323 km) of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) gauge track with
4140-572: The Caldon branch. It would also have included a reservoir at Rudyard, but the plan was short-lived, as the Trent and Mersey succeeded in getting their bill passed when they submitted it to Parliament for a second time in 1797, when the Caldon Canal Act 1797 ( 37 Geo. 3 . c. 36) was passed. To ensure that the water from Rudyard could be used to supply the main line, the Leek branch had to join
4255-606: The Cauldon Low area, the company sought an act of Parliament to authorise construction of the new works, which it obtained as the Trent and Mersey Canal Act 1776 ( 16 Geo. 3 . c. 32) in May 1776. The act enabled the proprietors to borrow £25,000 to fund the construction, which was completed in December 1778. Initially, there were 16 locks, eight rising from Etruria to the start of the summit at Stockton, and eight falling from
4370-479: The Churnet Valley Railway could be built along its course. The tramway from Froghall to Cauldon Quarries was replaced by a new cable-operated railway in 1849. It included inclined planes at Froghall, Oldridge and Cotton, and was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ). Trains consisted of up to nine waggons, each capable of holding 6 tons of limestone, and around 1,000 tons
4485-632: The Foxley can be found in the Holden Lane Pools nature reserve, as well as alongside the footpath from the reserve to the Elizabethan Ford Green Hall. The position of the former junction is marked, on a sharp bend in the canal, at a pub called The Foxley in Milton. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED] Media related to Caldon Canal at Wikimedia Commons Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal
4600-550: The Hall Green branch, simply treating it as part of the Macclesfield Canal). The actual junction where the branch leaves the main line is a normal right-angle junction called Hardings Wood Junction . The branch leaves the main line on the south side, then immediately turns 90 degrees clockwise. It runs westwards alongside the main line, maintaining the original level while the main line drops through two locks. At
4715-444: The LMS by other constituent companies, including at Barrow-in-Furness ( Furness Railway ), Bow ( North London Railway ), Kilmarnock ( Glasgow and South Western Railway ) and Inverness ( Highland Railway ). The table below shows all major works taken over by the LMS upon formation. The LMS inherited a wide variety of passenger rolling stock from its constituent companies, and appointed Robert Whyte Reid, an ex-Midland Railway man, as
Caldon Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-407: The LMS had inherited from the 35 merged companies, a system of 7,000 route miles and 19,000 track miles; accounting for 38.4% of the total mileage of the 'big four' grouped railways. It was the owner of 9,319 locomotives, 19,000 passenger-carrying vehicles, and 286,000 wagons. It operated more than 10,600 passenger trains and 15,000 goods trains a day, with a total staff of 231,000. In addition to this,
4945-423: The LMS owned 543 miles of canal, 8,950 horses, 17,000 carts, 2,000 motor vehicles, 64 steamboats and 27 docks, and was the owner of 28 hotels. The LMS operated a number of lines jointly with the other main railway companies, a situation which arose when the former joint owners of a route were placed into different post-grouping companies. Most of these were situated at or near the boundaries between two or more of
5060-426: The LMS were mainly overlapping on the West London Line . Competition with the LNER was mainly in terms of the premium London to Scotland traffic, with the rival LMS (West Coast) and LNER (East Coast) routes competing to provide ever better standards of passenger comfort and faster journey times. The LNER also competed with the LMS for traffic between London, the East Midlands , South Yorkshire and Manchester , with
5175-413: The Midlands, the North West of England, Mid/North Wales and Scotland. The company also operated a separate network of lines in Northern Ireland. The principal routes were the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line , which had been the main routes of the two largest constituent companies, the London and North Western Railway and the Midland Railway respectively. AT the time of its creation,
5290-433: The Red Bull settlement, the branch turns 90 degrees right, to head north and cross the main line on Poole Lock aqueduct. It then immediately crosses the A50 on Red Bull aqueduct, carrying boats north to join the Macclesfield Canal at Hall Green. The canal passes through the city of Stoke-on-Trent , where it meets the Caldon Canal . The canal formed an integral part of the 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival and in 1988
5405-468: The Severn, was built as the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal , whilst the southeastern arm (to the Thames) traversed the Coventry and Oxford Canals. On the Cheshire stretch of the canal, between Middlewich and the northern end of the canal in Preston Brook Tunnel, is the Victorian Anderton Boat Lift , which lowers boats fifty feet from the T&M to the River Weaver . It was restored to full operation in 2002 after twenty years of disuse, and
5520-434: The T&M climbs out of the Cheshire Plain via the 'Heartbreak Hill' locks (more traditionally known as the 'Cheshire Locks') to the summit-level and the junction with the Hall Green Branch , leading to the Macclesfield Canal at Red Bull Kidsgrove . Most of the locks in this flight are doubled, although not all of the duplicates are still usable. Of particular note was lock 53 where, because of subsidence from brine pumping,
5635-450: The Trent and Mersey Canal, might have to close permanently because of mining subsidence, a bypassing connection between the Leek Branch and the Macclesfield Canal at Bosley was mooted; fortunately Harecastle tunnel remains open to navigation.) A survey has been commissioned to investigate the possibility of extending the branch back into Leek. In November 2009 a breach occurred just beyond the northern portal of Leek Tunnel. This resulted in
5750-436: The Uttoxeter Canal to boating. The canal begins at Etruria, next to the top lock of the Stoke flight on the Trent & Mersey canal. A statue of James Brindley , the engineer for the Trent & Mersey main line, stands near the junction. Following the course of the infant River Trent , the waterway climbs to a summit level at Stockton Brook, which carries it over the watershed between the Trent and Churnet Valleys. Thereafter
5865-439: The appointment of Sir Henry Fowler as Chief Mechanical Engineer, was the continuation of the Midland Railway's small-engine policy (see Locomotives of the Midland Railway ). The LMS also implemented a novel management structure, breaking with British railway tradition, and mirroring a contemporary management practice more common in the United States, appointing a President and Vice-Presidents. On 4 January 1926, Josiah Stamp
SECTION 50
#17327721649725980-473: The availability of locomotives and rolling stock , and trained staff to step into key roles; firemen trained as drivers and locomotive cleaners trained to replace firemen. Numerous special fares were introduced to encourage travel, develop niche markets and overcome competitors. The cheap day return ticket offered return travel at a price usually equivalent to the single fare, although in areas with rival bus services they were sometimes offered at less than
6095-415: The canal above Engine Lock. The final section of its feeder was originally the Norton Green branch, a private canal built at the same time as the main line, to service a colliery. Rudyard reservoir holds 122 million cubic feet (3,500 Ml), and its feeder, which joins the Leek branch near the Churnet aqueduct, follows much of the proposed route of the Macclesfield Canal extension to Leek. Since the Caldon joins
6210-406: The canal company was the hill at Kidsgrove , through which a tunnel was being dug. Up until 1777, pots had to be carried on the short journey from Etruria, over the top of Kidsgrove Hill, and to the other side, where the canal had been constructed to Preston Brook. On 15 January 1847 the Trent and Mersey Canal was acquired by the North Staffordshire Railway Company (NSR). This was done to stifle
6325-457: The canal descends through locks at Hazelhurst and then Cheddleton, into an initially broad flood plain. At about a mile above Consall Forge, at Oak Meadow Ford Lock, the canal locks down into the River Churnet for about a mile; the reason for this is that the valley at this point is too narrow to accommodate both canal and river. High river levels can prevent vessels from using this section. At Consall Forge, river and canal part company again, and
6440-443: The canal emerges in the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent , and is soon in the middle of the city and then at Etruria , and the junction with the Caldon Canal . Leaving Etruria, the canal is soon back in open country. It is now in the upper valley of the River Trent , which the canal follows until the river becomes navigable and the canal is no longer needed. The next sizeable place is the market town of Stone . After more countryside,
6555-523: The canal makes an end-on junction with the Bridgewater Canal within Preston Brook Tunnel, from which one can access Runcorn (but no longer the Mersey or Ship Canal) in one direction and Manchester (with its many canal links) in the other direction. From the junction with the Bridgewater Canal, the T&M travels south through Preston Brook Tunnel (one-way operation, alternating each half-hour) and two smaller tunnels at Saltersford (since 2008 also one-way operation, alternating each half-hour), and Barnton to
6670-516: The canal reaches Great Haywood Junction and the towpath bridge across the junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal , which heads south to skirt Wolverhampton and join with the River Severn at Stourport-on-Severn , thus connecting the Mersey with the Severn. The next event is a right-angle bend, of no apparent significance from the boat, but this is where the canal (and the Trent itself) changes its basic direction from south-east to north-east (heading towards Nottingham). Very near
6785-522: The canal saw virtually no traffic. Responsibility for the canal passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1940, who closed the Leek branch under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (Canals) Act 1944 ( 8 & 9 Geo. 6 . c. ii). The last heavy commercial traffic was the transfer of coal from Endon to Cheddleton, which ceased in 1952. Johnson Brothers built three new, specialized barges, Milton Maid , built in 1967, Milton Queen in 1973, and Milton Princess in 1978, to convey pottery over
6900-462: The canal was completed, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels , with the company headquarters in Stone . The first known idea to build a canal between the River Mersey and the River Trent was put forward in 1755, though no action was taken at that time. In 1760, Lord Gower , a local businessman and brother-in-law of the Duke of Bridgewater , drew up a plan for the Trent and Mersey Canal. If his plan had gone ahead, this would have been
7015-466: The canal, which is now only wide enough for a single boat, continues its rural journey to Froghall. The final section, built after the main construction was finished, includes the 76-yard (69 m) Froghall Tunnel, which has limited headroom, immediately followed by Froghall Basin. The canal has one branch, the Leek Branch, which runs for 3 miles (4.8 km) and includes the 130-yard (120 m) Leek Tunnel . The Leek Branch, opened in 1800/01, meets
SECTION 60
#17327721649727130-425: The companies, but there were some notable examples which extended beyond this borderland zone. Together with the London and North Eastern Railway , the LMS ran the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network. Exceeding 183 miles (295 km), this was the largest jointly operated network in Great Britain in terms of route mileage, and extended from Peterborough to the East Anglian coast. The M&GN
7245-441: The company's goods depots, passenger stations and key dock facilities. There was even sales representation in the Irish Free State , certain European countries and North America. A monthly newsletter was produced entitled Quota News , and trophies were awarded to the best performing districts and salesmen. To provide maximum capacity during times of peak demand, the operating department re-organised maintenance schedules to maximise
7360-466: The design of their advertisement posters. In this time, fine art already had a distinguished association in Europe and North America with good taste, longevity and quality. Jeffrey wanted LMS’ commercial image to align with these qualities and therefore accepted Wilkinson's advice. For the first series of posters, Wilkinson personally invited 16 of his fellow alumni from the Royal Academy of London to take part. In letter correspondence, Wilkinson outlined
7475-406: The details of the LMS proposal to the artists. The artist fee for each participant was £100. The railway poster would measure 50 X 40 inches. In this area, the artist's design would be reproduced as a photolithographic print on double royal satin paper, filling 45 X 35 inches. The mass-produced posters were pasted inside railway stations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. LMS decided
7590-443: The distance to Preston Brook and Shardlow , Derwent Mouth is about 1 mile (1.6 km) beyond Shardlow. The plan of a canal connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk") came from canal engineer James Brindley . It was authorised by an act of Parliament , the Trent and Mersey Canal Act 1766 ( 6 Geo. 3 . c. 96) and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July that year at Brownhills, Burslem . In 1777,
7705-410: The end of the summit to Froghall. 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the canal followed the bed of the river Churnet near Consall. The company could also build railways to the quarries, and the first, which ran from Froghall across Shirley Common towards the quarries opened at the same time as the canal, but was not a success. A second act of Parliament, the Trent and Mersey Canal Act 1783 ( 23 Geo. 3 . c. 33),
7820-508: The end section being closed for eight months while repairs were carried out. The cause of the problem was thought to be an old culvert. While the canal was drained, several other sections of embankment were re-inforced, and the repaired canal was reopened on 5 July 2010. Originally, the canal also had a further 13-mile (21 km) branch, which opened in 1811. Sometimes referred to as the Uttoxeter Canal , it ran from Froghall as far south as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire and had 17 locks. The canal
7935-431: The excursion traffic was, it was the ordinary scheduled services which had to be the focus of efforts to improve the fortunes of the LMS. A number of initiatives were introduced, with the aim of making train travel more attractive and encouraging business growth. Services were accelerated, and better quality rolling stock was introduced and from 24 September 1928 sleeping cars were provided for third class ticket holders for
8050-415: The first modern canal constructed in England. James Brindley , the engineer behind many of the canals in England, did his first canal work on the Trent and Mersey, though his first job in charge of construction was on the Bridgewater Canal . In 1761, Josiah Wedgwood showed an interest in the construction of a canal through Stoke-on-Trent, the location of his Wedgwood pottery, as his business depended on
8165-466: The first time. The effect of these improvements was significant, with receipts from passenger traffic increasing by £2.9 million (equivalent to £2,226,910,000 in 2023) between 1932 and 1938. A number of premium services were offered, culminating in 1937 with the launch of the Coronation Scot , which featured streamlined locomotives hauling a nine coach train of specially constructed stock between London Euston and Glasgow Central in six and
8280-525: The former Midland main line from St Pancras (LMS) and Great Central Main Line from Marylebone (LNER) both providing express, stopping and local services between these destinations. The London to Birmingham corridor was fiercely contested with the LMS running expresses over its West Coast Main Line via Rugby , and the Great Western running services via Banbury . The LMS was also the only one of
8395-705: The government created the Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee, whose responsibility was to assist schemes to redevelop canals that were no longer commercially viable, and the survey formed the basis of a submission to that committee. With further threats of closure in 1961, the Stoke-on-Trent boat club organised a public meeting in Hanley and a cruise along the canal to Froghall in September. This attracted press coverage and local council support. There
8510-474: The grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway , the Midland Railway , the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including the Caledonian Railway ), and numerous other, smaller ventures. Besides being
8625-631: The head of its Carriage department. Reid had already started to introduce more efficient carriage building practices at the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works of the Midland Railway prior to grouping and these same practices were soon introduced to the carriage and wagon works of the former LNWR at Wolverton and the L&;YR at Newton Heath. Most railway carriages were constructed by fitting together component parts which had been roughly machined to larger dimensions than required, which were then cut to
8740-498: The help of two of his friends, Thomas Bentley and Erasmus Darwin . John Gilbert 's plan for the "Grand Trunk" canal met opposition at the eastern end where, in Burton on Trent, the locals objected to the canal passing parallel to the upper Trent navigation. In 1764, Wedgwood managed to convince Gilbert to include the Potteries in his route. In 1766, Gilbert's plan was authorised by an Act of Parliament. Later that year, "[o]n July 26th
8855-425: The initial jigs) such as doors, ventilators, windows and seats. The natural progression was to streamline the assembly process and the company introduced a method known as Progressive Construction. In this process the mass-produced parts were combined into "unit assemblies", each of which was a major sub-component of the finished carriage such as side panels, carriage ends or the roof. The workshops were organised on
8970-636: The largest inland waterway marina in the United Kingdom, and then through wide locks (the first being at Stenson ) to Shardlow and finally Derwent Mouth . It is not far from Derwent Mouth, via the River Trent, to Trentlock , the four-way junction with the Erewash Canal (dead end at Great Northern Basin, formerly a link with the Cromford Canal ), Cranfleet Cut (bypassing Thrumpton Weir to continue navigation towards Nottingham ) and
9085-529: The main line at Hazelhurst Junction, after crossing the main line on Hazelhurst Aqueduct grid reference SJ954536 . Currently the branch ends some way from Leek town centre. The original length of the canal, extending to a basin on the south side of Leek Railway Station, was filled in during the late 1950s/early 1960s to allow for the building of the Barnfields Road Industrial Estate. (When it appeared that Harecastle tunnel, on
9200-595: The main line to Froghall was completed in 1974, but the Caldon Canal Society continued to press for more to be done. Agreement was reached on how to finance restoration of the Leek branch in mid-1977, and volunteer work parties began the task of clearing the route so that it could be dredged. The main line from Etruria to Froghall and the Leek Branch were two of seven stretches of canal, formally designated as remainder waterways, which were re-classified by
9315-463: The old canal bed has been lost underneath JCB's head office and factory at Rocester , so the proposed route diverges from the original canal. Another much shorter (approximately 800-yard (730 m)) branch of the Caldon main line, the Foxley, ran from Milton in the north east of Stoke-on-Trent through Sneyd Green to Ford Green Iron Works near Smallthorne , where it ended in two parallel basins of 100 yards (91 m) each. What little remains of
9430-684: The opposition of the Canal Company to the creation of the Railway Company. In particular, the NSR had plans for a railway from Stoke-on-Trent to Liverpool, however, this line was abandoned because of opposition from other rail interests. In 1891 the North Staffordshire Railway Company obtained statutory powers to raise £400,000 (equivalent to £55,180,000 in 2023) to widen and improve the canal. By 1893
9545-610: The proprietors of the Trent and Mersey Canal Company, as such it is more properly called the Caldon Branch of that canal. It was built to carry limestone from Caldon Low Quarries which was transported to Froghall wharf via three inclined tramways. Other important traffic for the canal was coal from the Cheadle Coalfield and ironstone from the several iron ore mines in the Churnet valley and Kingsley area. The canal
9660-429: The required size and joined together by skilled coachbuilders. Reid's new method involved the use of templates or " jigs " to mass-produce components to a set pattern and size. Once these had been checked any example of a specific part could be used interchangeably with any other of the same type. The technique was applied to any item which could be manufactured in large numbers (as there were significant costs in producing
9775-523: The roof with their feet. This was a physically demanding and slow process and created major delays, so civil engineer Thomas Telford was commissioned to provide a second, wider, parallel tunnel with a towpath. This 2,926-yard-long (2,676 m) tunnel was opened in 1827. In the 1900s, the Brindley tunnel was closed because of severe subsidence, but the Telford Tunnel – although also prone to
9890-542: The safe and smooth transport of his pots. Pots transported by road were liable to be damaged and broken, and a canal near to his factory would provide fast and safe transport for his wares. Wedgwood's plan was not to connect the two rivers by canal, but to connect the potteries to the River Mersey. There was much debate about possible routes that a canal could take. Coal merchants in Liverpool felt threatened about
10005-626: The same problems – remains in use, and is the fourth-longest navigable canal tunnel in the United Kingdom . Just north of Harecastle Tunnel, the T&;M features a 'flyover' junction. The Hall Green Branch leaves the T&M mainline (which runs east–west here) on the south side, but then crosses over the main line and travels a short distance north to join the Macclesfield Canal at Hall Green Stop lock (some guides do not refer to
10120-550: The section between the Anderton Boat Lift and Middlewich had been widened and deepened to allow an increase in the maximum tonnage of boats using this section to be increased from 30 tons to 60 tons. The basin at Middlewich was widened from 16 feet (4.9 m) to 50 feet (15 m) with the erection of a concrete wall and an extension to the wharfage. The canal was dredged by a Priestman -type steam dredger which removed between 80,000 and 100,000 tons. The Grand Trunk
10235-461: The senior appointments on the operating side were of former Midland men, such as James Anderson, so that Midland ideas and practices tended to prevail over those of other constituents. For example, the Midland's system of traffic control was imposed on a system-wide basis, along with the Midland livery of Crimson Lake for passenger locomotives and rolling stock. Particularly notable, especially after
10350-419: The single fare. Companies holding large freight accounts with the LMS received reduced price season tickets for nominated employees, while commercial travellers, anglers and conveyors of racing pigeons were all tempted with special offers. Passenger miles rose quite dramatically, from a low point of 6,500 million in 1932 to 8,500 million by 1937, while at the same time the number of coaches required
10465-522: The subject advertised, but choices of style and approach were left to the artist's discretion. LMS’ open design brief resulted in a collection of posters that reflected the large capacity of destinations and experiences available with the transport organisation. For the Irish Free State , Wilkinson designed a poster in 1927 encouraging the public to avail of the LMS ferry and connecting boat trains to Ireland. For this promotion, Wilkinson's design
10580-630: The summit level of the Trent and Mersey system, it is still a valuable supply for that canal too. Although the canal was never legally closed, its traffic had declined to such an extent that by the 1960s it was almost unusable. A survey of it was carried out in 1960 by the Inland Waterway Protection Society, which had been formed in 1958 in response to the Bowes Committee report, which listed many canals which it thought should no longer be maintained. In April 1959,
10695-457: The summit level. With the coming of the railways, the Trent and Mersey Company canals were sold to the North Staffordshire Railway , with the formal takeover occurring on 15 January 1845. They were keen to promote the canals and railways as mutual feeders, and so maintained the canals, with the exception of the Uttoxeter branch, which was closed by an act of Parliament obtained in July 1847, so that
10810-407: The time taken to construct a typical carriage fell from six weeks to six days and by 1931 Derby and Wolverton were able to handle the entire LMS carriage building workload, and production at Newton Heath ceased. Each of the constituent companies of the LMS had their own liveries for locomotives and rolling stock. The board of directors of the LMS was dominated by former Midland Railway officers, and
10925-403: The top level of the Caldon branch, and so the original route with the three Park Lane locks was closed and a new route built, with a three-lock staircase between the junction and the old line of the canal. This was altered again in 1841 to the present arrangement, where the canal to Froghall passes under an aqueduct on the Leek branch, and three separate locks at Hollinhurst raise the old line up to
11040-483: The tunnel was improved to 5 feet (1.5 m) with a beam of 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m). Unfortunately the new moorings just past the tunnel remain relatively little used, as many modern boats are still too high to pass through the tunnel. A height profile gauge is located at the exit of Flintmill Lock 17 to indicate whether a boat has sufficient clearance to pass through the tunnel. The low height restriction would similarly affect proposals to reopen stretches of
11155-581: The water was used to keep the main line moving. In 1796, the company wanted to build a reservoir at Rudyard, to improve the situation, and a branch to Leek was included in the bill, as it was the only way to obtain the consent of the Leek authorities and landowners for the reservoir. The bill was defeated in Parliament, after which the Peak Forest Canal Company proposed to build a branch of their canal from Marple to Leek, and on to join
11270-700: The wide locks can accommodate boats 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, or two narrowboats next to each other. The Trent and Mersey Canal (T&M) was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth in Derbyshire to the River Mersey , and thereby provide an inland route between the major ports of Hull and Liverpool . The Mersey connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal , which it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire . Although mileposts measure
11385-531: The world's largest transport organisation, the company was also the largest commercial enterprise in the British Empire and the United Kingdom's second largest employer, after the Post Office . In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway (excluding its lines in Northern Ireland ), but its profitability was generally disappointing, with a rate of return of only 2.7%. Under
11500-531: Was a part of a larger scheme of James Brindley 's to link the four main rivers of England ( Trent , Mersey , Severn and Thames ) in a project known as the "Grand Cross". The Trent and Mersey Canal provided the northwestern arm of the cross (to the Mersey), and the northeastern arm (to the Trent). It also provided the central hub of the cross, between Great Haywood , and Fradley Junctions. The southwestern arm, to
11615-528: Was accompanied with four posters of Ireland by Belfast modernist painter, Paul Henry . The commercial success of Wilkinson and Jeffrey's collaboration manifested between 1924 and 1928, with public sale of 12,000 railway posters. Paul Henry's 1925 poster depicting the Gaeltacht region of Connemara in County Galway proved most commercially popular, with 1,500 sales. Charter and excursion trains were
11730-531: Was appointed First President of the Executive, the equivalent of a Chief executive in modern organisational structures. He added the role of chairman of the board of directors to his portfolio in January 1927, succeeding Sir Guy Granet . The arrival of the new chief mechanical engineer, William Stanier , who was brought in from the Great Western Railway by Josiah Stamp in 1932, heralded
11845-510: Was completed, replacing the traditional board of directors with an executive headed by a president, supported by vice-presidents each with responsibility for a specific area. Ernest Lemon , who had briefly held the office of Chief Mechanical Engineer pending the arrival of William Stanier became Vice-President (Railway traffic, operating and commercial), with separate chief operating and chief commercial managers of equal status reporting to him. Railway operations were directed by Charles Byrom,
11960-576: Was declared a linear Conservation Area . The towpath was upgraded in the 1990s and forms part of the National Cycle Network ( Route 5 ). A charity, the Burslem Port Trust , has been established to renovate the short Burslem arm of the Trent & Mersey Canal which will extend 3/8 mile into Burslem. The route is conveniently divided into a northern and southern section by the Harecastle Tunnel . The northern end of
12075-694: Was even more varied than passenger services, catering for a range of goods from fresh perishables such as milk, fish and meat through to bulk minerals and small consignments sent point to point between individuals and companies. Particularly notable were the Toton – Brent coal trains, which took coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to London. The LMS owned and operated a number of railway works, all of which were inherited from constituent companies. Between them these sites constructed locomotives, coaching stock, multiple units and freight wagons, as well as
12190-644: Was never a commercial success and in 1849 much of it was filled in by the North Staffordshire Railway Company and converted into the NSR Churnet Valley line from Leekbrook to Uttoxeter (which itself was finally closed for goods traffic in 1988). This line is still open as far south as Froghall, as a preserved railway, the Churnet Valley Railway . Further south, at Denstone, several buildings including
12305-505: Was obtained to authorise a new tramway, and to extend the canal by 530 yards (480 m), which included the Froghall tunnel. The tramway was 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long, and was funded out of revenue, as the act did not authorise the raising of additional capital. Traffic on the Trent and Mersey main line was such that it suffered from water shortage in dry periods, and water levels on the Caldon branch were often too low at such times, as
12420-542: Was opened in the 1860s by the Midland Railway as part of a reorganisation of facilities in Derby and left the original site to concentrate on locomotive manufacture and repair. The Midland Railway also had works at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, which had been inherited from the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway . The LNWR also contributed several works sites to the LMS. Crewe Works was opened in 1840 by
12535-480: Was particularly marked in the case of the Midland and the North Western , each of which believed its way was the right – and only – way of doing business. This rivalry was so severe, that stories of connecting trains at Birmingham New Street from the previous LNWR and MR parts of the system, being deliberately made to miss each other persisted even as late as the early 1950s, long after their demise. Many of
12650-467: Was reduced through improved maintenance and more efficient utilisation. In 1938 it opened a School of Transport in Derby to train its staff in best railway practice. The LMS's commercial success in the 1920s resulted in part from the contributions of English painter, Norman Wilkinson . In 1923, Wilkinson advised Superintendent of Advertising and Publicity of the LMS, T.C Jeffrey, to improve rail sales and other LMS services by incorporating fine art into
12765-492: Was reopened, as was the basin below it, and moorings for several boats were created. Much of the work was undertaken with volunteer aid, and funded in part by contributions from the European Regional Development Fund . Because the roof of the Froghall tunnel has always been extremely low, the 2003 restoration included lowering the water level in the pound after dredging, and thus the headroom in
12880-575: Was subject to considerable mining subsidence in the Etruria area, which eventually led to the need for an entirely new lock, Planet Lock, with a rise of just 3 feet (0.91 m), to adjust the levels. Water to the canal is supplied by three reservoirs and the River Churnet. Stanley reservoir holds 22 million cubic feet (670 Megalitres (Ml)), and joins the canal just below Endon basin, while Knypersley holds 41 million cubic feet (1,200 Ml) and joins
12995-656: Was then a proposal by the Caldon Canal Committee for the National Trust to take over the waterway, and although this did not occur, the committee became the Caldon Canal Society, and worked with the British Waterways Board towards its eventual restoration . Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council announced that they would make contributions towards the restoration in 1969. The Inland Waterways Association held
13110-548: Was then the only operational boat-lift in the United Kingdom until the construction of the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland . Another major feature is the Harecastle Tunnel , near Kidsgrove in the city of Stoke-on-Trent , north Staffordshire . There are actually two tunnels; the first was built by Brindley and was 2,880 yards (2,630 m) long, and boats were moved through by men lying on their backs and pushing against
13225-529: Was wholly incorporated into the LNER in 1936. The LMS also operated a significant joint network with the Southern Railway, in the shape of the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway . This network connected Bath and Bournemouth, and wound its way through territory nominally allocated to a third railway company, the Great Western . Through the former Midland Railway holdings, the LMS, together with
#971028