London Rail

Tag: canal

  • Pontcysyllte aqueduct chaos!

    View of the aqueduct taken in 2004 by the author. This, the featured image, is taken from the same position where the narrowboat photos for the AI generated videos were shot – as discussed below. When the canals have so many problems such as breaches and the likes, like the massive breach on the Bridgewater…

  • The Rove canal tunnel #2

    This is the second part of the posts covering the Rove canal tunnel. In the first part the canal was approved and construction given the go ahead. The canal and the tunnel’s construction finally began in 1905(**). Due in part to the massive Rove tunnel, it was predicted that the Marseille-Rhône canal would take eight…

  • The Rove canal tunnel

    This is a special feature covering the Rove tunnel in France. This follows on from the recent Railways and Canal Tunnels series. Rove tunnel deserves a whole post because there’s very little in the way of English websites or blogs featuring this gigantic tunnel. The enormous subterranean waterway system, which was built for inland transportation…

  • The Bridgewater canal breach #5

    Here’s the latest on the Bridgewater canal’s woes as work to repair/rebuild the disastrous breach at Dunham Massey gets underway! Having now done this fifth instalment on the Bridgewater – it somehow feels like I’m Ryan the Ride Mechanic! Instead of discussing the engineering problems of theme park rides (of which a few have been…

  • Railways and canal tunnels #4

    In writing about railways and canal tunnels one might perhaps wonder why railways and canals in general are not the subject of discussion – apart from the Railway and Canal Historical Society who have existed since the 1950s with the aim of bringing history and topics on both together. There’s no doubt railways were substantially…

  • The Bridgewater canal breach #4

    This fourth instalment is three months on from the previous. Perhaps the biggest news so far is the Bridgewater company has given what seems a possibly optimistic date for re-opening the canal. On the 17th April their Facebook page announced a date of December 2026. Its quite optimistic given the scale of the breach, especially…

  • Railways and canal tunnels #3

    This third instalment looks at the longest canal tunnel in the UK and a long forgotten canal built underneath the centre of Manchester – and how the railways took advantage of this subterranean canal. Despite a dearth of canal tunnels across the pond this instalment also includes two examples of tunnel in the States (which…

  • Railways and canal tunnels #2

    This is part two of the railways and canal tunnels feature. Whilst it was suggested one of the earliest contractors railways had occurred during the mid 1780s as suggested in part one of this feature, the fullest history is incomplete there in terms of railway chronology – and that is because the next railway/canal combo…

  • Railways and Canal Tunnels

    When one thinks of railways and ‘canal tunnels’ one thing would come to mind and its the Canal Tunnels that belong to Thameslink! They are indeed named after the Regent’s Canal beneath which they pass. Its misleading however because they are not strictly a tunnel like that nearby at Islington where the same canal passes…

  • The Bridgewater canal breach #3

    A few days ago much of northern England was shivering in temperatures of minus 6 or more. That didn’t stop the preserved railways running services, even though some began their operations late because of the need to unfreeze equipment or water supplies. The countryside was resplendent in glorious white scenery however and that was also…

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