London Rail

Tag: canal

  • 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…

  • The Bridgewater canal breach #2

    Many things have been happening in the aftermath of the Bridgewater canal breach which occurred in the early hours of New Years Day 2025 where the navigation crosses the River Bolin valley. The location is just a short distance from the National Trust’s Dunham Massey house. This past couple of days there’s been a Boater’s…

  • The Bridgewater canal breach

    In my archives I have a book commemorating the reconstruction of the Bridgewater canal following a massive breach that occurred in 1971 – and the surprise is the same thing has happened again at pretty much the same location – except this time its much worse than previous. Its not the first canal breach I…

  • The Cromford canal at Butterley

    Its intriguing to see Trekking Exploration’s (formerly Trekking and Towpaths) walk along the Cromford Canal! So far there have been three videos covering this. First there was the canal from Langley Mill to the Beggarlee diversion, then the Pinxton arm and the local railways, and thirdly the walk up the Golden Valley to the Butterley…

  • The Paddington shop that wasn’t there!

    Bishop’s Bridge Paddington, sited high above the railway tracks, was formerly the iconic bow girder construction that stood right across the Paddington station throat. Upon its roadway level there were a number of buildings that could be accessed and these included cafes, railway offices and the Paddington suburban/Metropolitan platforms ticket hall. The construction was built…

  • Young’s Brewery canal

    This is a follow up to other stuff on Wandsworth’s Young’s Ram brewery and the Surrey Iron Railway. Some further stuff related to the former waterway (known as McMurrays canal) which served the town and its brewery was found thus this post was created. Since there’s very little written on this canal, it seemed a…

  • Coventry Canal #2

    The Coventry Canal opened in 1769, that’s 250 years ago. Its architect, James Brindley, worked on the scheme for a few months before being sacked. It must be the only occasion which this most notable engineering genius was told he was no longer wanted. The first part of the canal from Bedworth into Coventry was…

  • Coventry Canal

    The Coventry Canal was one of the country’s earliest waterways to be opened following the success of the Bridgewater Canal. The section from Coventry to Atherstone was opened in 1769, and the rest of the canal followed as time went on eventually bringing it a total of 27 miles to Fradley junction (not forgetting the…

  • The Grand Surrey Canal #2

    In the first instalment of this two part series, I looked at Oxestalls Road bridge, the Timberyard development and Blackhorse bridge, plus the wharves in between and the canal towards Trundleys Road. This second post covers the section north from Oxestalls Road bridge towards Greenland Dock. The picture at the top of page shows the…

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