Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

164 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. and to continue it to the top of the embank- Canal, and also at Runcorn ; and in com- ment. This section was, during the prevalence of north-westerly gales, continually exposed to rough weather, and several times the rubble was displaced before it could Strong protected by the heavy stone pitching. Consequently it was resolved to deposit rough blocks of stone, which were afterwards dressed to form the pitching. Like that in Pool Hall Bay, this embank- ment had not only to retain at low tide the water in the Canal when completed, but also, during construction, to ex- Abnormal cjuje tidai water of the rides. estuary from the cuttings. Both had therefore to be thoroughly water- tight, so that, even when agitated by a storm, the estuary water might not be forced through or over the top of the embankment. These precautionary measures proved essential, in- asmuch as tides rose very high during gales of wind, and on one occasion attained a height of seven feet above the maximum point ex- pected. From the sluices of the river Weaver to No Man’s Land at Runcorn an embankment, 14,100 feet in length, had to be constructed, and thence a concrete wall, Canal opened 4 390 feet long, was carried to ... Runcorn Lock. A lock was Weaver Sluices provided at Weston Marsh to give an entrance from the Ship Canal to ’ the Weaver Navigation ; and when a dam had been put across the Canal just above the Weaver sluices, the Canal was complete from the dam to Eastham—four years after the contract had been let. The Weston-Mersey Lock, which was fitted with five pairs of gates, was completed in twelve months, which was regarded as the shortest time on record for a lock of its size. Locks of similar width (45 feet) were con- structed at the entrance to the Bridgewater menting upon the embankments and locks generally, Sir E. Leader Will- iams acknowledged that praise Good 0 1 Work was due to the contractor done “ both in regard to rapidity of execution and to the good quality of the work.” Immediately below Runcorn Docks there is a lay-by, 1,500 feet long, with a depth of 28 feet of water alongside, equipped with salt tip, movable cranes, and other appliances. Sailing vessels, Provision whose lower masts, after strik- _ ,, Tall-masted ing topmasts, are too high to Ships enable them to pass under the fixed bridges, are here berthed, so that their cargoes may be discharged overside, and light- ered to Manchester, without any extra cost to the importer beyond the Canal toll. The Runcorn Docks, to which the Bridge- water Canal Lock forms the entrance, are used extensively for export and im- port trade. For a length of Runcorn 1,500 feet the quays have a Docks, frontage to the Ship Canal. From Runcorn to Latchford the Canal runs inland, on what is approximately a straight course, the tidal influence ending at the locks at the latter place. A cutting three miles long connects the tidal portion of the Canal with Cæial turns the river Mersey, which, to its confluence with the Irwell, has been absorbed in the more direct course pursued by the Canal. The Manchester system of docks be- gins at Mode Wheel. Below these, for a dis- tance of two miles, the bottom width of the Canal increases from 120 feet to 170 feet, allow-