Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

168 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. others, which are now reaping the full advan- tage of their enterprise. Already the Manchester Dock Estate covers an area of 406| acres, including a water space A Valuable Link in our Waterways. of 120 acres, 286J acres in Manchester Dock Estate. nected with the docks. The dock lines and sidings alone exceed 80 miles in length ; and before the Canal had been opened three years, the rail- way traffic in and out aver- aged 2,500 trucks per week. In addition a large volume is dealt with by the fourteen independent canal systems in communication with the Ship Canal. Together, these serve 750 square miles of country, and furnish a valuable link in differ- ent water routes such as does not exist in any other part of the United Kingdom. The hearts of the promoters thrilled with joy at 10.30 p.m. on November 25, 1893, when they were able to announce to every section of the Ship Canal was full of water. A month later the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury issued the warrant constituting Manches- ter a harbour and port for Customs purposes ; and on January 1, 1894, the Canal was opened for traffic, the event being celebrated by the entrance into the docks of no fewer than seventy-one vessels of large and small tonnage. This was, indeed, an auspicious beginning, and its significance was emphasized by the State ceremonial with which Queen Victoria, on May 21 following, inaugu- rated the magnificent enter- prise. On that occasion her late Majesty uttered words which will never be forgotten: “ The immense undertaking which I have this day opened has filled me with admiration. Ex- ceptional engineering as well as other difficulties have been overcome, and the commerce of the world has been brought into direct communi- cation by sea with your great city and its neighbourhood. ’ ’ Many improvements have since been effected, chiefly in the direction of increasing the ter- minal facilities at the docks in Manchester, and it is now claimed that the Canal affords one the world that The Canal filled with Water. with quays 6| miles long and extent. There are eight docks in existence, and a site, in a splendid position, has been reserved for another dock of large dimensions. The largest of the present range, occupying a portion of the old Manchester racecourse, is 2,700 feet long, 250 feet wide, and 28 feet deep. It has a water area of 15| acres, and with its transit sheds and railway sidings cost nearly £500,000. Here, as over the Dock Estate as a whole, the equipment is in every detail of the most approved character, giving the port the highest position in regard to the rapid handling of every class of goods. The entrance lock at Manchester opens into a turning basin more than a quarter of a mile wide, giving access to three branch docks, from 250 to 225 feet wide, with in- tervening quays 263 feet wide. From the turning basin the Canal is continued to the Ir- well above Trafford Road. There the river has been widened to 200 feet, with a view to securing an adequate approach to the upper docks, which have four arms, from 120 to 150 feet wide, provided with sheds and lines of rails. All the railways in Manchester are now con- Queen Victoria opens the Canal. The Turning Basin.