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37-586: Norwood Tunnel was a 2,884-yard-long (1.639 mi; 2,637 m), 9-foot-3-inch-wide (2.82 m) and 12-foot-high (3.7 m) brick (3 million of them) lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood , Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton , South Yorkshire , England. The Chesterfield Canal 's Act of Parliament was passed on 28 March 1771. James Brindley

74-465: A circular ramp on the other side of the river but the same side of the bridge, and then passed through the bridge hole to continue on its way. This had the benefit that the rope did not have to be detached while the transfer took place. Where the towpath reached a lock, which was spanned by a footbridge at its tail, the southern section of the Stratford-on-Avon Canal used split bridges so that

111-538: A large hole in a field near the road to Harthill . With only minimal boat-traffic on the declining canal the cost of repairing the fall could not be justified and the tunnel has remained blocked ever since, splitting the Chesterfield Canal into two sections. The Chesterfield Canal has been restored as far as the Eastern Portal of the Norwood Tunnel largely through the efforts of Chesterfield Canal Trust. Part of

148-477: A large part of the summit pound of the canal, with Norwood Locks descending from the Western Portal and Thorpe Locks descending some 2.2 miles (3.5 km) to the east of the Eastern Portal. The tunnel did not have a towpath , and narrowboats were therefore pushed through the tunnel by their crews. This process of the crew pushing against the walls or roof of a canal tunnel with their legs in order to propel

185-463: A self-propelled tug. There have been suggestions that it involved a moving chain or rope, powered by a steam engine, but nothing further was heard of the idea, as no action was taken. The Norwood Tunnel was formally opened on 9 May 1775, with the Derby Mercury newspaper carrying a report of the celebrations. Some 300 people, including Henshall and some of the principal workmen, were transported through

222-468: A small steam locomotive borrowed from Crewe Works was used to tow boats. The locomotive ran on 18 in ( 457 mm ) gauge tracks, and was similar to Pet , which is preserved in the National Railway Museum at York . It pulled trains of two and four boats at 7 mph (11 km/h), and experiments were also tried with eight boats. The canal's engineer, G. R. Webb, produced a report on

259-404: A towpath, and began to encourage leisure usage by walkers, anglers and in some areas, cyclists. The steady development of the leisure use of the canals and the decline of commercial traffic has resulted in a general acceptance that towpaths are open to everyone, and not just boat users. The concept of free access to towpaths is now enshrined in the legislation which transferred responsibility for

296-519: Is more commonly used. Canal tunnels were made in the Kingdom of Travancore as early as 1876. Towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river , canal , or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle , beasts of burden , or a team of human pullers to tow a boat , often a barge . This mode of transport was common where sailing was impractical because of tunnels and bridges, unfavorable winds , or

333-586: Is no towpath. The horse would be led over the hill and the boat would be propelled by legging . The term "canal tunnel" is not commonly applied to tunnels used to conduct water (for irrigation, water supply, etc.), such as the 48-kilometre-long Arpa - Sevan tunnel in Armenia (see List of longest tunnels ), or a number of tunnels on the Irtysh–Karamay–Ürümqi Canal in China. For those, the term water tunnel

370-661: The Chesterfield Canal in 1847. It has been claimed that the tunnel may have been lengthened or shortened when the Sheffield to Gainsborough railway was built nearby, but a map of its predecessor, the proposed Manchester & Lincoln Union Railway of 1845, shows the portals in their current locations. Hadfield states that Bradshaw quoted the length as 3,102 yards (1.763 mi; 2,836 m), and that many modern sources follow this example. Examples include Cumberlidge, although Nicholson quotes 2,893 yards (1.644 mi; 2,645 m). Richardson quotes 2,880 yards (1.636 mi; 2,633 m),

407-460: The River Severn , the situation was improved by the creation of towing path companies in the late 1700s. The companies built towing paths along the banks of the river, and four such companies improved a section of 24 miles (39 km) in this way between Bewdley and Coalbrookdale . They were not universally popular, however, as tolls were charged for their use, to recoup the capital cost, and this

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444-579: The Trent and Mersey Canal , opened in April 1775, although its length is also the subject of debate, being quoted as 2,880 yards (1.636 mi; 2,633 m) by Rees and 2,897 yards (1.646 mi; 2,649 m) by de Salis, in Bradshaw. Hadfield acknowledges that it may have been extended when Thomas Telford 's second Harecastle Tunnel was constructed. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) purchased

481-675: The English and Welsh canals from British Waterways to the Canal & River Trust in 2012. Cycling permits are no longer required by the Canal & River Trust. However, not all canal towpaths are suitable for use by cyclists, and conflicts can arise between the differing user groups, leading to campaigns such as Stay Kind, Slow Down. Parts of some towpaths have been incorporated into the National Cycle Network , and in most cases this has resulted in

518-462: The US with cross-country skiers and snowmobile users. Although historically not designed or used as towpaths, acequia ditch banks also are popular recreational trails. In Britain, most canals were built, owned and operated by private companies, and the towpaths were deemed to be private, for the benefit of legitimate users of the canal. The nationalisation of the canal system in 1948 did not result in

555-565: The area around Norwood Hill had plentiful coal deposits, but a clause in the Act of Parliament stated that all minerals found during the construction of the canal remained the property of the person from whom the land had been bought, and so the canal company had to negotiate with the Duke of Leeds to buy supplies of coal, in some cases from their own land. An intriguing aspect of the project occurred in May 1774, when

592-617: The canal West of the tunnel from Chesterfield to Staveley has also been restored. Further restoration is proceeding. Current plans for the tunnel include the opening up of the tunnel in the Kiveton Park area, creating a cutting followed by the restoration of the remaining tunnel to Norwood. Canal tunnel The longest canal tunnel in the world is the Rove Tunnel in France , currently disused. Other notable examples of canal tunnels include

629-438: The company appears to have been benevolent towards the families of those bereaved by the work. Brindley told the committee on 26 June 1772 that he expected the tunnel to be completed in two years, and the whole canal in four. He did not live to see either event, as he died on 24 September. John Varley was left to continue alone as acting chief engineer after the death of Brindley. In 1774, Hugh Henshall , Brindley's brother-in-law

666-830: The end of July 1775 an auction of equipment, which had been used to construct the tunnel, was held at the eastern portal: 1 Horse Gin complete, Wheel 14 feet diam, pulleys 3 feet 6 inches - 1 Horse Gin complete, Wheel 11 feet diam, pulleys 3 feet 6 inches - 1 Horse Gin complete, Wheel 10 feet diam, pulleys 2 feet 8 inches - 1 Water Engine Wheel, 20 feet diameter - 1 Water Engine Wheel, 17 feet diameter - 1 Water Engine Wheel, 16 feet diameter - 9 Turn Barrels and Stand Trees - 20 Yards of Pump Trees, 8 inch bore - 4, 6 inch Cast Metal Working Pieces - 1 Wind Engine - 2 Pair of Smiths Bellows - 4 Horse Water Tubs - A number of Rollers fixed in Frames for Slide Rods, Drum Wheels and Chains, and Slide and Pump Rod Joints. The Norwood Tunnel formed

703-474: The expected costs of laying rails along the towpaths, but nothing more was heard of the project, and the advent of steam and diesel powered boats offered a much simpler solution. The ' mules ' which assist ships through the locks of the Panama Canal are a modern example of the concept. Towpaths are popular with cyclists and walkers, and some are suitable for equestrians . In snowy winters they are popular in

740-478: The faces of the arch. These too soon developed deep grooves, but could be more easily replaced than the stonework of the bridge. While bridges could be constructed over relatively narrow canals, they were more costly on wide navigable rivers, and in many cases horse ferries were provided, to enable the horse to reach the next stretch of towpath. In more recent times, this has provided difficulties for walkers, where an attractive river-side walk cannot be followed because

777-400: The horse line did not have to be detached. The rope passed through a small gap at the centre of the bridge between its two halves. One problem with the horse towing path where it passed under a bridge was abrasion of the rope on the bridge arch. This resulted in deep grooves being cut in the fabric of the bridge, and in many cases, the structure was protected by cast iron plates, attached to

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814-452: The minute book records that five shillings (£0.25 (equivalent to £40 in 2023)) was paid to a Mr Samuel Watt on 22 May, for making a model of a machine to draw boats through the tunnel and demonstrating it to the Committee. It is not known whether Watt was related to James Watt , who had developed an improved steam engine in the 1760s, and it was clearly too early for the machine to have been

851-436: The narrowboat through the tunnel is called Legging . There is some discrepancy as to the actual length of the tunnel. Sources dating from the construction, including the report in the Derby Mercury , quoted the length as 2,550 yards (1.449 mi; 2,332 m). Both Hadfield and Roffey use this length, with Roffey claiming that it was the second longest tunnel when built. Brindley's other great tunnel, that at Harecastle on

888-497: The narrowness of the channel. After the Industrial Revolution , towing became obsolete when engines were fitted on boats and when railway transportation superseded the slow towing method. Since then, many of these towpaths have been converted to multi-use trails and footpaths . They are still named towpaths — although they are now only occasionally used for the purpose of towing boats. Early inland waterway transport used

925-697: The proposed Stad Ship Tunnel in Norway , a proposed tunnel for sea going vessels, Standedge Tunnel , the longest, deepest and highest in the United Kingdom and Harecastle Tunnel , another noteworthy tunnel in the UK. The oldest canal tunnel in the world is the Malpas Tunnel also in France, built in 1679. In some canal tunnels the towpath continues through the tunnel. In other cases, especially on English narrow canals, there

962-404: The rivers, and while barges could use sails to assist their passage when winds were favourable or the river was wide enough to allow tacking, in many cases this was not possible, and gangs of men were used to bow-haul the boats. As river banks were often privately owned, such teams worked their way along the river banks as best they could, but this was far from satisfactory. On British rivers such as

999-530: The same as Rees's length for the Harecastle Tunnel. Skempton, in his entry for John Varley, quotes the length as 2,884 yards (1.639 mi; 2,637 m), acknowledging that there is wide divergence across many publications. He confirms that there is no evidence for the tunnel being lengthened or shortened, explaining that the quoted length has been derived by using the Ordnance Survey grid references for

1036-635: The towpath changes sides and the ferry is no more. Not all haulage was by horses, and an experiment was carried out on the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal in 1888. Following suggestions by Francis W. Webb, the Mechanical Engineer for the London and North Western Railway at Crewe Works , rails were laid along a 1-mile (1.6 km) stretch of the towpath near Worleston, and

1073-581: The towpath on the Chesterfield Canal changes to the south bank while it passes through the Osberton Estate, as the Foljambes, who lived in Osberton Hall, did not want boatmen passing too close to their residence. On canals, one solution to the problem of getting the horse to the other side was the roving bridge or turnover bridge, where the horse ascended the ramp on one side, crossed the bridge, descended

1110-471: The towpaths becoming public rights of way . Subsequent legislation, such as the Transport Act 1968 , which defined the government's obligations to the maintenance of the inland waterways for which it was now responsible, did not include any commitment to maintain towpaths for use by anyone, however, some ten years later British Waterways started to relax the rule that a permit was required to give access to

1147-490: The tunnel on three boats. They were accompanied by a musical band, and the journey took one hour and one minute. The length of the tunnel was stated as being 2,550 yards (1.45 mi; 2,330 m), with a maximum depth below ground level of 36 yards (33 m), and it was completely straight, as someone looking in at one end could see the daylight at the other. At the time it held the record for Britain's longest canal tunnel jointly with James Brindley's Harecastle Tunnel . At

Norwood Tunnel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-595: The tunnel portals, and using Pythagorus's theorem to calculate the length. A large colliery was developed above the tunnel, operated by the Kiveton Park Colliery Company. The removal of coal from seams under the tunnel caused major subsidence problems - segments began to sink. As the water level was constant the roof became nearer to the water surface. In 1871 the MSLR started what would be twenty years of roof-raising to keep Norwood Tunnel passable. The total cost

1221-565: Was appointed as the chief engineer, and having raised the capital in just four months, the proprietors instructed him to start work on 11 July 1771. John Varley was the Clerk of the Works, and undertook the day-to-day management of the project. With plenty of optimism, they decided that work should start at Norwood Hill on the construction of the Norwood Tunnel. The work was difficult, and there were numerous accidents, with some men losing their lives, although

1258-403: Was made chief engineer, with John Varley keeping the position of resident engineer. Apart from a short section in the middle, the tunnel was lined with bricks, and so the company established a brickworks at Harthill, and advertised for brickmakers. Three million bricks would be required, and the company would supply the materials and the coal needed to fire them. This should have been easy to do, as

1295-457: Was not completed on this section until 1822. On the River Avon between Stratford-upon-Avon and Tewkesbury , a towpath was never provided, and bow-hauling continued until the 1860s, when steam tugs were introduced. While towing paths were most convenient when they stayed on one side of a canal, there were occasions where it had to change sides, often because of opposition from landowners. Thus

1332-477: Was resented on rivers where barge traffic had previously been free. With the advent of artificial canals, most of them were constructed with towpaths suitable for horses. Many rivers were improved by artificial cuts, and this often gave an opportunity to construct a towing path at the same time. Even so, the River Don Navigation was improved from Tinsley to Rotherham in 1751, but the horse towing path

1369-439: Was £17,043 (equivalent to £2,351,034 in 2023), said at the time to be £7 per linear yard. The raising of practically the whole length of the tunnel roof was done by prolonging the side walls and rebuilding the semi-circular arch. It is this work that obfuscates the originality or otherwise of the construction shafts. After days of heavy rain a 12–14-yard (11–13 m) section of the tunnel collapsed on 18 October 1907, leaving

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