Chugging along on The Old Line

Tuesday, 26 January 2010 12:40

Strange how the same language applies to narrowboats and trains!

Ah ... but narrowboats came first, admittedly without engines. The invention of the steam engine began it all, thanks Mr Watt.

So we turned onto the Birmingham Old Line

"Chugging" along we came to the three Smethwick Locks which raise the canal. These locks were the second "attempt" at scaling the heathland  summit at Smethwick. James Brindley had originally planned a tunnel, but the soft ground was not conducive to this. So he built 6 locks up and 6 locks down, taking the canal up 491 feet above sea level and then dropping it down to the original contour level.

Soon the canal became congested, boats had to wait in queues for the locks and then there were the water level problems as the water was used by the locks up to the summit. So the solution to the water problem was two pumping engines, one at each end - one at Spon Lane in 1778 and another at Bridge Street a year later. To relieve congestion, John Smeaton built a lower line (at 473 feet) in 1789, reducing the locks to six and building duplicate locks alongside the Smethwick three.

It was these duplicate locks we ascended, Lock 3 being the bottom lock. Compare these photos - the one on the right is from our cruise on Twelfth Night in 2004. Today the bridge is Pope Bridge, it was "improved" and renamed Popes Bridge in 2007!

The original three Brindley locks remained in operation until the 1960s when they were filled in. Traces of these can be seen at the Top Lock.

Epiphany exiting the Top Lock(1) - old lock remains on left of photo. The right hand photo is a 2004 view!

Below are some other features of these locks - single (heavy) bottom gates, the middle lock, someone well wrapped up against the bitter cold, and the Smethwick Locks Bridge below the Top Lock.

The burnt out (in June 2009) replica Toll House at the Top Lock, but in 2004 it looked much better.

The Toll House was a "modern reconstruction" of a BCN Toll House. However it is sad to see it in such a state, especially as the BCNS spent time cleaning it up and painting it with anti-vandal paint. Let's hope they can restore it once again.

After the Smethwick Locks, we turned onto the Engine Arm and over Telford's Aqueduct which carries the Arm over the Main Line.

It was a tight turn left after the aqueduct - it took a bit of too-ing and fro-ing to get round!

The Arm was built in 1825 to bring water from Rotton Park (Edgbaston) Reservoir to the Smethwick Pumping Engine. It was made navigable in 1830, to enable boats to take coal to the Smethwick engine in the Engine Basin. The feeder continues, mainly covered over, from the Basin to the reservoir.

We travelled its length, now home to residential narrowboats, to the BW sani-station and winding hole at the end. There is also just room for one boat on the visitor mooring there.

Returning, we continued on towards Brasshouse Lane Bridge.

We decided to moor here - in splendid isolation - but within striking distance of Smethwick (for shops). The Galton Valley Museum is not open until the end of January, but there was some things in Smethwick worth photographing and of course I had a lot of research to do about the Pumping Station! So my next blog will be about that, I suspect!

BCN Old Main Line, Top of Smethwick Locks, a trip down the Engine Arm, to Smethwick New Pumping Station

1hr 33mins, 2 miles 3 locks