Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view from South showing bridge no. 8.

Description Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view from South showing bridge no. 8.

Date 1900 to 1930

Collection Collection of photographs by George Chrystal and Francis Maxwell Chrystal, photographers, Edinburgh,

Catalogue Number SC 785626

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 7071

Scope and Content Union Canal, Edinburgh, looking north towards Bridge No 8 (closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) The canal was 11.3m wide at the surface and 1.5m deep, and cut through great stretches of rich agricultural land along much of its 50.8km length. A towpath, which followed the line of the bank, was broad enough to allow pairs of horses to draw the larger barges and passenger boats. Stables (right), with a dwelling house at one end, were constructed at intervals to provide accommodation for the horses that pulled the fast passenger boats. Stone-arched bridges (background) spanned the canal at regular intervals. The first passenger boat, an 'elegant and comfortable vessel' named 'Flora MacIvor' was in operation on the canal by January 1822 between Edinburgh and Ratho. By March, it was joined by the 'Di Vernon' and the route between Edinburgh and Camelon divided into four stages of almost 13km each, the intermediate points being Ratho, Winchburgh and Woodcockdale where the horses could be changed and rested. The total time to reach Camelon took 4½ hours. Breakfast and tea were provided on board, breakfast with two eggs costing one shilling (5p) in steerage and one shilling and two pennies (approximately 7p) in the 'best cabin'. The Union Canal, the last of Scotland's major canals, was a commercial venture begun in 1818 and completed in 1822. It was built principally as a means of importing coal and lime into Edinburgh, and ran from Port Hopetoun in Edinburgh to join the Forth & Clyde Canal at Camelon, Stirlingshire. However, within 20 years of completion most of its passenger traffic was lost to the railways, and the Edinburgh basins closed in 1922. The rest of the canal remained navigational until 1965 when it was finally closed by an Act of Parliament. In 2002, Britain's largest canal restoration project, The Millennium Link, restored navigation, and with an extension to the Union Canal and a link with the Forth & Clyde Canal through the Falkirk Wheel, boats were once more able to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/785626

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap