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Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands

Date 2007

Event ID 932207

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/932207

(Institute Civil Engineers Historic Engineering Works no. HEW 0084/07)Neptune’s Staircase or Banavie Locks

This flight of eight locks, known as Neptune’s Staircase and built by Simpson and Wilson (according to Telford mainly the latter) from 1808–11 with Alexander Easton as resident engineer, was, when built, the longest and most impressive length of masonry on any canal and arguably is still. The locks, of similar dimensions to those at Fort Augustus, 180 ft long X 40 ft wide, form a stretch of solid masonry 1500 ft long and raise the canal 64 ft from its level at Corpach Moss to the Gairlochy reach.

Telford forecast that construction would take four years and these locks were one of few works on the canal to be completed early. The haste of construction and possible management shortcomings may have been factors in local collapses of the lock walls in 1829 and 1839. In 1844 all

the gate recess walls had to be rebuilt.

Passage through the flight of locks is slow, as vessels have to await the completion of the passage of any vessel coming in the opposite direction. In 1845 construction of a passing place midway was considered but was found impractical. Twelve lock keepers were originally required to work the locks, but after mechanisation in the 1960s only two are necessary.

In 1929 a serious accident occurred when a vessel crashed through the gates of the top lock and was swept into the lock below. The locks being suddenly emptied caused the masonry walls to bulge and they had to be rebuilt. This caused the closure of the canal for three months.

In 1998–99, during the winter closure of the canal, the lock walls were stabilised and the gates replaced.

R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.

Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.

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