Chapter 1 - Before the Railways

Summary

If we agree with Pope that the proper study of mankind is man, then we cannot fail to be curious about the methods employed by man to travel. Progress in methods of travel not only saved effort but helped to increase wealth, as Lord Bacon saw when he said ‘Truly there are three things which make a nation great and prosperous - fertile soil, busy workshops and easy conveyance for men and commodities from one place to another’. Before the railway era transport in Great Britain depended either on water, which meant canals or rivers, or on land, which implied packhorses or wheeled traffic on inferior roads. Roads preceded the canals, but it will be more convenient to deal with canals first.

Rivers have always provided a cheap form of transport, but can be affected by floods or, conversely, can dry up. It was to obtain something more dependable that Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater began, in the 18th century, to construct that system of canals which bears his name. He obtained a private Act of Parliament and secured the services of a capable engineer-James Brindley. Commencing at Worsley, near Manchester, the canals proved a success, and the system spread over the country. Brindley showed his ability by taking the Bridgewater canal over the Barton aqueduct - a forerunner of the great railway structures which we see today. On the rivers, barges and wherries had to depend on the wind for power, and it was a great step forward when towpaths were laid down alongside the canals permitting the more reliable horse power to be used. It is not surprising, therefore, to read that the canal mileage increased from 1,500 to 5,000 between 1760 and 1830. If we believe that history repeats itself, we shall not be too amazed to learn that there was a ‘Canal Mania’ in 1794 when twenty new canal schemes costing ￡3 million received Parliamentary sanction. The construction of these inland waterways required armies of workmen and for the first time we read of the ‘navigators’ as the men were called. The name was soon shortened to ‘navvies’ and they numbered in their ranks many Irish and continental workers.