Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal
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The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal was a canal in the west of Scotland running between Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone which later became a railway. Despite the name, the canal was never completed down to Ardrossan, the termini being Port Eglinton in Glasgow and Thorn Brae in Johnstone. Within months of opening, the canal was the scene of a major disaster.
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[edit] Construction
The canal was first proposed by Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton in 1791. He wanted to connect the booming industrial towns of Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone to his port at Ardrossan. His fellow shareholders included William Dixon of Govan who wished to export coal from his Govan colliery.[1] The Earl had spent £100,000 on creating Ardrossan's harbour and intended to make it the principal port for Glasgow.[1] Construction of the canal began in 1807 and the first boat, the passenger boat, The Countess of Eglinton, was launched on the 31 October 1810; though initially it only ran between Paisley and Johnstone. Completion to Glasgow's Port Eglinton was achieved some time in 1811.
The canal was designed and surveyed by the Engineers John Rennie, Thomas Telford and John Ainslie. It was built without the use of locks. The full 11 mile length following the contours of the land to stay level. This made the canal longer than it need have been. However, it did make the canal very fast.
The original plans were to build the canal to Ardrossan. However, dredging of the River Clyde, allowing boats further upstream, negated many of the requirements of these plans; and the canal company was by then in debt. An aqueduct over the Clyde in the centre of Glasgow to link up with the Forth and Clyde Canal was also proposed, but it was not built.
[edit] Operation
The canal ran from Port Eglington; and an Inn was built there in 1816.[2] A wharf was built on the north bank of the White Cart near Crookston Castle; and canal basins provided at Paisley and Johnstone.[2]
[edit] Disaster
Saturday 10 November 1810 was the Martina's Fair. Many people, with the day off work, took the opportunity to travel the short distance of 6 miles by canal between Paisley and Johnstone. As The Countess of Eglinton docked at the Paisley wharf, there was a rush of people trying to get onto the boat.[2] At the same time, people from Johnstone were attempting to disembark.[2] Despite the attempts of the boat men to push off again, the weight of people pushing onto the boat caused it to suddenly overturn, throwing many passengers into the cold water of the wharf.[2]
Even though the wharf was only 6 foot deep, the coldness of the water and the sheer sides of the embankments compounded the problem that few people of the time could swim. 85 people died in this disaster.[2]
Another sad point to note at the beginning of the canal. The well-known poet Robert Tannahill (born in Paisley on the 3 June 1774) drowned himself in the canal in a bout of depression. A group of poems had just been rejected by an Edinburgh publisher. He was well known for periods of depression. He burned many of his writings at this time. His body was found on the 17 May 1810 in the Candren Burn tunnel under the canal.
[edit] Popularity
Despite the disaster, the canal became a popular service for passenger transport. At its height, boats towed by 6 horses plied the route from Glasgow to Johnstone. Three boats were in operation by 1816: The Countess of Eglinton, The Countess of Glasgow and The Paisley.[2] They carried up to 400,000 passengers each year.[2]
[edit] Competion with the railways
To be added
[edit] Conversion to a railway
[edit] The Ardrossan Railway
In the 1820s the canal company planed to build a railway between Johnson and Ardrossan to finish the link.[1] They raised further capital and started building the railway from Ardrossan; reaching Kilwinning before running out of money.[1] In the 1830s they planned to turn their canal into a railway and complete the link from Kilwinning to Johnstone; but allowed the scheme to fold.[1] In the 1840s they split off their railway to form a separate company, the Ardrossan Railway, and transferred their debt to the new company.[1]
[edit] Closure of the canal
The canal was purchased in 1869 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company. In 1881, an Act of Parliament closed the canal. Much of the route was used to construct the Paisley Canal Line. This line still uses the River Cart Aqueduct (which it crosses at a skewed angle). This makes the former aqueduct the worlds oldest railway bridge that is still in active use.
[edit] Closure and partial reopening of the Paisley Canal Line
The Paisley Canal railway line closed to passengers in 1983. The rails between Elderslie and the original Paisley Canal Station were uplifted in 1986; and the station became a steakhouse. However, in 1990, passenger services resumed on the section from Glasgow Central station to a new Paisley Canal station. Much of the abandoned track bed beyond Paisley has now be developed into a cycle and walkway operated by Sustrans.
Short sections of the original canal can still be seen at the Millarston and Ferguslie Mills area of Paisley. Houses in Tenenter Way and Cropton Grove face across the remnants. Traces of the old canal are also visible in fields between Hawkhead and Rosshall.
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Lindsey, Jean, (1968). The Canals of Scotland, Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4240-1.
- Robertson, C.J.A., (1983). The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722 - 1844. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-088-X.
