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The Rochdale Canal crosses the rugged heights of the Pennines from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge.
© Copyright Stephen Willetts - No unauthorised use
66718 'Sir Peter Hendy CBE' at Sowerby Bridge on 6M59 15:20 Doncaster Down Decoy Yard - Collyhurst Street on 25/06/18.
There its a winding hole on the right. The lock ahead is Longlees Lock, the end of the climb up from Sowerby Bridge.
The Rochdale Canal, located close to Mytholmroyd, a town in, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.
The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first two attempts to obtain an act failed after being opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. The promoters, to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and in 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and its construction. Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required.
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974.
The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. They worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust.
In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal.
Information Source:
Ripponden
Beech tree leaves in the autumn sunshine. Taken on the public footpath which runs along the former railway line, it once connected the town of Sowerby Bridge with the village of Rishworth, the line closed in 1958.
Thank you for your visit and your comments, they are greatly appreciated.
150248 leaves Sowerby Bridge with 2E03 11:45 Manchester Victoria to Leeds on Sunday 1st November 1987.
A shot from the past I took in 2002 during the summer.
A 2 car Class 155 in Metro 'Metrorail' WYPTE Livery calls at Sowerby Bridge Station, West Yorkshire.
The British Rail Class 155 is a diesel multiple unit. These DMUs were built by Leyland Bus at Workington (incorporating some Leyland National bus components) between 1987 and 1988 as part of British Rail's replacement of its ageing first-generation diesel fleet.
42 units were originally built, however only 7 remain; the other 35 units were converted to single car Class 153 railcars.
The Calder and Hebble Navigation, in Sowerby Bridge, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
By the beginning of the 18th century, the Aire and Calder Navigation had made the River Calder navigable as far upstream as Wakefield. The aim of the Calder and Hebble Navigation was to extend navigation west (upstream) from Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge near Halifax.
The first attempt to obtain an Act of Parliament was made in 1740, as a result of a petition by the people of Halifax, Ripponden and Elland. John Eyes of Liverpool surveyed the route, and presented a scheme for a navigation which would use the River Calder from Wakefield to its junction with the River Hebble, follow the Hebble to Salterhebble Bridge, and then follow the Halifax Brook to reach Halifax. The bill was defeated, due to opposition from local landowners who feared that it would cause flooding, from millers, who thought that navigation would disrupt their water supply, and from the promoters of several Turnpike Bills, who were intending to build roads which would follow a similar route.
The second attempt followed a meeting of the Union Club in Halifax on 2 September 1756, which considered how to improve the import of wool and corn to the town. They invited the civil engineer John Smeaton to make a new survey, which he did in late 1757. An Act was obtained on 9 June 1758, for this extended route, and created Commissioners, who must own an estate valued at more than £100, or have a personal fortune of more than £3,000.
Construction started in November 1759, with Smeaton acting as engineer. By November 1764, the navigation was open as far as Brighouse, some 16 miles (26 km) from Wakefield. Having borrowed £56,000, factions arose within the Commissioners, with some wanting to stop at Brooksmouth, where the Rivers Hebble and Calder meet, and others wanting to raise more money and complete the scheme. The second option gained most support, and a new committee was set up, who asked James Brindley to take over from Smeaton in 1765. The work was just complete when a further flood caused so much damage that the only option was to close the navigation again.
The Commissioners felt unable to borrow more money, and so a second Act of Parliament was obtained on 21 April 1769, which formally created the Company of Proprietors of the Calder and Hebble Navigation. This consisted of all of the 81 people who had loaned money to the original scheme, and these loans were converted into £100 shares. Additional shares could be issued, and the Company could borrow up to £20,000, with the future tolls used as security.
The Navigation prospered, with dividends rising steadily from 5 per cent in 1771 to 13 per cent in 1792. Under the terms of the Act of Parliament, tolls were reduced when the dividend exceeded 10 per cent, and the first such reduction occurred in 1791.
In 1798 a long cut at Thornhill was made, bypassing the town of Dewsbury. Trade with the town was maintained by the construction of a new branch from Thornhill to Dewsbury. Another stimulus to trade was provided by the Rochdale Canal, which opened up a through route from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester from 1804.
The Manchester and Leeds Railway company, which had approached the Calder and Hebble in 1836, but had been rebuffed, opened their line between 1839 and 1841. It followed the line of the canal and that of the Rochdale Canal. A year later, with canal shares having lost 66 per cent of their value, the canal company approached the railway, who agreed to lease the canal for £40,000 per year for 14 years, commencing on 25 March 1843. The Aire and Calder Navigation objected to the lease, and in April 1847, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General ruled that it was illegal, and must cease. Soon afterwaards, the Aire and Calder offered to lease the canal itself, and the agreement started in September. After the Aire and Calder's lease expired in 1885, the Navigation Company again took charge, rebuilt many of the bridges, and established the Calder Carrying Company. Shareholders continued to receive dividends until the canal was nationalized in 1948, and the canal was used by commercial traffic until 1981.
Newly completed in the year 2000. This huge new lock was the last obstacle to re-opening the eastern end of the canal. Boats could once again travel from the Rochdale Canal to Wakefield and Leeds. Photo by Richard Booth, John Evans Collection.
A two car Class 110 DMU, formed of cars E51826 & E51833, is about to enter Sowerby Bridge Tunnel while working 2M14 10:31 York to Southport on the 11th October 1986.
The second photo, taken at 11:25, features 45128 "Centaur" passing the disused coal staithes with 6E80 Preston Deepdale to Healey Mills Speedlink coal. 27th November 1987.
Taken from a print in my collection, no further details known.
LYR class 1002, built at Horwich entering service numbered 1536 March 1910. LMS 10925 after the 1923 grouping. Renumbered 50925 September 1948 and withdrawn August 1952.
The Rochdale Canal, in Luddenden Foot, outside Hebden Bridge, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.
The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.
Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.
The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for more three years. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.
Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation. The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park
The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.
In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length.
The Rochdale Canal spans the Pennines for 32 miles from the centre of Manchester to its junction with the Calder & Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge. It was one of three trans-Pennine routes, the others being the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
In 1804, it became the first of them to be fully opened - perhaps due to the choice of a route over the top of the Pennines, avoiding the problems with tunnel construction that had bedevilled the other two waterways.
Principal cargoes included coal, agricultural produce and materials for the textiles industry. The large number of locks on a relatively short length of canal, rising to a height of over 600 feet (180m), meant that water supply was always a problem. Several reservoirs were built especially to service the line.
Locks were made large enough to accommodate broad-gauge (14ft), boats with commercial payloads of up to 70 tons. All the locks were made with exactly the same fall: this meant all the gates were the same size, making maintenance easier, and conserved water by using the same amount of water for each lock operation.
The canal proved a success until the combined effects of road and rail competition took their inevitable toll. The last regular through-traffic ended just before World War II, and by the 1950s commercial carrying had virtually ceased altogether. Unusually, the canal had not been nationalised in 1948, and remained in private ownership.
The canal closed as a through route just four years later. One short length remained: the nine locks in central Manchester between the Ashton Canal and the Bridgewater Canal, which was an essential part of the Cheshire Cruising Ring.
Restoration work began in the 1970s, and the following decade saw much of the canal reopened on the Yorkshire side from Littleborough eastwards. This was reconnected to the waterway network in 1996 by the glorious new lock at Tuel Lane near Sowerby Bridge, which combines two earlier locks so that the canal may tunnel under a road built on its original level. At almost 20 feet (6m) deep, it vies with Bath Deep Lock for the title of the deepest lock in Britain.
Restoration of the Rochdale Canal entailed the total refurbishment of 24 locks, the cutting of a new section of channel, massive dredging of the original line and the construction of 12 new road bridges. It was reopened throughout in 2002 and now, together with the reopened Huddersfield Narrow Canal, forms part of the South Pennine Cruising Ring.
Information from the Waterscape website.
www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/rochdale-canal/history
More information and history here.
142080 has just passed Sowerby Bridge station while working 1E79 09:46 Blackpool North to Leeds. 14/6/88. It was quite common to see Pacers on these turns at the time. This view has long gone behind trees, sadly.
150209 heads away from the station stop at Sowerby Bridge while forming 1M36 09:40 Leeds to Manchester Victoria. 27/11/87. This position only lasted for a short time after I took this shot, which was a shame given the superb view of the Sowerby Bridge area which it offered.
WYPTE 7001, which I assume is the first of the class (a low height Fleetline) poses at the obscure Hubberton terminus, high above Sowerby Bridge. August 1982.
The Rochdale Canal in Hebden Bridge, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
It is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.
The Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first two attempts to obtain an act failed after being opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. The promoters, to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and in 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and its construction.
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974.
The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. They worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust.
In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal.
Information Source:
6E09, the 0810 Tuebrook Sidings - Drax passes through Sowebry Bridge, an attractive townscape. The hail shower obscuring the horizon just missed me.
150210 pulls away from the Sowerby Bridge stop while working the 15:51 Leeds to Manchester Victoria service. 14/9/88.
At last a lull in the rally procession enabled a change of location... here, north of Sowerby Bridge is Leeds No.106, a 1940 AEC Regent /Roe - on the Trans Pennine run. 2/8/81.
The Rochdale Canal in Todmorden, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
It is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.
The Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first two attempts to obtain an act failed after being opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. The promoters, to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and in 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and its construction.
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974.
The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. They worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust.
In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal.
Information Source:
47369 passes Sowerby Bridge with what looks like 6E24 Weaste to Lindsey empty tanks. 6/5/93. Michael has other shots taken around this time of trains with a similar consist, allowing me to guess at this train's ID, as his notes don't identify it. Class 47s were becoming a lot more rare on tank trains through the Calder Valley at the time. Most such workings were in the hands of either Class 37s or Class 60s.