22. Building the MSC.

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The Runcorn and Latchford Canal was built as an improvement to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. It was completed in 1804. The Randle Sluices seen here were built to allow flood water to drain into the River Mersey. Much of the older Canal was swallowed up by the new bigger Ship Canal. A modern steel sluice was constructed to replace this old one when the canal was being constructed.

 

The new sluice way being constructed.

 

The new Randle Sluices.

 

The River Gowy syphons consisted of two large cast iron tubes, hidden here behind the large gates in the centre of the picture. They were put in place to carry the River under the Manchester Ship Canal and into the River Mersey.

 

An Act to make the River Weaver navigable had been passed in 1721. The arrival of the Manchester Ship Canal was to have an impact on the Navigation, with the Canal cutting across the entrance the River mouth. Weston Marsh Lock was constructed to allow access from the Ship Canal into the Weaver.

 

 

With the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, sections of the existing railway network had to be rebuilt. Lines which crossed the Canal had to be taken on higher level bridges. One such new line was Railway Deviation Number 4, which crossed the Canal at Cadishead. Here navvies are working on one of the Bridge's rollers.

 

Roller Path for the temporary Swing Bridge at Pomona. Pomona was the name given to the smaller docks -docks 1,2,3 and 4, at the Manchester 'end' of the Manchester Ship Canal. This section was controlled by LP Nott. The large number of visitors to his section, sightseers and job seekers, forced him to erect board fencing around the site. This is possibly the fencing on the right of this photograph. The Trafford Bridges can be seen in the background on the left.

 

One of the Rollers on its path Path on the Trafford Road Swing Bridge

 

The Runcorn and Latchford Canal was fully opened in 1804. It was built by the Old Quay Company in order to improve the efficiency of the waterway, and fed into the River Mersey. The arrival of the Manchester Ship Canal saw much of the Canal swallowed up by the bigger Ship Canal. In this photograph the Runcorn and Latchford Canal can be seen in the foreground. On either side the ground is covered with building materials, ready for work on the Ship Canal. The impressive Runcorn Viaduct is visible in the distance.

 

Runcorn Bridge had been built before the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal by the London and North Western Railway Company. The Company opposed any deepening of the ground beneath the bridge, their opposition delaying work on the Canal. An agreement was finally reached between the two parties which allowed the construction to continue, as shown in this photograph. The 'Birdcage' referred to in the title appears to be the wooden structure at the bottom of the bridge, constructed by the Manchester Ship Canal contractor.