March 5, 1915.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

489

ELECTRICAL HAULAGE ON THE
TRENT AND MERSEY CANAL.

The Trent and Mersey Canal, formerly known as the
Grand Trunk Canal, was constructed between the years
1766 and 1777 by James Brindley, and was one of the
earliest canals in this country. The total length of the
main canal from Preston Brook, where it leaves the
Bridgewater Navigation, to Shardlow, where it joins the
river Trent, is about 931 miles. The branches to
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, and Froghall, bring up
the total to 119 miles.

When the promoters of the North Staffordshire
Railway went to Parliament in 1846 for powers to make
their railway they had to buy off the opposition of the
canal company by purchasing the canal on very onerous
terms. A considerable traffic is carried by this canal
to and from the Staffordshire potteries and ironworks,

The two tunnels are respectively 2,897 and 2,926 yds.
in length. The boats which during recent years have
used the canal have had a beam of 7 ft., and their
maximum load is 30 tons, when they draw about
3 ft. 9 in. water. The average headway above water-
level in the New Tunnel is 9 ft. 6 in., and the depth of
water 5 ft. 6 in. The time occupied by a single journey,
each boat being hauled by a horse, was 90 minutes.
The boats coming up from the sea pass through the Old,
and those coming down through the New, tunnel.
Owing to the objections of the boatmen and the time
occupied in passing through the tunnels, some system
of haulage to supersede the “ legging ” process has been
under consideration by the North Staffordshire Railway
Company for many years, but, owing to the absence of
ventilating shafts, neither steam nor any form of petrol
engine could be employed on account of the poisonous
fumes coming off.

The difficulty has now, however, been surmounted by
the utilisation of electrically-driven motors which, we

7 ft. wide, and 4 ft. deep. It has two drums and gearing
for hauling itself along the steel rope. The drums are
driven by two 15-horse power Royce electric motors,
and these can be worked either singly or in combination
to suit the load that requires haulage. A cabin is pro-
vided for the chargeman in the front of the barge, and
it contains the motors, controllers and switchboards.

The barge is of somewhat unique design, having an
open trunk through its centre to accommodate the rope
drums. By this arrangement the rope can lead off the
bottoms of the drums, thus making it necessary to lict
the rope but very little from the canal, and at the same
time maintain the deck clear of all moving parts.
Other advantages gained by this under-boat lead are
those of stability and trim and straight running, as by
the arrangement of roller fairleads, placed both fore
and aft, at the extreme ends of the underside of the
barge and on the fore and after centre line, the pull is
transmitted through the most suitable point. It is
perhaps hardly correct to speak of the fore and aft, as
the barge is made both ends alike and runs backwards
and forwards on the rope, the motors being reversible.

Sectional Elevation.

L-ooiAiriq Tcwards MptCBS.

Plan.

-SECTION AT BBa

Fig. 1.—General View of Motors and Gearing.





Fig. 2.—General View of Haulage Barge with Covering Removed.

•J.



Fig. 3.—View of Haulage Barge Looking Towards Motors.





consisting chiefly of coal, clay, flint, limestone, iron ore,
and earthenware. There is also a large traffic in general
merchandise, the canal forming an important link in
the communication between the Birmingham district
canals and Liverpool, and also between those cities and
the Humber.

The Old Harecastle tunnel, which was opened in
1777, is 8 ft. 6 in. diameter, and as it has no towing path
it has been necessary for boats to be propelled through
by the primitive method of “ legging,” and no less than
four hours has been occupied in a single journey. The
second tunnel, although constructed under powers of an
Act passed in 1812, and opened in 1827, Telford being
the engineer, is still called the “New” Harecastle
Tunnel. It is 14 ft. in diameter, of which 5 ft. is taken
up by a towing path, leaving a waterway of 9 ft. The
towing path, is, however, constructed upon arches which
allow a considerable further circulation of water during
the passage of boats.

understand, have been doing the work satisfactorily
since the beginning of December last.

A motor barge hauls itself along a fixed steel cable
which is laid on the bed of the canal and made fast a
short distance beyond each end of the New Harecastle
Tunnel. Electric motors work the haulage machinery
in the barge, and the current for the same is obtained
from another boat containing accumulators, and this
follows immediately behind the tow barge. There is
not sufficient headroom in the tunnel for overhead
trolley collection cables. A power-house, 45 ft. by 30 ft.,
for charging the accumulators has been erected on land
between the two tunnels at Chatkerley, and there is also
a gas-producer house, 20 ft. by 30 ft., and other buildings
for the storage of coal, &c.

The generating station contains two sets of Campbell
producer plant, two Campbell 77 brake-horse-power gas
engines, two direct-current general electric open multi-
polar shunt-wound CO dynamos, giving 45 kw. at
300 volts, and 600 revolutions per minute.

The haulage barge (figs. 2 and 3), which has been
designed and supplied by Messrs. Bullivant and Co.
Limited, of Millwall, is of steel and measures 40 ft. long,

From this it will be gathered that the fairleads act
alternately as guide for the barge on the taut side of
the rope, and paying-out guide on the slack side of the
rope. In addition to these fairleads, two rollers are
placed close to the drums which hold the rope clear of
the bottom of the barge. To prevent water entering the
barge where the drum shafts pass through the trunk,
stuffing boxes are fitted.

In the original anchorage gear, the end of the rope
was led through a tube from the canal bed to the
ground level, where it was drawn tight by means of a
winch and a set of blocks and tackle. Brakes were
originally fitted, but were afterwards removed, being
found unnecessary, as, there being no current in the
canal, when the motors were shut off the barges soon
came to a standstill.

The steel rope, supplied by Messrs. Bullivant and Co.,
is 2 in. in circumference and 3,500 yds. long, having
been specially constructed fur haulage purposes, and
with a guaranteed breaking strain of not less than
11 tons.

There are two accumulator barges, each 72 ft. long, 7ft.
wide, and 4 ft. deep, and each containing 115 chloride