The Great Canal

Ever since discovering that his ancestors (William Anderson 1798-1859) and Elizabeth Gourley (1801-1888) lived next to the Great Canal (See item 2 in Glasgow post), Elder Bylund has become obsessed (well at least infatuated or interested) with canals. This interest is augmented as some of my descendants also live near the Erie Canal (Kevin and Emily in Rochester).

The Great Canal (now called the Forth and Clyde Canal) is 35 miles (56 km) long and opened in 1790. It crosses central Scotland and provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. It was very successful in its day, but suffered as the seagoing vessels were built larger and could no longer pass through. The railway age further impaired the success of the canal, and the canal became dormant in the 1930s and was closed in 1963. 

Also built starting at Maryhill (the home of my ancestors) was the Glasgow Branch of the canal which connected to downtown Glasgow. 

Glasgow Branch of the Great Canal 

The Union Canal, from Falkirk to Edinburgh, was opened in 1822 and was similarly initially successful, but met the same fate as the Great Canal. It is a contour canal, which closely follows the contour line of the land and avoids delays caused by going through locks. It connects with the Great Canal at Falkirk. Originally there were a series of 11 locks to connect the two canals.

The Falkirk Wheel in action.

The Falkirk Wheel now connects the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal. It is a clever rotating boat lift, which opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link Project. By insuring the water levels on each side are the same, the weight on each arm is also equal, regardless of where there are 0, 1 or 2 boats on either side. According to Archimedes' principle, floating objects displace their own weight in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat.

We took the boat ride up the wheel, up to the Union Canal and back down again. It rained some, but overall the weather was OK. It took about an hour and was quite the experience. 

The two locks connecting up to the Union Canal after coming up the Falkirk Wheel  from the Great Canal.

The approach to the Falkirk Wheel from the top.

The lock gates are still operated by man power.