Towpaths and locks
Towpaths and Locks are only two of the many features that make up a typical canal system.
Towpaths. When canals started to be used as a means of transporting heavy cargo from one place to another, it heralded a new age in the merchant industry. Whereas previously, merchants who wished to carry goods over long distances had no other means, aside from the rough and treacherous roads, this was by no means an ideal solution for their needs. Many of these roads were often rendered impassable by inclement weather and when they were traversable there was always the danger that highwaymen and other bandits posed. Of course all this was assuming that the roads were in fact available. In the early days the road systems that we typically utilize and even take for granted today simply did no exist yet.
The development of the canal system changed all this and it provided a major boost to the trade industry. In fact some may say that the implementation of the canal system was the single biggest influencing factor that brought about the widespread success of the Industrial Revolution.
When canals first started to be used in the transport industry, men with the use of ropes originally pulled the barges that carried the cargo along the water. It was quickly realized that animals would do a far better job, at a much lower cost and they would be able to carry significantly heavier loads than their human counterparts. While the duty of pulling the cargo was first relegated to single animals, as more and more cargo needed to be transported, teams of animals began to be used increasing the load capacity greatly.
The use of towers to pull cargo along the canal system was particularly effective in waterways were the current was so strong as to render the task impossible or highly impractical and where tunnels and bridges hanging over the water made the use of sailing vessels impossible. Of course all this was at a time when there was no effective means to install engines on the water vessels.
With the advent of the powered watercraft however, barges pulled along the towpath by animals gradually fell into disuse and they are all but non-existent today. Many of the towpaths are still in place however and they have become popular paths for joggers, bikers and sightseers. They serve as a quaint reminder of the times past when things were done a bit differently than today.
Locks. One of the most important components of the canal system is the lock. Their primary function is to allow boats to move from one level to another level in the same canal. At its most basic form, a lock is simply a long box, with a floor and a gate at either end, much like a tunnel. While early locks were typically built out of wood, nowadays concrete is the widely preferred material. When the early wooden locks were used, clay was utilized along the bottom to help waterproof the entire structure.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 21/07/2008
