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The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 1771. It reached Gartcraig in 1782, and in 1794 it reached its full originally planned extent, from pits at Calderbank to a basin at Townhead in Glasgow; at first this was in two sections with a vertical interval between them at Blackhill; coal was unloaded and carted to the lower section and loaded onto a fresh barge. Locks were later constructed linking the two sections, and the canal was also connected to the Forth and Clyde Canal, giving additional business potential. Maintaining an adequate water supply was a problem, and later an inclined plane was built at Blackhill, in which barges were let down and hauled up, floating in caissons that ran on rails. Originally intended as a water-saving measure to be used in summer only, the inclined plane was found to pass barges more quickly than through the locks and may have been used all the year. In the second and third decades of the nineteenth century, technical advances in iron smelting coupled with fresh discoveries of abundant iron deposits and coal measures encouraged a massive increase in industrial activity in the Coatbridge area, and the Canal was ideally situated to feed the raw materials and take away the products of the industry. The development of railways reduced the competitiveness of the canal, and eventually it was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth and Clyde Canal. Much of the route now lies beneath the course of the M8 motorway, but two watered sections remain, and are well stocked with fish. ==Route== The eastern end of the final extent of the canal is at Calderbank, south of Woodside Drive, where there were coal pits; the canal was fed there from the North Calder Water. A reservoir was created at Hillend (east of Caldercruix) to sustain the canal in the dry season, and others were made later. The canal ran close to the north side of the North Calder Water, passing more coal pits (and later ironstone pits) at Faskine and Palacecraig, then turning north there. Palacecraig was later the southern extremity of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway. The canal passed under the road at Sikeside (now called Sykeside Road, Cairnhill), from where it is nowadays in culvert. Turning west it passed under what is now Locks Street, Coatdyke; the name refers to the original canal lock; there is a small sign there recording the history. There was a lock〔In this article, the term "lock" means a single chamber for the elevation or descent of a barge, controlled by a gate or pair of gates at each end〕 to the east of the road, and a basin and second lock to the west of it. This location was called Sheepford Locks, and was the eastern extremity of the canal as originally built. A branch canal called Dixon's Cut was later built from the basin southwards to Dixon's Calder Ironworks, south of the present-day Greenend housing area. The canal then continued westward, a little to the south of the Airdrie to Coatbridge main road. It passed south of the present-day Main Street area of Coatbridge, from where the short Dundyvan Branch ran southwards. It was built to serve coal pits and then extended to serve the Dundyvan Ironworks with a complex of railway trans-shipment sidings at its termination.〔 The main canal then ran fairly straight from the present-day A725 roundabout at the east end of Coatbridge Main Street to the Sunnyside Street roundabout. At this time Coatbridge had not developed at all, and the canal was simply described as "passing under the Edinburgh and Glasgow Road, by a wooden bridge, termed Coat Bridge, west of Airdrie."〔D O Hill and G F Buchanan, ''Views of the Opening of the Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway; also an account of that and other Railways in Lanarkshire'', Edinburgh, 1832〕 Another branch diverged northwards here, to the west of Sunnyside Road: called the Gartsherrie, Hornock and Summerlea Branch Canal, it ended at the Gartsherrie Ironworks, just south of the present-day Gartsherrie Road. It was originally planned to serve coal pits, but it was still unfinished in 1830 when the Baird Brothers established their Gartsherrie Ironworks at its termination.〔 Continuing westward, the main canal originally crossed the Gartsherrie Burn on Cotes Bridge, a low aqueduct long and high.〔 (Gartsherrie Burn ran north to south between the alignment of the two present-day railways that cross Bank Street; it was culverted when the area was later developed.) The aqueduct collapsed and had to be repaired in 1858.〔 The canal then ran broadly west between Bank Street and West Canal Street, then turning a little more northerly from Blairhill Street, south of the present King Street, as far as Blair Street. Just east of Blair Bridge the Langloan branch diverged, heading a short distance south on the eastern margin of West End Park (originally called Yeomanry Park) to a basin serving Drumpellier Pit and Langloan Iron Works, founded in 1841, where Langloan Street now joins Bank Street. There was an tunnel under Bank Street and Buchanan Street.〔 Onwards from Blair Bridge the canal is open again; the route here arcs northward towards and through the Drumpellier estate, passing north of Drumpellier Home Farm. The estate had a bridge connecting the northern area. The canal then heads west again, with a short northerly spur serving coal pits at Drumpellier, continuing under the present-day railway line, and under the Cuilhill Road bridge. A little to the west was Cuilhill Gullet, where an island in the canal was formed to enable the construction of the terminal of the Drumpeller Railway (the old spelling). The Railway is described below. Still continuing west, but culverted nowadays, the canal was crossed by a swing bridge at Netherhouse Road, and then at Rodgerfield Road, from where the course of the canal is covered by the M8 motorway. Easterhouse Road and Wardie Road (Bartiebeith) crossed the canal by bridges, followed by Milncroft Road (an eastward extension of the present road) and then Gartcraig Road. This was probably the westernmost point the canal reached at first under James Watt, when the money ran out. When the canal was extended westward, it passed under the main Cumbernauld Road. The Blackhill incline and locks were at the point where the present M80 motorway joins the M8 motorway. The arrangements at Blackhill are described more fully below. The canal continued on a broadly westerly course, completely obliterated now by the motorway, terminating in Townhead Basin fronting to Castle Street, at a point where Parson Street and Alexandra Parade would intersect, under the motorway junction. When the "cut of junction" was formed, a short section of new canal linking the Monkland Canal to the Forth and Clyde branch canal, it was routed north from the basin under Garngad Hill (now Royston Hill).〔 The route then turned west under Castle Street. The grooves worn by the barge towropes can be seen on the iron facing to Castle Street bridge abutment at this point.〔Canmore, Scotland's National Collection of Buildings, Archaeology and Industry: ''Castle Street Bridge'', on line at ()〕 A short branch was formed off the cut of junction to serve industrial premises in the area between the present Royston Road and Charles Street. The cut of junction was originally made to the same depth (4 feet, 1.2 m) as the Monkland Canal, but in 1842 it was deepened to accommodate the larger vessels that could use the Forth and Clyde Canal, which could then reach Tennent's chemical works. Opening bridges were provided at Glebe Street and Port Dundas.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Monkland Canal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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