Your American History Reference Guide!
- Barton Swing Aqueduct

HistoryMania Information Site on Barton Swing Aqueduct American History American History Search        American History Browse welcome to our free resource site for all enthusiasts!

Barton Swing Aqueduct

The Barton Swing Aqueduct is a feat of late Victorian civil engineering. Located at Barton, Salford, Greater Manchester in north-west England, it carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal.

It is a form of swing bridge. In its closed position, it allows canal traffic to pass along the Bridgewater Canal. However, when large vessels need to pass along the Ship Canal, a massive iron trough (234ft long and weighing 800 tonnes) can be swung through ninety degrees via a pivot mounted on a small purpose-built island in the Ship Canal to allow them to pass. Gates at either end of the trough retain around 800 tonnes of water within the trough; further gates on either bank retain water in their adjacent stretches of canal.

The swing aqueduct was designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams, engineer to the Manchester Ship Canal Company, and became operational in 1893 (Williams was also involved with the design of the region's other major 'moving canal' feat: the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire).

The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
Search | Browse | Contact | Legal info