Bye Bye Brum.

 After another great stay in Birmingham our schedule meant that we had to move on. It turned out that we did a fair bit longer than we had planned.

The New Main could found to be boring as it is wide and fairly straight and very rarely has any distant views, if any. However there is plenty to see along the way, and once you have plied the route a few times it is easy to tick off the miles as you pass them. Here we have passed the Winson Green Soho Loop and the Soho factory site, and Smethwick Junction and are just passing the toll bar and gauging dock just before the Engine Arm aqueduct that carries water for the system from Rotton Park Reservoir. It is a shame that the greenery has been allowed to grow on the toll island is it will only damage the brick work.

This photo shows why the canals are often styled a green lung or corridor as the greenery cuts off the bustling city beyond, cuts out much of the noise and pollution and brings in the birds and mammals that you can hear and spot as you travel along. The Smethwick pump house is just round the corner.

Having passed through the Galton tunnel and under the majestic Galton Bridge you pass through the cutting by Chance's glassworks and soon pass under the old main line on the Steward Aqueduct. Then is the modernist view of the M5 motorway with its feet planted in the canal and futuristic advertising screen  above.

At Dudley Port Junction we turned left into the Netherton Branch. On the turn  off the New Main Line was the old Groveland Colliery that was disused soon after the canal was cut through to the tunnel. On the right are the toll cottages and in the middle  of the canal can be seen the toll island. The bridge in front is the Tividale Aqueduct where the old Main Line crosses over and on the left was the Hullbridge Colliery.

The Netherton Tunnel was the last large tunnel to be built on the canal system and it was built for two way traffic with a towpath on each side. It was desperately required because of the bottleneck caused by the Dudley Canal Tunnel. This was a single way tunnel, with not towpath and with only about 6' height above the water. Legging through could take 3 and 12 hours and sometimes days when the water levels were low. All boats had to raise up three locks to approach the Dudley Tunnel and then drop down three to regain the canal system again, been very wasteful of water.

In 1855 an Act of Parliament was sought to construct a canal between the New Main Line and the Dudley Canal of 21/2 miles with a tunnel under the Rowley Hills of 3020 yds long. the Canal would be 27' wide. This was largely made possible by the facility of the London and Northwestern Railway Co guaranteeing the investment at 4%. They had done the same in 1884 to the sum of £2 million and had never needed to use it as the dividend paid had always been above this. This time they would ensure that the investment of £200,000 was covered. They considered that to improve the Dudley Tunnel would be £1000,000, but they may as well have a new tunnel built to modern standards. The original estimates were that to drive the tunnel would be £170,000, to purchase the required land would be £12,000, and sundry other costs£56,000. The Act gave them permission to impose a toll of 4d a ton of cargo through the tunnel until the construction was paid for. The required Parliamentary Acts were quickly acquired and by October tenders were being sought for construction of the canal and tunnel.

The first sod was cut by Lord Ward who was a major landowner in the area with mines and pits galore. (Most sources seem to give the date of turning the first sod as 31st December for some reason, but the report was in the paper on 29th and as can be seen below the spade used was inscribed with 28th December). In fact at the start he had been against the construction as it would affect his lands, but had been won over by the fact that his businesses would prosper due to the great amount of trade and cheaper freight charges. It was thought that the freight on the carriage of coal would reduce by 1s 6d per ton once the tunnel and canal was completed. He was presented with a spade inscribed with 'Presented to the Right. Hon. Lord Ward for purpose of turning the first sod of the new canal and tunnel to be called Netherton Tunnel on Friday 28th December 1855'. On the reverse it said ' Sir. George Nicholls. KCB Chairman, Messrs. Walker, Cooper and Bringes, Engineers and Mr. George Meakins, Contractor.. After the initial ceremony they company of 300/400 adjourned to a pavilion near the Oakum site, where Lord Ward gave a lengthy speech about the history of the iron trade of the area, it gowth being linked with the growth of the canal and rail systems, and admitted that he was anti the tunnel and canal at first but was one over by the benefits to trade to be brought about by it. Sir Nicholls responded and invited Lord Ward to again dine with them in two years time when the canal was to be completed. They then left to attend a meal at the Dudley Arms Hotel where 200 sat down and following the meal and after the Loyal toasts had many speeches starting to the landlords and Lord Ward, the Iron and coal masters, the engineers and many any more. In fact the 'party' did not break up until the small hours!

Construction started at both ends and seventeen shafts dug down from the surface between 160 and 200 ft apart. The land above the tunnel was changed for ever by the spoil brought up from the tunneling. The tunneling was dangerous and nine were killed and eighteen seriously injured. Five died by being hit by skips falling down the shafts. One time the foreman was rising up the shaft from below when a skip, which I take to be a small rail wagon for moving the spoil, fell down the shaft and struck him in the lifting tub!. It was felt that these numbers were acceptable at the time. The number of men employed at the site also brought problems for the local community due to the drinking, violence and thievery that went on. They must have also brought money to the economy though. By November 1857 the BCN realised that they would need to raise more capital as they were over running the budget.  A further £25,000 was required to purchase old mines and £10,000 more for other land. There was also the cost of obtaining the new Act to increase the funding at £10,000. A further £30,000 was required for the cutting of the tunnel and the rest was required to by the interest on the loans until the new canal started earning money.With the construction of the tunnel trouble had been found with the geology of the district as well as the hillside being riddled with old mine workings. Practically they found that they needed to line the tunnel for three quarters of its length and massive buttresses at the entrances. However they only had 470 yards left of tunneling. They required a further £100,000 of capital and again the LNW Railway gave security on the full amount.

The construction missed the original delivery date of December 1857 and by February 1858 they were expecting to be completed by early summer that year. It was eventually on Friday 20th August 1858 that the canal and tunnel were ceremonially opened. The BCN officials and some invited guests boarded seven narrow boats at Broad Street and with much fanfare and with banners and flags flying they departed sailed to Dudley Port. Here they paused to take on more guest that had arrived via the train. They then proceeded through the tunnel, the banks of the new canal being thronged by the workers. The passage took 24 mins and once at the other end Sir Nicholls stood stood at the bow of his boat and raised the toast to the success of the tunnel. The captains of the boats then uncorked their large stock of good wine and other refreshments and there was general merriment to return the toast. After a brief  stop they continued down the canal. As well as the opening of the Netherton Branch Canal and Tunnel the party were off to celebrate the opening of the Two Lock Line that provided a short cut on the Dudley Canal, missing out the Blowers Green lock and shortening the distance for through boats. Having dropped down the two locks they continued to The Delph where another opening was to take place. This was the newly constructed flight of six locks that descended to the level of the Stourbridge Canal. The top and bottom locks remained but the original middle seven were reduce to six. From the top of the flight they boats then turned and headed for the Park Head Locks at the mouth of the Dudley Canal. Here they left on foot for the Dudley Hotel once again. Two hundred again sat down to a banquet and many more were treated to an excellent repast on the seven boats that were moored at the Lodge Farm Reservoir.

In the beginning the tunnel was lit by Gas light. The cost of installation was to be over £37 and it was estimated that it would consume a million cu ft of gas a year. It was later lit by electricity and this photo must have been taken then unless lit for a special occasion. The electricity was generated by a little hydroelectric plant that took water from the Old Main Line at Tividale Aqueduct near the northern portal. The power house was a little brick building on the toll island. I'm not sure when it was left unlit, probably since the 1950's, but you only have the light of seven ventilation shafts of the seventeen that are left open now.

By September that year there were 1000 boats passing through the tunnel every day but the next year it was revealed that the takings from the new tunnel did not cover the interest on the loan, short by £1000 to £1500, but the BCN continued to pay a dividend over over 5% as trade over the whole system grew due to the through trade created. Following the completion we have an insight into the items used in the construction of the canal and tunnel as various sales were held for surplus equipment. In March 1858 George Meakin had for sale 20 short legged superior and powerful cart horses and all their harness and a year after the completion he had horizontal engines and their boilers, 6 mortar pans with rollers and shafts etc, 3 flat colliery chains 200 yds long 6" iron pump, 1 horse mortar mill, one pug mill, circular saw bench with blades, 16" lathe, 60 wrought iron skips, 40 wooden skips and 50 pit trolleys. It shows what a large enterprise it had to be, and what good profit Meakin must have made to auction off this equipment at the inevitable loss from when he purchased them!

Just two of the original 17 construction/ventilation shafts of the Netherton Tunnel. I feel a walk coming on next time we pass to find them all.. On the left is one in the middle of a roundabout in Tividale and the other is in housing on Packwood Road.

It is two way working but still if on your own the length of the tunnel means that sometimes you lose concentration and need all the width! The tow paths are gated. Indeed in 1933 people who wandered in to the tunnel were fined for cycling in the tunnel, but I suppose they only lock the gates when they are working on one side or another as it would be a long way to go back if you got half way! The tunnel has had various repairs and at on time it was closed due to vapour and 'fug' from phosphorus. It seems that there was a ghostly light emitted by the gas too. It was being dumped in an old pit nearby so whether it leaked out of the boats, or through the ground I'm not sure.

The tunnel access come in from the top right corner and this map of 1884 shows just how busy and industrial the area would have been and was also a crossroads with the Dudley canal No.2 Canal heading off to the bottom right, through the Lappal Tunnel and joining the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The Dudley No.1 Canal heads off down at the bottom to join up with the Stourbridge Canal and to the top left is an arm to more pits and works. The Bumble Hole loop was part of the old canal before the new, and straight, tunnel access cut it off.

We were considering stopping at windmill End, but decided to carry on after stopping to top up with water, despite the rain.

Brewin's Tunnel was dug in 1838 and passed through an igneous intrusion. It caused a bottle neck to boats so in 1858 it was opened up with just the high level bridge left. This would be one of the construction sites that the boats carrying the dignitaries from the opening of the the Netherton Tunnel would have seen on their trip.

There was plenty of room at the Waterfront near Merryhill so availed ourselves. There was a trip to the shopping, one to the Batham's brew house and the following day a cooked breakfast at the Wetherspoon's opposite. Always a pleasure to stop here. My mouth has started watering at the thought of a pint of Batham's now!!