Manchester Ship Canal Company

Manchester Ship Canal
Stolt Kittiwake heading toward the Mersey Estuary, 2005
Specifications
Length	36 miles (58 km)
Maximum boat length	600 ft 0 in (182.9 m) (Regularly limited to 530 feet (160 m))
Maximum boat beam	65 ft 6 in (20.0 m) (Regularly limited to 53 feet 6 inches (16.31 m))
Locks	5
Status	Open
Navigation authority	Manchester Ship Canal Company
History
Principal engineer	Edward Leader Williams
Date of act	5 August 1885
Construction began	1887
Date of first use	1 January 1894
Date completed	7 December 1893
Geography
Start point	Eastham Locks
End point	Salford Quays
Connects to	River Bollin, Glaze Brook, River Mersey, River Irwell, Bridgewater Canal, Shropshire Union Canal, Weaver Navigation

The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet (18 m) up to Manchester, where the canal's terminus was built. Major landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the only swing aqueduct in the world, and Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate and still the largest in Europe.

The rivers Mersey and Irwell were first made navigable in the early 18th century. Goods were also transported on the Runcorn extension of the Bridgewater Canal (from 1776) and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (from 1830), but by the late 19th century the Mersey and Irwell Navigation had fallen into disrepair and was often unusable. In addition, Manchester's business community viewed the charges imposed by Liverpool's docks and the railway companies as excessive. A ship canal was therefore proposed as a way of giving ocean-going vessels direct access to Manchester. The region was suffering from the effects of the Long Depression, and for the canal's proponents, who argued that the scheme would boost competition and create jobs, the idea of a ship canal made sound economic sense. They initiated a public campaign to enlist support for the scheme, which was first presented to Parliament as a bill in 1882. Faced with stiff opposition from Liverpool, the canal's supporters were unable to gain the necessary Act of Parliament to allow the scheme to go ahead until 1885.