Union Canal (Scotland)
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The Union Canal is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual Scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows.
It shares in the revival of interest in canals generally at the present day, and, as a result of the Millennium Link, was re-opened in 2001 and reconnected to the Forth and Clyde Canal in 2002 by the Falkirk Wheel. It is now in popular use for leisure purposes.
The Union Canal, with today's length of 31 miles (50 km), was built as a contour canal, following the 240 feet (73 m) contour throughout its length, thereby avoiding the delay due to locks, at the expense of some prodigious civil engineering structures. It was originally 32 miles in length, running to Port Hopetoun basin in Edinburgh from the junction at Falkirk. The Edinburgh terminal was a basin in the space between Semple Street and Lothian Road, south of Morrison Street. The final mile has been truncated and the Edinburgh terminal is now at Lochrin Basin in Tollcross, adjacent to Fountainbridge.
The canal has several navigable aqueducts, including the Slateford Aqueduct that takes the canal over the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, the Almond Aqueduct near Ratho and the 810-foot-long (250 m) Avon Aqueduct near Linlithgow, the second longest in the United Kingdom.
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Wikipedia