Tow Line Rollers On The Leeds Liverpool Canal - Salterforth, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The canal is 127.25 miles long and flows from the inland woollen town of Leeds to the coastal sea port of Liverpool, crossing the Pennines along the way. Work on the canal started in 1770 and built in a number of sections and was finally completed in 1816.

By 1777 sections of the canal had been opened at each end of the canal at Leeds and Liverpool, but money had run out to complete the middle section.

In 1791 work re-started on building the canal west from Gargrave and by 1796 this section was complete making the canal navigable from Leeds to Burnley.

At this time the canal boats were un-powered and towed along the canal by horses. The bridges that were built at this time were single span stone arch bridges and the boat's tow ropes easily cut grooves into the bridges. Wooden rollers were attached to the sides of the bridges to reduce the problem and a number of them have had reproductions attached to them.

At this point the canal has quite a sharp bend and not only did bridge number 152 need protection but boats needed extra help to navigate the bend without hitting the canal bank.

This plaque and nearby rollers explain the problem and the solution.

TOW LINE ROLLERS

When the canal turned a sharp bend as at Salterforth, it was
difficult for a horse drawn-boat to steer and the tow rope would
pull the boat into the bank instead of around the corner. To stop
this from happening, vertical rollers were fitted to upright
wooden posts, the tow rope passing across the rollers and
keeping the pull on the boat such that it was not a problem for
the boatman steering the boat.

Tow lines would rub against the bridge arch after the horse had
passed underneath. This caused grooves to be worn into the
stonework. Vertical wooden rollers were fitted to most bridges to
stop such wear. The iron bearings for the wooden rollers guard
irons often survive, though most of the rollers have now
disappeared, here they have been renewed.

The plaque has a diagram showing how the boat negotiated the turn using the rollers.

The bridge itself is an English Heritage Grade II listed building.

Type of Historic Marker: Free standing metal plaque Give your Rating: Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Not listed Age/Event Date: Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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