The Aire And Calder Navigation - Woodlesford, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 45.631 W 001° 26.811
30U E 602387 N 5957996
This rather faded, but interesting, information board about the history of the Aire and Calder Navigation is alongside the towpath a short distance to the west of Woodlesford Lock.
Waymark Code: WM13JC1
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/24/2020
Views: 0
THE AIRE AND CALDER NAVIGATION
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PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE
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THE CRAFT AND CARGOES OF THE NAVIGATION
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The Aire and Calder Navigation can trace its history back to the days of King William III. In 1699 an Act of Parliament enabled improvements to be carried out to the Rivers Aire and Calder between Leeds, Wakefield and Weeland.
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For nearly three hundred years traffic on the canal has continued to flourish, carrying larger and larger volumes of cargo and requiring regular improvements to be made.
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By making new cuts, straightening and enlarging the river course and by building locks and a towing path, an important route into the heart of the Yorkshire Coalfield, and the land locked woollen industry of the West Riding was established.
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Throughout its history a variety of different craft have plied the waters of the navigation between Leeds and Goole.
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Square rigged sailing keels, used, during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries were crewed by a family, living and working on board. The sail was used in tidal waters and horses or tugs hauled them on the inland waterways.
The problem of carrying coal cheaper than the growing railway network needed to be solved in the 1850s if the navigation was to retain the lucrative trade. The problem was solved by the introduction of the 'Tom Pudding' compartment craft which continued to work for 120 yaers until 1986. Tom Puddings are individual compartments each capable of carrying 4.5 tons of coal. The compartments could be strung together (up to 39 at a time) and fitted with a Jebus or false bow to cut the wake made by the powerful steam tug. Once at their destinations the Tom Pudding were hauled out of the water and the coal tipped out.
Modern push tow compartment systems are based on the tradition of Tom Pudding. The modern pans carry up to 510 tonnes and only 3 pans at a time are pulled or pushed along.
Other modern craft on the navigation include the barges Trenical and Trentaire which carry effluent from Leeds to Goole where it is transferred to coastal vessels and taken out to sea.
The Future
Recent years have seen more and more pleasure craft on the water, and an increase in the numbers of people benefiting from improvements to the canal banks, like new footpaths and picnic areas.
A major development in the next decade will be the rerouting of part of the canal and River Aire, to allow open cast mining to be completed at St. Aidans.
Together all these changes will ensure the navigation remains a safe and economical route for industry, and a green route for boaters and walkers.
Not only is the board very faded it appears to be quite old because where it is talking about the future, those events have happened and new events taken over.
The work on the River Aire and Aire and Calder Navigation was required after the banks collapsed causing a major flooding event in 1988. Open cast coal mining restarted at St. Aidans in 1998 and was completed by 2002.
The land was then reclaimed and in 2013 was handed over to the RSPB to form a 400-hectare (990-acre) nature park open to the public. This park is a short distance to the north east of this board and easily accessible from here on foot either by crossing Woodlesford Lock or a number of bridges.
The latest event which is no longer the future is that on 23 September 2020 the first load of a new service carrying 500 tons of marine dredged aggregates from Hull to Leeds went through Woodlesford lock here heading to Knostrop Wharf not far to the West of here.
Each barge will take the load of 18 articulated lorries, each carrying 28 tonnes, off the crowded M62 motorway. Barges emit 75% less CO2 than heavy lorries. They cause less dust and less noise than lorries. Barges can help Leeds City Council in its efforts to improve air pollution and improve the well-being of its citizens.