Canal Features at Waterloo

Canal Features at Waterloo. Village of Waterloo. , Waterloo Village had a unique combination of canal features, found at no other location. The village boasted an inclined plane, a combined guard lock/aqueduct, two mule bridges, a dam, a blacksmith shop, a canal store, and workers' housing. The incline plane, one of 23 along the Morris Canal, carried boats over an 80-foot change in elevation. The guard lock, unlike lift locks, helped to regulate the flow of water into the canal and boats to enter natural bodies of water. Most of these features survive today, either intact like the canal store or in part like the inclined plane., [Captions:] , A. The Top of Plane 4 West looking toward the village. The men are standing on the cribbing which guided boats into the cradle car for the trip down the plane. A mule bridge, the plane tender's house, and the powerhouse are a short distance away., B. An empty canal boat leaves the cradle car that carries it down the inclined plane. The mules, standing on the bridge, will be hooked to the tow rope and the boat will continue on its journey., C. Mules, heading west, pull a canal boat from the lock at Waterloo. This lock/aqueduct combination, or water bridge, over the outflow from the mills, is probably the only one of its kind. The mules crossed the bridge on the left before proceeding along the towpath., D. A canal boat sits alongside Smith's General Store. Mule feed was stored on the boat in the food box on the far right.