Early Welland Canals

Early Welland Canals. . The modern Welland Canal is actually the fourth version to be built since 1829. Unlike the later government-operated canals, the First Welland Canal was built by a private company., The outline on the ground represents a typical lock from the First Canal. Compare the outline to Lock 3. How have the locks changed?, [Caption for drawing:] Typical locks, balance beam gates, and barge traffic on the Erie Canal., Dressed stone was used to build the Second Canal (1845) and Third Canal (1881). The gates of the early canals were manually opened and closed. Large balance beams, or levers, projected out from the top of the gate to help 'balance' the mass of the gate leaf and facilitate its movement by locktenders and ship crew., Early canals were too narrow to navigate a sailing ship. Teams of horses, mules or oxen - driven by a towboy - would move along a towpath beside the channel, towing vessels with their sails furled. The Third and Fourth Canals were built for steam and diesel ships capable of transiting the Canal under their own power., First Welland Canal , Started 1824 - Completed 1829, [Under ship diagram:] , Typical Vessel , Length 100Ft - Cargo Capacity 165 Tons, [Under lock diagram:] , Typical Lock, Length of Gates - (33.5 m) - 110 FT , Width of Lock - (6.7 m) - 22 FT , Depth of Water over Sills - (2.4 m) - 8 FT , Single Lifts - (1.5 m - 3.4 m) - 4 FT TO 11 FT , Number of Locks - 40, Second Welland Canal , Started 1840 · Completed 1845, [Under ship diagram:] , Typical Vessel , Length 140Ft - Cargo Capacity 700 Tons, [Under lock diagram:] , Typical Lock, Length of Gates - (45.7 m) - 150 FT , Width of Lock - (8.0 m) - 26 FT 6 IN , Depth of Water over Sills - (2.7 m) - 9 FT , Single Lifts - (2.9 m - 4.3 m) - 9 FT 6 IN TO 14 FT 3 IN , Number of Locks - 27, Third Welland Canal , Started 1875 · Completed 1887, [Under ship diagram:] , Typical Vessel , Length 255Ft - Cargo Capacity 3700 Tons, [Under lock diagram:] , Typical Lock, Length of Gates - (82.3 m) - 270 FT , Width of Lock - (13.7 m) - 45 FT , Depth of Water over Sills - (4.3 m) - 14 FT , Single Lifts - (3.7 m - 4.9 m) - 12 FT TO 14 FT 3 IN , Number of Locks - 26, Welland Ship Canal , Started 1913 - Completed 1932-33, Length between Inner Gates - (261.8 m) - 850 FT , Width of Lock - (24.4 m) - 60 FT , Depth of Water over Sills - (9.1 m) - 30 FT , Single Lifts - (14.2 m) - 46 FT 6 IN , Number of Locks including 3 Twin - 8 , Total Lockage - (99.5 m) - 326 FT 6 IN, H5 Humberstone is 1380 FT long between inner gates, [Under lock diagram:] , Typical Lock, [Under ship diagram:] , Typical Vessel , Maximum Length 225.5m (740 FT) and Cargo Capacity 25000 Tons at 8m (26.3 FT), Adjacent to the lock outline, the stone blocks define the increased width of the Second Welland Canal. The subsequently enlarged width of the Third Welland Canal (1887) , is approximately 1 m (39 in.) from the fence. Similarly, the length of the locks for the Second and Third Canals are shown to the north by stone blocks measured from the upper gates of the First Canal outline., Remnants of the stone locks from the Second and Third Welland Canals can be found throughout St. Catharines and neighbouring communities. A ten-minute drive from Lock 3 will take you to the location of an excavated lock from the First Canal - Lock 24 off Merritt Street. Sections of the Second Canal can be found in Mountain Locks Park on Glendale Avenue., Caution! Climbing on the artifacts can be hazardous, Learn about the earlier Canals on your visit to the St. Catharines Museum, before you set out to explore the Canal remnants.