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Difino
| • | The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal is a canal in the south of Scotland at Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone. Despite the name, the canal was never completed down to Ardrossan. The terminuses being Port Eglinton in Glasgow and Thorn Brae in Johnstone. Within months of opening, the canal was the scene of a major disaster.
The canal was first proposed by Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton in 1791. He wanted to connect the booming industrial towns of Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone to the ports at Ardrossan. Construction began in 1807 and the first boat. The passenger boat, The Countess of Eglinton, was launched on the 31st October, 1810. Though this initially only ran from Paisley to Johnstone. The full length to Glasgow's Port Eglinton was completed some time in 1811.
The canal was designed and surveyed by the Engineers John Rennie, Thomas Telford and John Ainslie. It was built without the use of locks. The full 11 mile length following the contours of the land to stay level. This made the canal longer than it need have been. However it did make the canal very fast.
The original plans were to extend the canal to Ardrossan. However, dredging of the River Clyde allowing boats further upstream, negated the requirements of the full plan. A aqueduct over the Clyde at the centre of Glasgow to link up with the Forth and Clyde Canal was proposed. But this also was not built.
Saturday 10th November 1810 was the Martina's Fair. Many people, with the day of work, took the opportunity to travel the short distance of 6 miles by canal between Paisley and Johnstone. As the boat, The Countess of Eglinton, docked at the Paisley wharf, there was a rush of people trying to get onto the boat. At the same time, people from Johnstone were attempting to disembark. Despite the attempts of the boat men to push off again, the weight of people pushing onto the boat caused it to suddenly overturn, throwing many passengers into the cold water of the wharf.
Even though the wharf was only 6 foot deep, the coldness of the water and the sheer sides of the embankments compound the problem that few people of the time could swim. 85 people died in this disaster.
Despite the disaster, the canal became a popular service
Source: [wikipedia: glasgow, paisley and johnstone canal]
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