A map of the Old Main Line (BCN)
The map displays a range of services available on the Old Main Line (BCN). Simply click the box next to any service being displayed in the Map Key on the left of your screen.
Map Key
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
A brief history of the Old Main Line (BCN)
Summarised data for all 5 branches:
| Canal length : | 18 miles |
| Locks : | 30 |
In January 1767 a group of prominent Birmingham businessmen proposed the building of a canal from Wolverhampton to Birmingham. The canal would join the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in the west to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in the east.
They engaged the services of the canal engineer James Brindley to propose a route. Brindley proposed using his contour method in which the canal follows the natural contours of the land. This results in a meandering path but with no locks and none of the associated delays.
An Act of Parliament was passed in February 1768 which allowed the building of the canal with additional branches at Ocker Hill and Wednesbury, providing access to the coal mines.
The project was completed in 1772 and was profitable from the beginning. Completion of the first phase from Birmingham to Wednesbury resulted in the domestic price of coal in Birmingham, being halved.
The Old Main Line Canal has 5 branches – The Dudley Tunnel Branch, The Netherton Tunnel Branch, The Tat Bank Branch, The Engine Arm and the Titfor Canal.For more detailed information, follow the links below: