tarboat's photos with the keyword: irwell

Manchester has changed dramatically in the 21st century and Salford is following fast. The speed of redevelopment is astonishing. This is the top end of the Manchester Ship Canal viewed from an Eccles bound tram and looking towards the city centre. The entrances to what were the Pomona Docks can be seen on the right side.

The Board of Trade Inspection of the Irwell Viaduct over the developing Manchester Ship Canal. There are 10 locomotives of the Midland Railway and Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway standing on the bridge, giving a total of 750 tons. The date is said to be 1893, but I wonder if it might be a bit earlier. The site of Irlam Locks is in the distance and the old railway bridge just after the viaduct that will replace it. The River Mersey is running in on the right side of the image. The viaduct is still in use today but has been completely rebuilt with new steelwork and extra support pillars for the outside spans.

Calamanco Lock at Flixton was one of the original eight locks constructed on the Mersey & Irwell Navigation in the 1720s. The site was already weired to provide a head for an existing mill and the rise of the lock was 3ft 3ins. The original lock 68 feet long by 16 feet 4 inches wide to accommodate Mersey Flats. It was rebuilt in 1820 and extended to 72 feet 8 inches long as seen here. All was swept away in the early 1890s with the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. This image features in Bosdin Leech's history of the Manchester Ship Canal and was found with all the other illustrations dumped in a skip having been detached from the book at some time.

Millbank Lock was the second of the original locks on the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. It had a rise of 6ft 6ins. The river course was dredged extensively to create the channel of the Manchester Ship Canal. When this photograph was taken the lock and weir had already been removed, but the paper mill in the background marks the site of the lock. Another photograph from Bosdin Leech's tome on the Ship Canal.