Power comes to the canals

摘要

When the first canals were built, they relied on a one horsepower engine - and the engine had four legs and was fuelled by hay. The steam age brought new possibilities and there were early experiments to introduce the new technology to the canals. The engineer william symington designed a steam tug for use on the forth & clyde canal in 1803. The charlotte dundas was given a full trial and succeeded in hauling two fully-laden 70-ton barges along the canal at a respectable average speed of just over two miles an hour. But the thrashing paddle wheel and its turbulent wake alarmed the watching canal proprietors who were convinced it would damage the banks.