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Dear All, Being 3/4 of the way through Charles Hadfield's book 'The Canal Age' (details of pbl. below), I have some questions that someone knowing the Manchester and Bridgewater coal mining area might hopefully be able to answer. Construction of the canal commenced in 1759 and was completed in 1776 as we know. At the Manchester 'terminus' it is stated that at this point the canal "lay below the level of the of the neighbouring Manchester streets". To overcome this "a tunnel was dug nearest Deansgate into which the coal boats from the Worsley Mines were run". 1st question: does anyone know how much lower was the canal below said streets, and does this tunnel still exist, and at what level were the warehouses?? There is nothing new in modern containerisation, since the coal was placed in barges in iron boxes (each carrying eight cwt. of coal), and at this point (Deansgate), a crane raised same to street level by a waterwheel powered crane for trans-shipment. 2nd question: does anything exist/survive of this operation in the area - can anyone supply GoogleEarth coordinates please. As many know, the Bridgewater Canal was taken a substantial distance into the Duke's coal mines, and a complex system of higher and lower canals were constructed to facilitate the transportation of coal from as near the different seams and faces as possible (56yds below main, 83yds below main) - the coal containers being raised from the 2nd & 3rd u/g canals to the main canal/level. 3rd question: whilst the 2nd & 3rd u/g canal were obviously lower than the main, does one presume these workings are flooded to the level of the main canal, or were they drained by a lower drainage level? - I think not. If not, it can only be presumed that pumping took place, in the normal way, to keep everything at a common water level. A fourth canal was constructed at a higher level than the main, and likewise connected to the main canal by shafts (as all the lower canals). 4th question: how much higher was the higher canal than the main? An u/g incline plane was constructed that enabled barges to be raised and lowered between this higher canal and the main. Charles Hadfield states that in 1961 he went down this "ruined incline" to the main canal. The main canal was driven apx. ten feet wide and eight feet high above water level, and states that on his trip the roof was down in places to four feet in places due to subsidence. By what he says it sounds as if quite some length was still accessible at this date. 5th question: Clearly access was quite good in 1961, but are these workings still accessible after forty plus more years? The vol. is illustrated, but the only u/g photograph is of maintenance on a cross-dam in the Blisworth Tunnel. No date, but looks to be 1910 or so. 6th question: does anyone know of p.graphs of the u/g incline and canal - recent or otherwise. Book details. "The Canal Age", Charles Hadfield, 1st Edit. 1968, pbls. David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd Edit. 1971, David & Charles Series, pbls. Pan Books Ltd. ISBN 0 330 02678 X. This is an excellent vol., and describes in detail the development of the British canal system and the considerable expansion/potential canals gave to the mining and quarrying industry. If someone might know of a book specifically on the Bridgewater Canal, I would be grateful for advice please. Regards, Bernard (p.s. Dear Peter, Quite right. Regards, Bernard).