Derby Canal
The Derby Canal was a 14 mile (23 km) long canal in the English county of Derbyshire . It connected the city of Derby with the River Trent and the Trent-and-Mersey-Canal built parallel to it in the south and the Erewash Canal in the north. North of Derby it had a branch canal to Little Eaton , where the five kilometer long horse-drawn Derby Canal Railway , which was built at the same time, was connected as a feeder .
The canal was built from 1793 to 1796. Its most demanding construction was the aqueduct over a mill ditch derived from the Derwent river south of Derby, the world's first canal bridge not made of stone but of cast iron . In 1802, 1812 and 1930 there were weak spots which were repaired with thick wooden beams. The Derby Canal had nine locks between the Erewash Canal and the Trent-and-Mersey-Canal, a staircase of three locks from this down to the Trent, a staircase of four locks in the branch canal to Little Eaton and a lock in the connection of the upper Derwent. The height profile had a vertex area north of Derby and one between the aqueduct and the south end.
The southern connection was cut in 1817 after the operating company of the Trent and Mersey Canal, which had previously tried to prevent the construction of the Derby Canal, had reduced its use by excessive tolls . In the mid-19th century, competition from the railroad drove several canal companies in the region into bankruptcy ; the Derby channel could hold up. In 1908 the branch canal to Little Eaton was given up, as was the horse-drawn tram there. It was not until 1964 that the canal company also ended the operation of the rest of the canal with official permission.
Several bridges and the remains of some locks are still preserved. The aqueduct was demolished in 1971. In 1994 the Derby and Sandiacre Canal Society was founded, which has since endeavored to restore the remains.
Coordinates: 53 ° 1 ′ 11 " N , 1 ° 25 ′ 31" W.