George W. Buck - Canal Engineer

Canal Engineer

Buck's next appointment was as engineer for the Eastern Branch of the Montgomeryshire Canal in 1819. The canal had been planned to run from the Ellesmere Canal at Carreghofa to Newtown, but construction had stopped at Garthmyl in 1797, due to a lack of funds. This section became known as the Eastern Branch. It had been build by John Dadford and his brother Thomas, both relatively inexperienced, but John had left for America before the project was completed, to be replaced by his father, also called Thomas Dadford. Construction of the rest of the line to Newtown, known as the Western Branch, and built by a company which was more or less independent, began in 1815, to the designs of Josias Jessop. The work was finished in 1819, although was not declared to be complete until December 1821.

There had been problems with some of the structures on the Eastern Branch during construction, although Jessop, when asked to comment, had suggested that such problems were quite usual. However, by the time Buck took up his position, the problems were obvious, and he embarked on a programme of reconstruction. First on the list was the Luggy Aqueduct at Brithdir, which was rebuilt with a cast iron trough in the year he started. Next he introduced lock gates built of the same material, and also used it for replacing some of the bridge beams. The aqueduct over the River Vyrnwy had failed during construction, when an arch collapsed, and by 1823, the masonry was distorted and bulging. Again, iron was Buck's material of choice, for he used wrought iron tie rods connected to cast iron facing plates to hold the structure together, with cast iron beams on the faces of the arches. Several of the aqueducts were also fitted with cast iron railings. In 1821 he designed the waterwheel used to pump water from the River Severn at Newtown to the top pound of the Western Branch, and introduced the distinctive lock paddle gear to the Eastern Branch in 1831. In December 1832 he was appointed engineer of the Western Branch as well, but moved on a year later.