Smethwick Junction (canal) - Location

Location

Smethwick Junction has two Horseley Ironworks roving bridges dated 1828. They were built as part of Thomas Telford's improvements to the Birmingham Canal. One crosses the main line to the east of the junction, and the other crosses the old main line to the west. Each bridge has a span of 52.5 feet (16.0 m) and the arch rises 9 feet (2.7 m). The semi-elliptical form gives greater headroom above the towpaths. The ribs were manufactured in two parts and are bolted at the crown. They have an X-lattice structure with a decorative quatrefoil pattern below the handrail. The deck is of cast-iron plates with raised ribs 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) high cast on their upper surfaces to help retain the earth filling which forms the footway. The bridge abutments and wing walls are of brick with stone facings at the corners. There are deep cuts in the ironwork of the bridges caused by the abrasion of tow-ropes. Both bridges are grade II listed structures, but the one to the west is in the best condition, as the eastern bridge has had one of its abutments repaired in the twentieth century with modern brick and concrete.

From the junction, the main line heads eastwards, and is level for 2.6 miles (4.2 km) to Worcester Bar, the junction with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. There is a towpath on both sides of the channel. The new main line is straight ahead in the other direction, and is level for 5.5 miles (8.9 km) to the bottom of the three Factory Locks, which raise the canal to the Wolvehampton level. The old main line turns to the north, and then runs broadly parallel to the new main line. Just beyond the junction are the three Smethwick locks, each duplicated in the 1790s, which raise the canal 20 feet (6.1 m) from the Birmingham Level to the Wolverhampton Level of 473 feet (144 m). There is a towpath on the south bank only, and water for the summit is supplied by the Smethwich pumping station, which pumps water from the lower level.