Forth and Cart Canal

The Forth and Cart Canal was a short 0.5 mile (0.8 km) link canal which provided a short cut between the Forth and Clyde Canal, at Whitecrook, and the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Cart. It was intended to provide a transport link between the town of Paisley, the Firth of Forth and Port Dundas, Glasgow, without having to go via Bowling. The Forth and Cart Canal was closed in 1893.

The Cart navigation

An Act of Parliament obtained in 1753 made the White Cart Water navigable. The works which allowed this included straightening out part of the White Cart Water and building a bridge at Inchinnan in 1787 to carry the Turn Pike road (now the A8) over a new cut made for the White Cart Water, which was started on 23 August 1787.

The River Cart and the White Cart Water provided a navigable waterway between the River Clyde and the centre of Paisley.

The Forth and Cart Canal

The Forth and Cart canal was authorised in May 1836 and was completed in 1840. It joined the River Clyde almost opposite the mouth of the River Clyde and joined the Forth and Clyde Canal at Whitecrook. It had three locks which were 67 foot (20.4 m) long and 15 foot (4.5 m) wide; limiting vessels to that size.

It was taken over by the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1855; and, together with the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Monkland Canal, was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1853. The Forth and Cart Canal was closed in 1893 as it was unprofitable.

Locks

There were three locks on the Forth and Cart Canal:

• a single lock, and
• a pair of staircase locks.

The total rise was 30 foot (9 metre).

References

• Lindsay, Jean (1968). The Canals of Scotland. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4240-1.

See also

• The River Cart
• The River Clyde
• The Forth and Clyde Canal

External links

• The Forth & Clyde and Union Canals
• The Scotland Guide: Glasgow, The Forth and Clyde Canal - surveying the canal