Monkland Canal prior to motorway

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Postby macca734 » Wed May 17, 2006 7:57 pm

Alex Glass wrote:Ken

Second from the right.

MW

The last photo was taken about 1971 and the the first was taken about 1980.

I have many pictures in my mind but sadly I didn't take a camera with me during that period of growing up.

macca734

Like your suggestion about the Evening Times. Will have to get a look at the photos you suggest.

Just remembered a picture from the Mitchell. taken of the other side of the Gartgraig flyover.

Away to find it and will post it later.


Sorry its such a scabby copy Alex, I practically had to crowbar it from the Times' webpage.

Image

If you go to the Times website and look for photosales. Do a search for Glasgow Fort or just Fort.
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Postby Alex Glass » Thu May 18, 2006 9:05 am

Well done macca

Great to see the canal wind it's way between Easterhouse and Barlanark.

Got the photo of the other side of the Gartcraig Flyover.

Image

The houses on the left are Bankend Street and on the right is Cranhill. The highrise flats may give a clue to the date as well as Bankend Street houses. The flats were renovated and Bankend Street demolished.

If memory serves Bankend was demolished after a couple of million was invested in that one street. It was about 1985 and this photo must have been about this time you can just see that one building has been renovated whilst the other has not. With the growth on the bank it was clearly a while after the road was opened.
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Re: Ruchazie Section of the Monklands Canal

Postby Fat Cat » Fri May 19, 2006 10:26 am

Alex Glass wrote:During the construction of the motorway they built a teporary road at the rear of Gartcraig Road and closed off the bridge. This ensured that we could have our regular games of tennis on the road witout having to look out for cars. Because of the rocks below where we lived there was regular blasting to clear the way of the new road. A large blast of the siren gave warning of the next blast. It wasn't long befor we couldn't get to the field of previous adventures.



I remember this so well Alex. The road seemed to have been blocked off for ages and myself and Melanie would play tennis in the road. I think it was during the really hot summer ('77?). I also remember the other houses that kind of backed on to our being pulled down.
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Postby swavmcav » Fri May 19, 2006 11:03 am

I know the Monkland canal still "flows" under the M8 to replenish the water level in the Forth & Clyde (it comes in round the basin at Port Dundas i think).

I was sitting in the traffic on the M8 yesterday on the bridge just at the gas works and just before the M80 joins thinking about this (I had a long time to think) when I noticed 3 plastic pipes on the outside edge of the bridge. They were not that big, each was probably about 12 inches in diameter.

I don't know what size of pipe you would need. Possibly not that big as the purpose is just to supply enough water to maintain the water level in the F&C rather than float barges.

So I was wondering, could these be the Monkland Canal?
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby DUNFERMLINEBOY » Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:09 am

The Monkland Canal still flows in pipes along its original route under the Motorway and it would be perfectly possible to restore the canal from cuilhill to Airdrie if the will was there to do so, in fact technology could probably even allow it to reopened by tunnel under the M8 if the will was there to do so! In many ways its a pity its not as all the other main canals of scotland have been restored and even reopened its ashame that the only canal ever to make money has not been!!
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Glesga_Steve » Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:44 pm

DUNFERMLINEBOY wrote:The Monkland Canal still flows in pipes along its original route under the Motorway and it would be perfectly possible to restore the canal from cuilhill to Airdrie if the will was there to do so, in fact technology could probably even allow it to reopened by tunnel under the M8 if the will was there to do so! In many ways its a pity its not as all the other main canals of scotland have been restored and even reopened its ashame that the only canal ever to make money has not been!!

It would probably be possible to reinstate significant sections of the canal (e.g. from Sikeside to the rear of Coatbridge Tesco and from the eastern end of Bank Street to Blair Road) without excessive engineering difficulty. I'd like to know what your suggestion would be for reinstating the stretch in between the aforementioned sections though, given that one of the busiest roads in Coatbridge is located along the stretch, with the Faraday Retail Park / Coatbridge Health Centre situated on the south side of the road and Asda / Coatbridge town centre situated on the north side of the road - it wouldn't be possible without making massive changes to the local infrastructure/buildings.

I doubt the M8 section could be reinstated either (in tunnel or otherwise).

Even assuming you could reinstate the canal all the way from Port Dundas to Calderbank, perhaps the more pertinent question would be why would there be a need/desire to do so? Do canal users really want to reach Calderbank just to have to turn around and make the reverse trip back to Glasgow?
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Icecube » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:52 pm

Wot Steve said plus that fact that the pipes carrying the water from the sluice at Cuilhill aren't actually located under the actual M8 (aka the Monkland motorway) but more probably are situated under the bankings of the cuttings running along the northern (east bound lanes) side of it - from Easterhouse Road as far west as Blackhill.

Watering some of the Coatbridge sections, Blair Road to the Fountain maybe (easily done if you excluded the need for consultants) would be a nice amenity, a couple of feet of water, some fish, yes alright.

A Forth & Clyde type resurrection would not be possible - and not desired I'd say considering how little that waterway is used despite the massive expenditure thrown at it in the Millenium craze.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Huggy » Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:32 pm

I remember the motorway being built, I think the canal is in big pipes under the carriageway.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Icecube » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:16 am

Huggy wrote:I remember the motorway being built, I think the canal is in big pipes under the carriageway.



Who told you that?
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Glesga_Steve » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:27 am

Huggy wrote:I remember the motorway being built, I think the canal is in big pipes under the carriageway.

Icecube wrote:... the pipes carrying the water from the sluice at Cuilhill aren't actually located under the actual M8 (aka the Monkland motorway) but more probably are situated under the bankings of the cuttings running along the northern (east bound lanes) side of it - from Easterhouse Road as far west as Blackhill.

Sorry Huggy, you're wrong about it being under the carriageway.

Icecube is (partly) correct.

The Monkland Canal pipeline between Cuilhill and Port Dundas consists of twin 750mm (or 30" for old-school imperial laddies like yourself Icecube :wink: ) diameter pipes with brick access chambers at regular intervals. The pipes are mainly either asbestos cement (primarily the section between Cuilhill and Wardie Road) or reinforced concrete (primarily the section between Wardie Road and Port Dundas), though some small sections are made of other materials such as ductile iron.

It was constructed some years before construction work began on the motorway, though some sections were later re-aligned for various reasons (e.g. to accomodate the line of the motorway carrigeway; to be moved away from new bridge support positions). It had intakes from the disused canal sections at Wardie Road and (just east of) Barlinnie until the early 1970s - these were abandoned ahead of preparatory works beginning for the motorway construction.

Most of the route is located on the southern side of the motorway, though it varies a fair bit in distance from the carriageway, with some sections coming right up to the edge of the hard shoulder and others being located a good bit further back into the embankments. At the Baillieston end, it crosses over to the south side of the motorway just a few hundred yards east of Easterhouse Road (at a point roughly at the very back of Central Car Auction's car parking). It crosses back over to the north side of the motorway at Junction 15 and then runs past the front of Baird Street cop shop before passing through Sighthill Park on its way into the basin. Some of the access chambers are plainly visible (e.g. see here and here) - I'd bet that most people who travel along this part of the motorway on a regular basis have noticed them and not even given them a second thought. One of the access chambers is located behind the trees on the southern side of the Junction 13 exit slip road (not visible from the road but can be seen on Google Maps) - this is actually an overflow chamber, which enables water to be spilled into the motorway drainage via a 450mm diameter pipe.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Huggy » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:04 am

Guys, I lived there as a wean and watched the work at this section in the photo, from canal to motorway. The pipework as I recall was laid where the land sloped away to the south at Bankend Street. The north side is solid rock with a dolerite sill at the former canal bridge. Judging by the width of the motorway I find it hard to believe the pipes are not under this. The high flats is the site of the Sugarolly Mountains.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Glesga_Steve » Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:25 pm

You may find it hard to believe that the pipeline isn't under the carrigeway but I can assure you that I know for a fact it isn't. At the section you're referring to, the pipeline runs along the strip of land between the hard shoulder and Fastnet Street - click here and you will see the reinforced concrete roof slab on one of the access chambers in the strip of land.

The reason I know the route, access chamber positions, pipe size/material, etc is because I have have access to both modern day record drawings and scanned versions of the original motorway construction drawings. I have also had occasion to be on site when inspections have been carried out at some of the access chambers in years gone by.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Josef » Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:32 pm

... and replies don't get more definitive that that.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Huggy » Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:01 pm

Amazing Steve, little did I think at the time when gazin doon that hole that many many years into the future on a wee electric boax, somebody would point out my mistaken belief on where the canal, on which I once sailed on a raft as far as the Gazoon, disappeared tae. For which much thanks.
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Re: Monkland Canal prior to motorway

Postby Icecube » Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:42 pm

I can't argue with that :D Thanks Steve.
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