Hay Inclined Plane

Summary

One of the best examples of the ingenuity of 19th century engineers to overcome the differences in height between the Shropshire canal, running from Blists Hill, and the canal basin at Coalport.

Surmounting a vertical distance of 63 metres (the equivalent of 25 conventional canal locks) it employed a clever system of lowering and hauling (at the same time) fully laden Tub boats directly from the canal above to the canal basin below using railway tracks.

The Inclined Plane operated successfully from 1792 to 1894. It then fell into disuse and decay and the original rails were removed in 1910 and the canal basin filled in during the 1920s. General restoration work started in 1969, culminating in the re-laying of the railway tracks and the clearance of the canal basin.

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