Canada Dock

Canada Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Canada Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall with three branch docks and a graving dock to the east. It is connected to Brocklebank Dock to the north and Huskisson Dock to the south.

The dock was designed by Jesse Hartley and opened in 1859. Canada Dock dealt in timber and was named after the main source of the cargo, Canada. Fire was the greatest concern and the dock was initially kept isolated from the rest of the dock system for safety reasons. The original river entrance also presented navigational difficulties, with the area affected by silting. Modifications to the basin took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, creating the branch docks and graving dock. Further improvements took place during the 1950s and 1960s as the dock became a base for cargo liner companies such as Harrison Line.citeweb|url=http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/nof/docks/access/dock_history3.html|title=Trading Places: Canada Dock history|work=Liverpool Museums|accessdate=4 May|accessyear=2008]

During the First World War, the liner RMS "Lusitania" was refitted at Canada Dock, which included the installation of twelve 6-inch guns.

Until its closure on 12 September 1982, the dock was connected to the national rail network by the Canada Dock Branch, the terminus of which was Canada Dock railway station. Although the branch line closed to passengers in 1941, it had remained in use for goods. [citeweb|url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/c/canada_dock/index.shtml|title=Canada Dock railway station|work=Disused Stations|accessdate=28 September|accessyear=2005] Passenger services were also provided by the Liverpool Overhead Railway via Canada Dock (LOR) station.

Canada Dock remains in use, handling general bulk cargoes and as a site for scrap metal processing and storage.citeweb|url=http://www.level-two.co.uk/report.php?locname=canada|title=Canada Dock|work=Level 2: Urban exploration|accessdate=28 June|accessyear=2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.liverpool2007.org.uk/docks/docks2.htm Liverpool North Docks map]
* [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/dkbkpl27.jpgCanada Dock historical map]
* [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=333500&Y=394000&width=700&height=400&gride=333500&gridn=393750&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=pc&pc=&zm=0&scale=5000&multimap.x=348&multimap.y=333 Canada Dock aerial photo]