Engine Arm

The Engine Arm or Birmingham Feeder Arm near Smethwick, West Midlands, England, is a short canal built by Thomas Telford in 1825 to carry water from Rotton Park Reservoir (now called Edgbaston Reservoir) to the Old Line of the BCN Main Line Canal.

The nearby Smethwick Engine (1779) was built to pump water from below the six locks (Smethwick flight) at the eastern end of the Smethwick Summit back to the summit level. Another engine at the western end reclaimed water from use at the Spon Lane locks.

In the 1780s, a cutting was constructed by John Smeaton, enabling three of the six locks on each side of the Smethwick Summit to be removed.

When, in the 1820s, Thomas Telford cut his deeper, straighter New Line of the Birmingham Canal it ran close to the existing James Brindley and John Smeaton Old Line near Smethwick Summit.

The Engine Arm was built to bring water from Rotton Park Reservoir and also to connect the Smethwick Engine, which was used to pump water from the Birmingham Level of the canal to the Smethwick Summit (Wolverhampton Level) of the Old Line.

The Engine Arm was made navigable in 1830 between the Smethwick Summit of the Old Line canal and Engine Arm Basin, just beyond the Smethwick Engine a few hundred metres away so that boats could carry coal to the engine. Beyond Engine Arm Basin a culvert, the Birmingham Feeder, which ran parallel to the New Line at the top of the southern embankment, was a second feeder which brought water from Rotton Park Reservoir, supplementing an earlier feeder which followed a level contour route. The culvert is open for a part of its run along the canal but is covered where it runs through built-up places.

The branch crossed the New Line via the Engine Arm Aqueduct (coord|52.4979|-1.9665|format=dms|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title|name=Engine Arm Aqueduct), which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [http://www.laws.sandwell.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/transport-and-streets/waterways/canals/top-10-canal-attractions/ Sandwell Council - Top Ten Canal Attractions] ]

The Engine Arm Aqueduct is a convert|52|ft|m|sing=on span structure consisting of a cast-iron trough supported by a single arch with five ribs, each consisting of four sections with bolted joints. The trough is supported on three of the ribs, with the adjacent towpaths being supported by cast-iron arcades of Gothic-styled arches and columns. All cast-iron features were manufactured at the Horseley Ironworks in nearby Tipton. The waterway in the aqueduct is convert|8|ft|m wide with the towpaths either side being convert|4|ft|4|in|m|sing=on in width each. The eastern towpath is paved in brick with raised strips for horses. ["Wales and West Central England: Wales and West Central England, 2nd Edition", Roger Cragg, 1997, Thomas Telford (ISBN 0727725769)]

The original Smethwick Engine, at the corner of Rolfe Street and Bridge Street North was replaced in 1892 by a newer engine at Brasshouse Lane bridge, and its excavated foundations are also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

References

*"Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations", J. M. Pearson & Associates, 1989, ISBN 0-907864-49-X