Engine Arm Aqueduct

Engine Arm Aqueduct
The Engine Arm Aqueduct, cast by Horseley Ironworks
Coordinates
OS grid reference	SP023888
Carries	BCN Engine Arm
Crosses	BCN New Main Line
Locale	Smethwick
Maintained by	British Waterways
Heritage status	Scheduled Ancient Monument
Characteristics
Trough construction	Cast Iron
Pier construction	Stone
Total length	52 feet (15.8 m)
Width	8 feet (2.4 m)
Traversable?	No
Towpaths	Both
Number of spans	One

The Engine Arm Aqueduct near Smethwick, West Midlands, England, was built in 1825 by Thomas Telford to carry a water feeder, the Engine Arm, from Edgbaston Reservoir over the BCN New Main Line canal to the adjacent and parallel Old Main Line. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is Grade II* listed.

It is a 52-foot (16 m) 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 8 feet (2.4 m) wide with the towpaths either side being 4-foot-4-inch (1.32 m) in width each. The eastern towpath is paved in brick with raised strips for horses.

• 

  The top of the aqueduct

• 

  Roving bridge at the junction

• 

  Aqueduct approaching from the east

See also

• Canals of the United Kingdom
• History of the British canal system

References

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