Dukart's Canal facts for kids

Dukart's Canal was a special waterway built in County Tyrone, Ireland, to move coal from the Drumglass mines to the Coalisland Canal. It opened in 1777. Instead of using water locks to change levels, it had three unique "inclined planes." Sadly, these planes never worked well, so the canal was hardly used and taken apart by 1787.

Why Was Dukart's Canal Built?

Coal was found at Drumglass, near Coalisland, in the 1690s. People in Ireland wanted to use this coal. This would mean they would not have to buy as much coal from other countries. The city of Dublin alone used about 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal each year.

In 1709, a mine owner named Thomas Knox asked the Irish Parliament for help. He wanted to build a canal to make moving coal easier. This idea was liked, but nothing happened right away.

The idea came up again in 1727. In 1729, another mine owner, Francis Seymour, suggested a canal from Drumglass to the River Torrent. Small boats could then reach the River Blackwater. From there, larger boats could take the coal to Newry and then to Dublin.

Early Canal Plans

In 1729, the Commission of Inland Navigation for Ireland was created. This group was in charge of building canals. They approved the Newry Canal in 1731. The next year, a canal from Coalisland to the Blackwater was approved. But this canal stopped far from the coal mines.

Moving coal over land to Coalisland made it very expensive. To fix this, a new company was formed in 1749. Important people, like the Archbishop of Armagh, were part of it. They asked Parliament for money to build a 3-mile (4.8 km) road. This road would connect Drumglass to Coalisland. They received £4,000 for the work. It is not clear if this road was ever finished.

In 1760, a group in Parliament asked Thomas Omer to survey a canal route. He looked at a path from the mines to the Newry Navigation. But he thought it would be better to build a canal to Coalisland Basin. This canal would be just over 3 miles (4.8 km) long. It would need 16 locks and cost about £15,667. Omer started work in 1761.

The Committee wanted the canal to carry large 100-ton ships. Omer gave the job to Christopher Myers in 1762. Myers built about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of the canal near Coalisland. He also built part of the first lock. The waterway was 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. Myers later told Parliament that using the riverbed was not practical. He suggested a smaller canal, like the Newry Canal. This canal could take boats 60 by 12 feet (18.3 by 3.7 m) and cost £18,141. It would need 14 locks and a bridge over the River Torrent.

Dukart's Unique Canal Design

In 1767, Parliament approved Myers' plan. But then, a new plan came from Daviso Du Arcort, also known as Davis Dukart. Dukart was from Sardinia. His plan was likely inspired by the Bridgewater Canal in England. That canal used special "tub boats" that could carry 12 tons of coal.

Dukart also planned to use 12-ton tub boats. His canal would have two levels. The first level would start from Coalisland and go into a tunnel. This tunnel would also help drain water from the Derry Colliery mine. A shaft would rise 148 feet (45 m) from the end of the tunnel. Coal would be lowered down this shaft in boxes. It would come from the mine or from boats on the upper canal level. The upper level would cross the River Torrent on a three-arched bridge. It would also end in a tunnel.

Parliament approved Dukart's new plan. By November 1767, he had built two small parts of the canal and some of the bridge. This work cost £3,839. He thought it would cost another £14,457 to finish. Three months later, the cost estimate changed to £26,802. The plans changed again.

Inclined Planes: A New Idea

Instead of tunnels, Dukart decided to use three gravitational inclines. These were like ramps where boats could be moved up or down. They were first designed with wooden ramps and rollers. These inclines were at Brackaville (rising 55 feet or 16.8 m), at Drumreagh (rising 65 feet or 19.8 m), and at Farlough (rising 70 feet or 21.3 m). People called them "hurries" or "dry wherries."

The canal parts were finished by mid-1773. But Dukart had trouble making the inclines work. William Jessop was sent to check the work. He was an engineer who worked with John Smeaton. Smeaton suggested making the inclines work with a counterbalance system. This would mean using a weight to help move the boats. He also suggested making the boats bigger, from one ton to two tons. Smeaton even thought a horse railroad might have been better than a canal for the area.

Dukart still could not get the inclines to work well. He replaced the rollers with railway tracks. Boats were carried on cradles down these tracks. At the Coalisland basin, the tub boats went down a final 15 feet (4.6 m) on another cradle. This cradle would tip them over to empty their coal into larger canal boats.

The canal was finally finished in 1777. At least one boat traveled its whole length. But the full route to the River Blackwater, using the Coalisland Canal, was not finished for another ten years.

Why Dukart's Canal Failed

Problems with the new canal soon appeared. The upper part of the canal was cut through limestone. Farlough Lake, which supplied water to the canal, could not provide enough water. Water kept leaking out. Also, the inclines were too steep for the counterbalance system to work well.

In 1787, an engineer named Richard Owen inspected the canal. He found that the "hurries" (inclines) were broken. There was also little water in the upper section. He suggested replacing the tub boats with flat-bottomed barges. These barges would be 40 by 13 feet (12.2 by 4.0 m) and carry wagons. At the inclines, the wagons would roll off the boats and down ramps. Then they would be loaded onto another boat at the bottom. Owen also suggested a new canal, about 3.7 miles (6.0 km) long. It would run from Coalisland basin to Drumglass. The last 2.5 miles (4.0 km) would be in a tunnel, which would also drain the mines. His plan was never approved.

Dukart's Legacy

Dukart's Canal was the only place in Ireland where inclines were used on a waterway. People say that only one tub boat ever came down Dukart's Canal, in 1778. This was done to try and show the canal worked. But the inclines were a failure and were taken apart by 1787. Dukart died in 1785.

Very little of the canal remains today. Some stone walls and a bridge over an incline can still be seen. Dukart's name is still connected to Newmills and the Coalisland Canal. The most important canal structure still standing is the stone bridge at Newmills. It was built around 1768 and carried the canal over the River Torrent.

The remains of two of the inclines (called Dry Hurries by locals) are still visible. One is in Drumreagh near the Brackaville Golf Course. The largest is on Quintinmanus Road near Newmills. It is mostly covered by plants and hard to see. The town of Newmills was built around Dukart's canal, even though it failed.

Dukart was ahead of his time in many ways. Inclined planes are used today in different parts of the world. Building this canal was a very big and risky idea. Sadly for Davis Dukart, it did not work out as he hoped.

Images for kids

• Dukarts Canal map