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The Union Canal is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual Scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows. It shares in the revival of interest in canals generally at the present day, and, as a result of the Millennium Link, was re-opened in 2001 and reconnected to the Forth and Clyde Canal in 2002 by the Falkirk Wheel. It is now in popular use for leisure purposes. ==Location and features== The Union Canal, with today's length of , was built as a contour canal, following the contour throughout its length, thereby avoiding the delay due to locks, at the expense of some prodigious civil engineering structures. It was originally 32 miles in length, running to Port Hopetoun basin in Edinburgh from the junction at Falkirk. The Edinburgh terminal was a basin in the space between Semple Street and Lothian Road, south of Morrison Street. The final mile has been truncated and the Edinburgh terminal is now at Lochrin Basin in Tollcross, adjacent to Fountainbridge. The canal has several navigable aqueducts, including the Slateford Aqueduct that takes the canal over the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, the Almond Aqueduct near Ratho and the Avon Aqueduct near Linlithgow, the second longest in the United Kingdom. Priestley describes the route and structures in some detail: () Canal commences from the sixteenth lock of the Forth and Clyde Navigation, about two miles west of Falkirk, in the county of Sterling (sic), whence it takes an eastwardly course on the south side of the above-mentioned town, by some collieries; thence, through Black Hill Tunnel, and across the Glen Water, on which stream, at a short distance to the southward, is constructed a considerable reservoir. Its line hence is by Brighton Freestone Quarries, and about a mile north from Park Hill Colliery, to the Avon River, over which there is an aqueduct conveying the canal at an elevation of 80 feet above the surface of the river. The canal here enters the county of Linlithgow, and passes within a mile and a half on the south side of its capital, to Craighton House, where its course is more southerly and circuitous, to the River Almond, near Clifton House, where it crosses into Edinburghshire, by means of an aqueduct. Its course hence is by Ratho House, and across Leith River, to the city of Edinburgh, where it terminates by a basin at the Lothian Road, about half a mile south-west of the castle. The length of the canal is thirty miles, the depth of water 5 feet, and is on one level from Edinburgh to its western extremity, where it falls 110 feet, in one series of locks, into the Forth and Clyde Canal.〔 Many of the stone bridges have keystones on which is engraved the number of the bridge: the keystones of Viewforth bridge, the second bridge from the start of the canal at Edinburgh Quay, are emblazoned with the coats of arms of Glasgow and Edinburgh, facing west and east respectively. When new bridges were installed as part of the Millennium Link, no CAD information was available on narrowboats, so the articulated lorries were used to design bends in the approaches to bridges. However, as narrowboats are rigid, some of these bends are very tight and difficult to navigate. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Union Canal (Scotland)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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