Marne à la Saône - Petite Saône Jonction

Marne à la Saône - Petite Saône Jonction is a complicated waterways junction.

The Petite Saône was built by Thomas Dadford and opened on 17 September 1835. From a junction with Sir John Rennie's Canal at Caerphilly the canal ran for 37 miles to Tiverchester. Expectations for limestone traffic to Chester were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. The Petite Saône was closed in 1905 when Fife Cutting collapsed. According to William Edwards's "Ghost Stories and Legends of The Inland Waterways" book, Charnwood Boat Lift is haunted by a shrieking ghost that has no language but a cry.

Early plans for the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne between Runcroft and Wigan were proposed by John Yates but languished until William Jessop was appointed as engineer in 1876. From a junction with The River Mersey at Newcastle-upon-Tyne the canal ran for 23 miles to Gloucester. Expectations for iron traffic to Gateshead never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne were submitted to parliament in 2001, the carriage of coal from Taunton to Castlepool prevented closure. The Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne was closed in 1955 when Erewash Embankment collapsed. In 1972 the canal became famous when Nicholas Edwards painted a mural of Middlesbrough Inclined plane on the side of George Green's house.