The Birmingham Canal New Main Line joins the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal (NE of Wolverhampton) with the Birmingham & Fazeley and Worcester & Birmingham canals in the centre of Birmingham around Gas Street Basin. It also has junctions with many other canals, branches and loops of the BCN.
It was opened in 1772 and runs for 15 miles from the centre of Birmingham (Gas Street basin) to the Staffs & Worcs at Aldersley junction. There are 24 locks along its length, 21 of these form the Wolverhampton flight at its western end. The other three locks form the Factory flight at Tipton Green near Dudley.
In its heyday the BCN comprised 160 miles of canal but nowadays it is just 100 miles – still impressive when you cruise around Birmingham though. The BCN includes the following canals:
- Birmingham Canal New Main Line
- Birmingham Canal Old Main Line
- Gower Branch
- Netherton Tunnel Branch
- Wednesbury Old Canal
- Walsall Canal
- Walsall Branch Canal
- Wyrley & Essington Canal
- Daw End Branch
- Rushall Canal
- Tame Valley Canal
WOLVERHAMPTON FLIGHT (132' 0")
The flight starts in the centre of Wolverhampton and ends at Alderley junction where it meets the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal. When the Wolverhampton flight was original built it was known as the Wolverhampton canal but became the Birmingham Canal New Main Line which in turn is part of what’s known as the Birmingham Canal Navigations or BCN for short.
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 2 |
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| Lock 2 |
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| Lock 2 |
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| Lock 3 |
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| Lock 3 |
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| Lock 4 |
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| Lock 4 |
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| Lock 5 |
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| Lock 5 |
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| Lock 6 |
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| Lock 6 |
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| Lock 7 |
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| Lock 7 |
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| Lock 8 |
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| Lock 8 |
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| Lock 8 |
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| Lock 9 |
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| Lock 9 |
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| Lock 9 |
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| Lock 10 |
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| Lock 10 |
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| Lock 10 |
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| Lock 11 |
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| Lock 11 |
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| Lock 12 |
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| Lock 12 |
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| Lock 12 |
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| Lock 12 |
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| Lock 13 |
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| Lock 13 |
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| Lock 13 |
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| Lock 14 |
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| Lock 14 |
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| Lock 14 |
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| Lock 15 |
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| Lock 15 |
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| Lock 16 |
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| Lock 16 |
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| Lock 16 |
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| Lock 17 |
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| Lock 17 |
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| Lock 17 |
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| Lock 18 |
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| Lock 19 |
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| Lock 19 |
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| Lock 20 |
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| Lock 20 |
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| Lock 21 |
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| Lock 21 |
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| Lock 21 |
FACTORY LOCKS (20' 0")
This flight is at Tipton Green in Tipton near Dudley, just by Factory junction where the Birmingham Canal Old and New Main Lines converge. The flight has an overall elevation of 20 feet.
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 1 |
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| Lock 2 |
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| Lock 2 |
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| Lock 3 |
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| Lock 3 |
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| Lock 3 |
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