Manchester Ship Canal Opens

The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in North West England that links Manchester to the Irish Sea.^¹ Beginning in the Mersey estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire before terminating to the east of Salford Quays near Pomona Docks and a junction with the Bridgewater Canal where it meets the Irwell.^¹ Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 ft (18 m) to the canal's terminus in Manchester.^¹ Landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct – the world's only swing aqueduct – and Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate and one of the largest in Europe.^¹