106 Book of Engineering 



locks to twenty-seven. Masonry took the 

 place of wood and a considerable deepening 

 took place to allow of the rapidly growing 

 steam-boat traffic between the lakes and 

 the river to be accommodated. 



Even then the projectors did not foresee 

 that remarkable grain trade which was to 

 furnish the canal with the greater part of its 

 traffic, whilst at the same time making for ex- 

 treme congestion. One bold attempt to 

 relieve this congestion was the designing of a 

 special type of grain carrier a vessel about 

 600 feet long, accommodating far more 

 than the earlier types and making for 

 economy of working. In practice it was 

 still found that transhipment had to take 

 place in the case of cargoes for Britain. It 

 became obvious that the locks must be 

 greatly enlarged, the canal deepened, and, 

 if practicable, that the locks should be 

 further reduced in number. 



On careful consideration by the experts 

 it seemed better to straighten out the route, 

 indeed, to construct an entirely new length 

 of 12 miles from Lake Ontario to Allanburg, 



