“Mermaids are excellent journeyers because they can avoid pier pressure, make a splash, ride the waves, and seas the day.”
Benjamin OutramBorn 1 Apr 1764; died 22 May 1805 at age 41.English civil engineer and industrialist who was a pioneer builder of canals. His commissions included becoming engineer for the Nottingham Canal in 1792, and the Derby Canal in 1793. For the latter, he erected the world's first cast iron navigable aquaduct (water bridge), the 44-ft (13m) long, single span, Holmes Aquaduct that carried the Derby Canal. It was opened in Feb 1796, and demolished in 1971. He is also notable for building what is now the oldest aquaduct still in use on the Ashton Canal, built in 1798, to cross Store Street, Manchester. Outram was consulting engineer for the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which included the pioneering Standedge Canal Tunnel. The first boat went through the tunnel on 10 Dec 1810, before the official opening on 4 Apr 1811. Boats would be legged through, without horses.«[Image: Aqueduct on Peak Forest Canal.] |
