| Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Co | |
|---|---|
 The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction | |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum boat length | 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m) |
| Maximum boat beam | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Status | Most open |
| Navigation authority | Canal and River Trust |
| History | |
| Original owner | Ellesmere and Chester Canal Co |
| Date of act | 1846 |
| Date of first use | 1846 |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Ellesmere Port |
| End point | Autherley Junction |
| Branch(es) | Middlewich Branch; Llangollen Branch; Montgomery Canal; Shrewsbury Canal; Shropshire Canal; Stafford to Shrewsbury Railway |
The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) from 1847, and although they built one railway in their own right, the LNWR were keen that they did not build any more. They continued to act as a semi-autonomous body, managing the canals under their control, and were critical of the LNWR for not using the powers which the Shropshire Union Company had obtained to achieve domination of the markets in Shropshire and Cheshire by building more railways.
The company grew out of the amalgamation of the Chester Canal with its branch to Middlewich and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley. They took over the Eastern and Western branches of the Montgomery Canal, the Shrewsbury Canal and leased the Shropshire Canal. Although plans to convert them to railways had been dropped by 1849, the LNWR bought the Shropshire Canal outright in 1857, following severe subsidence, and used it as the route for a railway to Coalport, opened in 1861.
Most of the profits came as a result of the company acting as a carrier, rather than from tolls. In addition to running narrow boats on the canals, they had a thriving business carrying goods across the River Mersey, between Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, and Birkenhead. They made a healthy operating profit until the 1870s, but this then diminished during the next 30 years. They looked at upgrading the canal to take larger vessels in the 1890s, prompted by the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, but this did not occur. They saw a brief improvement in their financial position in the early 20th century, but this collapsed with the onset of the First World War. Government subsidies sustained them until 1920, but rising wage costs and the 8-hour day resulted in them ceasing to act as a carrier, and the LNWR bought the company in late 1922. On 1 January 1923, the LNWR became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), with the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (Grouping Act). The Montgomery Canal closed in 1936 after a major breach, and most of the canals were closed under the provisions of an abandonment order obtained in 1944.
The Ellesmere Port to Autherley section and the branch to Middlewich remained open, and have since been named the Shropshire Union Canal. The branch to Llangollen, which was retained as a water feeder, has been reopened in the leisure age as the Llangollen Canal, and parts of the Montgomery Canal have been restored, with ongoing plans for a full restoration. A fledgling scheme to conserve and reopen the Shrewsbury Canal is having some success, and a small part of the Shropshire Canal is now part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Part of the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line, the only railway built by a canal company, remains open from Shrewsbury to Wellington, and is served by Transport for Wales.