Bridge 19-40 Canal Society

Almond aqueduct

aqueducts are like bridges, carrying a canal or waterway over something.

The Almond Aqueduct carries the water of the canal 76 feet (23m) above the water of the River Almond.
When you approach the aqueduct, you aren't really aware of the height. Unlike some other aqueducts, which have no sides, fences or walls above the canal trough, the Almond aqueduct has walkways either side and railings along both sides, however you can only use one side to traverse the aqueduct by foot.

See this Picture of Union Canal at Almond Aqueduct to get a view of the aqueduct as you approach from Broxburn. Water typically trickles out of the sluice gate on the aqueduct. This photo from flickr , taken in January 2010, shows what happens when it freezes.

Think about weight

I'm currenty studying mathematics at university, and it got me thinking about the weight of the water on the structure of this aqueduct.
When the Almond aqueduct was built, almost 200 years ago in 1822, it carried around 5 feet depth of water, a distance of 420 feet and approximately 12 feet 6 inches wide.
If 1 cubic foot of water weighs 28.327Kg, how much does the water on the Almond aqueduct weigh?

Now lets assume Bluebell weighs 4 tons with passengers and crew. How much weight is the aqueduct carrying when Bluebell is half way across it?

I've put my calculations at the bottom of the Events page, so go and take a look and let me know if I've got it wrong.
(Paul Hicks, April 2010)

Bridge 19-40 Almond aqueduct

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Almond aqueduct

Think about weight

Other aqueducts