Old School Canals

[GW2500]

So I was wondering if back in the day of Erie and Middlesex and any other canal, what was the advantage of pulling cargo via a canal. It's to my understanding that loads were pulled by horse or donkey. How would that have been any faster than clearing a path and pulling it by a wheeled cart? I imagine when steam powered boats came around it would be faster, but when it's just live stock, can't see the speed being faster.

 

[Beton Brut]

Not speed, but capacity (a barge can carry more than an ox-cart), and the cost associated with keeping the "pathway" open. In the early 19th Century (pre-rail), once built, canals were easier and less costly to maintain than dirt roads.

 

[GW2500]

Ah I guess you can pull more load. Interesting fact about upkeep costs of dirt roads. Thanks

 

[czsz]

It was probably faster too. Think about it: canals were at-grade, roads often weren't. Canals were smooth, but roads got muddy and had rocks in them. When trees fell across roads in the early 19th century, there was no instant response from the DOT either.