Charnwood Forest Canal

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The Charnwood Forest Canal, also called the Forest Line, opened in 1794. It ran from Thringstone to Nanpantan, with a branch to Barrow Hill near Worthington. It helped start the age when railways began to replace canals, and it was one of the first wagonways to use edge-rails. (It is not the same as the Charnwood Forest Railway.)

Before this canal, Leicester got coal by packhorse from Charnwood mines around Swannington. In the late 1700s, the Loughborough Canal and the Erewash Canal started bringing coal more cheaply from other regions, which encouraged plans to connect coal areas to Leicester by water.

In 1791, Parliament approved the Leicester Navigation Act to extend the Soar Navigation from Loughborough to Leicester and to build the Forest Line. Because Nanpantan sits higher than Loughborough, the canal ended at Nanpantan and goods had to be moved onto a horse-drawn wagonway to reach Loughborough wharf. The line to Thringstone and the mines at Barrow Hill connected by wagonways as well.

The Forest Line was built with an edge-rail tramway designed by William Jessop, instead of the more common L-shaped rail. The line opened in 1794 but was not busy until a feeder from Blackbrook Reservoir was finished.

In floods in 1799, part of the works and an aqueduct were destroyed, and the canal was out of use for two years. Even after repairs, the trade never fully recovered. Some writers say the mix of canal and wagonway caused the problems, while others blame difficulties at the coal mines and falling coal traffic.

In 1808 the company tried to abandon the line, but it would have cost a lot to do so, so it was kept as is and gradually declined. The opening of the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1832 changed transport again. The Earl of Stamford asked that the Forest Line be kept for limestone, and plans to convert it into a full railway were debated but failed. Selling the land required private bills, and in 1846 the Forest Line was finally abandoned.

A new railway age was starting. The Midland Counties Railway, which helped form the Midland Railway later, emerged from these changes. The Charnwood Forest Railway, opened in 1883 and closed in 1963, later took over part of the Forest Line route between Grace-Dieu and Shepshed, including the Blackbrook aqueduct.

Today, remains of the canal can still be seen in places, including parts of the old route near Grace-Dieu and Shepshed.