Talk:Birmingham Canal Navigations

Soho Branch Loop

Is the short length of canal seen in this Google Maps aerial photo the remains of the Soho Manufactory branch? BCCWebTeam (talk) 14:14, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

It is named on the Historical Map of the Birmingham Canals, Richard Dean, M. & M. Baldwin, 1989, ISBN 0-947712-08-9, as the Soho Branch, opened 1801 and closed in 1909. It was longer than presently shown, apparenty going beyond the railway and as far as Park Road to a point labelled as Soho Wharf. Its layout should be easily verifyable from Ordnance Survey maps held in Birmingham Cenral Library, although the actual name is likely to be harder to demonstrate. As I recall this would have been towards, but not right up to, the buildings of the Manufactory. Oosoom ^Talk 15:26, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

This 1890 Ordnance Survey map on British History Online shows what Oosoom says. - Erebus555 (talk) 16:07, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Article layout and structure

I think it may be worthwhile editing the structure of the article. Whilst I think the content is good, it is the form in which it is presented which makes this look more like a list as opposed to a typical Wikipedia article. I think we should work to get some sections written in prose, such as the 'Engineers' section. Also, I think it might be an idea to organise the canals section into a table with information such as date opened/ completed, length and further notes. It could make the section more organised. It would be great if we could get the 'History' and 'Society' sections expanded too!

Also, as a result of the introduction of the 'C-class' for article ratings, I am considering changing this from B- to C-class in the WikiProject templates. Thoughts? - Erebus555 (talk) 21:04, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

I agree that the History section could do with "beafing up"; and I think we need another section on why the BCN was needed/its use. I'm not so sure about the BCN Society. I was a member in the early 1970s, so it has been around long enough. I think that we could do with a separate article on the BCN Society and a {main}-link from this article. This C-class rating seems to have come out of nowhere. Another editor mentioned it on the UK Railways Talkpage, but other than it fits in between B-class and Start-class, there seams to be a total lack of guidance. I get the impression (perhaps wrongly) that the Start-class is to be split rather than "low" B-class articles being down graded (which is what you are proposing for this article).Pyrotec (talk) 17:01, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

I had a look at Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Assessment, this gives Atom as an example of a C-class article; and WP Trains now has at least one C-class article. On this basis, I now agree that Birmingham Canal Navigations is probably a C-class article rather than a B-class article.Pyrotec (talk) 19:14, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Birmingham and Fazeley section of the Coventry Canal

I have extended the definition of the Birmingham and Fazeley north-east from Fazeley Junction as far as bridge 78, per the historical map shown, Nicholson (vol.3, pp.54 & 56), and CanalPlan.org. In keeping with tradition I have not provided in-line citations as the situation is a bit complicated. Although this section is loosely referred to as simply the Coventry Canal (e.g. now by the Canal & River Trust and the Ordnance Survey) I understand is still technically part of the B&F and hence the BCN.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:20, 18 November 2012 (UTC)