Canal du Midi - when was last freight traffic?

[Joseph]

Evenin' all

 

I'm afraid that outside the British Isles my knowledge of waterways is not all it could be. I have read in several places that traffic on the Canal du Midi ceased in 1989, despite a partially completed enlargement scheme, but I seem to recall more recent conversations in which traffic was reported.

 

Does anyone know what were the final traffics, and whether there have been traffics since 1989? I would be very interested if anyone knows.

 

Joseph

[carlt]

Commercial traffic effectively ceased in 1984 when the Fronserannes water slope failed making all the other "improvements" to increase the canal's capacity, to accommodate 250 tonne barges, redundant.

 

It took 5 years to get the water slope functioning and following it's reopening, in 1989, the canal was promptly closed, due to drought, scuppering any plans for a revival and stopping any more destruction of Riquet's masterpiece.

[Timleech]

Evenin' all

 

I'm afraid that outside the British Isles my knowledge of waterways is not all it could be. I have read in several places that traffic on the Canal du Midi ceased in 1989, despite a partially completed enlargement scheme, but I seem to recall more recent conversations in which traffic was reported.

 

Does anyone know what were the final traffics, and whether there have been traffics since 1989? I would be very interested if anyone knows.

 

Joseph

 

When we were there in the early 1980s there was a little bit of traffic from Beziers, in 38m Peniches as the locks had been lengthened up to there a long time previously, plus a small amount of wine traffic in 'short' tankers. I seem to remember reading that the wine traffic finished very soon afterwards.

I think the boats were actually loaded in Beziers from tipper wagons in the lock chamber

 

Tim

[Athy]

In Hugh McKnight's book 'Slow Boat Through France' he notes that at the time of his passage through the Canal du Midi there were just two peniches left trading, 'Esperance' and the appropriately-named wine-carrying 'Bacchus'. This was Easter 1989, and he includes a fine photo of the loaded 'Bacchus' amongst the book's colour plates. He mentions that six months later 'Esperance's skipper had sold her, leaving 'Bacchus' as the sole commercially active peniche. So that would be late 1989, though I'm not sure whether she continued in traffic for much longer after that.

[Joseph]

Many thanks to everyone

 

Unfortunate that much original work was removed to enlarge the canal for traffics that were short-lived. NOT something the enthusiasts (including me) for modern freight waterways in Britain would advocate.

 

Joseph