per ton of goods passed. The design of the caisson lock at Combe Hay was not a success: on 15 February 1798 the first descent failed. Mr Weldon (the inventor) made one successful descent on 7 June and said "I will undertake to pass 1,500 tons of goods through the lock in 12 hrs". Tenders were invited on 28 June for further constructions. Two more attempts to use the lock took place on 11 April and 2 May, but only the latter was successful. By 22 August 1799 the second rebuilding of the caisson had been abandoned. It was replaced by three locks and an inclined plane trackway, but the trackway was not successful either, and the company proposed to raise more money to finance the building of a flight of 19 locks to replace it, the use of which would incur an additional toll of one shilling per ton on all traffic. This was vigorously opposed by the owners of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Wilts and Berks Canal, on the grounds that the price of coal to their customers would be too high. After negotiation, the company obtained a new Act of Parliament on 30 April 1802, which authorised the formation of a separate body called "The Lock Fund of the Somerset Coal Canal Company", with powers to raise the sum of £45,000. The money was raised by the Kennet and Avon, the Wilts and Berks and the Somerset Coal Canal each contributing £15,000, and the one shilling surcharge was to be levied until the capital had been repaid, after which it would cease. The act set the tonnage rates to be charged: Fractions of a Mile to pay for Half a Mile, and of a Ton as a Quarter of a Ton; Rates for Wharfage to be determined by the Company. In addition to the above Rates, One Shilling per Ton is paid on all Goods to the Lock Fund, which also receives Three Farthings per Ton from the Coal Canal company. The boats were weighed at Midford, where a weigh house was built in 1831. Boats were floated into a one-ended lock, the gate closed and the water drained. This left the boat resting on a cradle suspended by angled rods attached to a beam which took the weight of the boat. One-pound weights were then added to a pan, with one pound being