the Staffordshire and Worcestershire company, but they reduced their tolls for Stourbridge coal two years later. A healthy trade in coal, ironstone and limestone developed, supplemented by iron products, bricks, clay, earthenware and glass. A dividend of 2.45 per cent was paid in 1785, which had risen to 6.3 per cent by 1789. Operation Trade continued to increase, reaching 100,000 tons in 1796, and continuing upwards as the iron and coal industries developed and the canal became part of a through route, following the opening of the Dudley Tunnel and the Dudley Canal's extension through the Lapal Tunnel to Selly Oak. Dividends increased steadily, with 13.75 per cent being paid in 1840. In order to maintain their position, they helped to fund the enlargement of Gad's Green reservoir, on the Dudley Canal, and also gave money to several coal mines to assist with pumping, on condition that the water was diverted into the canal. Stourbridge basin had to be enlarged in 1807 to cope with the volume of traffic. Further traffic came after 1815, when the Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened. Iron bound for London was shipped from Coalbrookdale via the canal and the Dudley's Selly Oak branch. In the 1820s, several wharves were built on the Fens Branch, to serve the developing collieries near Kingswinford, and the company considered applying for a new Act of Parliament in 1829, to give them powers to build extra lines in this area, but they did not proceed. Instead, plans were developed for the Stourbridge Extension Canal, which served a similar purpose and opened in 1840. On a more personal level, the lockkeeper at Stourton received a pay rise in 1830, as the locks were now in use all night and on Sundays, while the Stourbridge lock-keeper received a similar reward in 1834, and a larger one two years later. In 1836, 144,606 tons of coal were carried, besides all the other traffic. Railway Age In 1844, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR) announced their intention to build a line which would partly run parallel to both the canal and the Dudley Canal. Despite opposition by the canal company, the line was built and opened in 1852 and 1853. However, its effect was not immediately significant, and a proposed reduction in tolls was not deemed to be necessary. Some goods were transferred to the railway from a private basin, which ultimately led