works which was beside the basin, and there was a great deal of subsidence. An boiler disappeared into one hole that opened up and the winding gear frame of a nearby mine collapsed into another. By great good fortune the breach happened on a Saturday afternoon when the miners and other workers had all gone home, otherwise there would have been considerable loss of life. The mines and factories were out of action for some time while repairs were made as they depended on the canal for water for steam generation, as well as to supply raw materials and take away finished products. Course The canal leaves the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Stourton Junction, and immediately enters a four-lock flight to gain height. The pound above the locks is long, and crosses the River Stour on an aqueduct just before Wordsley Junction. At the junction, the Stourbridge Arm continues on the same level into the centre of Stourbridge, while a flight of sixteen locks takes the canal up the hill towards Pensnett Chase, where there were collieries. The bottom lock is just above the junction, and Leys Junction is just above the top lock. From here, the Fens Branch is a short, navigable feeder from Fens Pools and the main canal continues for to Delph Locks, a flight at the start of the Dudley Canal, which originally consisted of nine locks, but was rebuilt as eight in 1858. The canal forms part of the Stourport Ring, which is one of the popular cruising rings for leisure boating. The length of the route is , and it passes through 105 locks located on six inter-connected waterways. Stourbridge Town Arm At Wordsley Junction, the Stourbridge Town Arm heads south-east into the town of Stourbridge. The Stourbridge Town Branch Line railway was built in the late 1870s from Stourbridge Junction railway station, via Stourbridge Town railway station to serve Stourbridge Basin. The basin was for interchange between the railway and the canal and this aided the canal's continued use. Restoration In 1958, the government-appointed Bowes Committee had listed the waterways which they thought ought to be retained for commercial operation, and the following year the Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee (IWRAC) was set up to consider what to do with the rest. The Inland Waterways Protection Society, which had been formed in the East Midlands in 1958, produced a detailed proposal for