and its accessibility. Therefore, in 1886, the corporation bought the Carrington Moss Estate—an area of grouse moorland—from Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford. The purchase was part of the corporation's ultimately unsuccessful plan to retain the pail closet system (now superseded by the water closet), and followed a public scandal created by the daily dumping of 30–60 tons of human faeces into the Medlock and Irwell rivers, at Holt Town sewage works. It paid about £38,000 (£ as of ), for the site, but the bog's depth, between deep pushed the total development cost to almost £94,000 (£ as of ). The estate included of wild mossland, of partly cultivated mossland, of mossland under cultivation and of incomplete roads. A number of brick buildings were included, along with Asphodel Farm and Ash Farm, both with wooden farmhouses. The corporation rented of land in small holdings to local farmers and kept for itself. The bog's virgin moss was cultivated and drainage channels cut through at regular intervals, the first step in the area's reclamation. This drainage caused the characteristically convex Moss to sag noticeably; some residents of Dunham Town commented that they could see parts of Carrington previously obscured by the moss. A network of tramways and roads was constructed using clinker and other materials brought from the city. Drains were laid and the land cleared of scrub. A water supply was also installed. Some of the more dangerous buildings were demolished, while others were either repaired or replaced. Refuse was loaded from a number of locations and was first transported along the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, until that waterway was closed on 11 November 1888. For several years until the completion of its replacement, the Manchester Ship Canal, the corporation was reliant on Manchester's local railway network. Refuse was loaded at the corporation's Water Street Depot on to Cornbrook sidings and in waggons to Carrington on a junction from the Cheshire Lines Committee's (CLC) Glazebrook to Stockport Tiviot Dale line. The canal company installed a temporary dock on the new canal, although this was considered impractical and was rarely used. A more permanent arrangement was made several years later. New railway sidings were also built; once complete, refuse was loaded from near Oldham Road railway station and the corporation's Water Street Depot. It was then transported along the Ship Canal to a newly built wharf, and thereafter, by tramway across