The Foxton Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough, named after the nearby village of Foxton. The plane was built in 1900 as a solution to various operational restrictions imposed by the Foxton Lock flight. However, it was not a commercial success and only remained in full-time operation for ten years. The plane was dismantled in 1926. A project to re-create the plane commenced in the 2000s because the narrowbeam locks remain a bottleneck for leisure boat traffic. History By 1897, the Grand Junction Canal Company had acquired several of the canals comprising the Leicester line, and was keen to meet demand from carriers seeking to use wider beam (14 ft) craft, rather than the traditional narrow beam boats, which were the only type the locks could accommodate. Their solution was to build an inclined plane to the side of the locks. Initially, the company had planned for the plane to replace the locks, rather than having it act as a second, faster option. Construction began in 1898 and was finished by 10 July 1900. The plane was designed by Gordon Cale Thomas, after a large-scale prototype was built at the company's Bulbourne yard and he had assessed the climb. It had two tanks, or caissons, each capable of holding two narrowboats or a barge. The caissons were full of water, and so balanced each other. The caissons' vertical guillotine gates created a watertight seal. The lift was powered by a 25-horsepower (19 kW) stationary steam engine. The land for the plane was purchased for £1,595 and total expenses for the project came to £39,244 by 24 June 1900. The inclined plane had a journey time of 12 minutes for two boats up and two down, compared with 1¼ hours through the lock system, thereby improving the speed of passage up the hill tremendously. During a 12-hour day, 6,000 tons (6,100 tonnes) of cargo could pass between the upper and lower level. Unlike the locks, where water flowed downhill every time a boat passed through, on the inclined plane almost the same amount of water goes up and down the hill. Only the displaced water is moved, thus saving a great deal of water and giving better control of this vital resource. An initial problem with the plane was the stress placed