Canal. In addition to the canal, he supervised construction of five tramways for the canal company, which connected to quarries, ironworks and collieries, and an independent tramway, the Trevil Rail Road. The Monmouthshire Canal Company also asked him to survey the southern section of the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal, with a view to finding a high level route which would result in most of the canal being lock-free. This he did and the route was adopted. He retained his position as engineer to the Monmouthshire Canal until late 1798. From 1794 he assisted his brother John, who was engineer on the Montgomeryshire Canal. He was criticized by that company for his lack of attendance, but still managed to be the contractor for one section in 1795 and 1796, and to inspect and report on the final route with his father in 1797. From January 1796 he was engineer for the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, devoting one quarter of his time to this task, and was still acting in this capacity when he died. His workload was prodigious, as he managed to fit in surveys for the Ellesmere Canal in 1793, a survey for the extension of the Neath Canal from Neath to Giant's Grave in 1798, and a new survey of the proposed route for the Aberdare Canal in 1800, amongst others. Achievements During his brief working life Thomas Dadford Jr. managed to achieve a great deal. Major structures for which he was responsible include the fourteen locks on the Monmouthshire Canal at Rogerstone, the embankment at Gilwern which enables the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal to cross the River Clydach and a four-arched stone-built aqueduct which carries the same canal over the River Usk at Brynich. He had less success with tunnels. The Southnet Tunnel on the Leominster Canal collapsed in 1795 (for which he was criticized by the engineer John Rennie), and the Ashford tunnel on the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal collapsed during construction. See also Canals of the United Kingdom History of the British canal system References Further reading Edward Paget-Tomlison's "Illustrated History of Canals & River Navigations" Engineers from the West Midlands (county) English canal engineers 1760s births 1801 deaths