The construction of the canal and tramway was promoted by Samuel Oldknow (the largest shareholder)[1] with much of the finance being provided by Richard Arkwright Junior of Cromford, Derbyshire.

At the same time as Outram was working on the lower end, he came under pressure to make progress on the section Bugsworth to Marple, and Samuel Oldknow's coal-pits and lime kilns.

Nevertheless, at the end of 1796, funds from investors were still insufficient to finish the locks and the aqueduct at Marple and Outram was asked to suggest a temporary alternative.

It was decided not to interfere with the ongoing construction of the aqueduct, so the railway ran from its Marple end to the proposed top lock.

However, there was still a great of work to be done at the lower end—the driving of Hyde Bank Tunnel proving a particular problem—and the railway and aqueduct saw little use until the canal finally opened along its full length in 1800.

Brown and Outram's efforts were much assisted by the appointment of Gernan Wheatcroft to manage the canal at Bugsworth and Whaley Bridge.

He proved so efficient that he was able to use the threat of resignation to gain the addition of £30 to his £75 a year salary to keep and maintain a horse to assist him in his duties.

In a move that would not disgrace a modern marketing organisation, the quarry owners retained Outram's future father-in-law, Dr. James Anderson, the Scottish agricultural expert, to write a treatise on the benefits of lime in farming, which they published.

With the coming of the railways, the canal began to lose its business and in the 1920s the Peak Forest Tramway and Bugsworth Basin closed.

[2] Bugsworth Basin remained derelict for much longer, but was the subject of long-term restoration attempts by the Inland Waterways Protection Society.

In October 2021, lock numbers 5, 7, 9 and 16 were among 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.