It ran from a junction with the Donnington Wood Canal ascending the 316 yard long Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane to its summit level, it made a junction with the older Ketley Canal and at Southall Bank the Coalbrookdale (Horsehay) branch went to Brierly Hill above Coalbrookdale; the main line descended via the 600 yard long Windmill Incline and the 350 yard long Hay Inclined Plane to Coalport on the River Severn.

Following nine breaches in 1855 and 1856, it was purchased by the London and North Western Railway company, owners of the Shropshire Union, in 1857 and most of it was closed in 1858.

A railway was laid along parts of it, but a small section at the southern end remained in operation until 1912, and was not formally abandoned until 1944.

The Hay inclined plane and a section of the canal now form part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

His father was an ironmaster and philanthropist, and managed the Coalbrookdale ironworks from 1763 to 1768, during which time the young William served his apprenticeship there.

He was extremely able, studying chemistry, taking an interest in geology and other sciences, and keeping a laboratory and library at his home.

He developed a circle of friends from the engineers and manufacturers who visited Coalbrookdale, including Matthew Boulton, James Watt, 'Iron Mad' John Wilkinson, Thomas Telford, and a number of intellectuals connected with Joseph Plymley.

3. c. 73), was obtained on 11 June 1788, which created the Company of Proprietors of the Shropshire Navigation,[3] and a meeting was held the following day, at which £50,000 of capital was reported to have been pledged.

[4] Despite the known success of the inclined plane on the neighbouring Ketley Canal, water in the Ketley Canal was being lost from locks at the incline's summit: the management committee decided to hold a competition for designs for "the best means of raising and lowering heavy weights from one navigation to another."

Progress was quick, as the section from the top of the Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane to the junction with the Ketley Canal was finished in early 1789.

Two other men also resigned in similar circumstances, but in February 1794, the civil engineer Henry Williams was appointed superintendent and agent for the canal, and remained in this post until 1839, when he retired.

Parts of the canal were operational by 3 September 1790, when the first tolls were collected, and the Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane was working soon afterwards.

[7] In 1791, most of the main line was serviceable, although piling for the wharves on the River Severn was still taking place in May 1792, and construction was completed by the end of the year.

[8] At the bottom of the Hay inclined plane, a level section of canal ran alongside the river, heading eastwards.

From here two vertical shafts 120 by 10 feet (36.6 by 3.0 m) were constructed, with coal and iron ore descending and limestone ascending in crates.

Because the bulk of the transfers were from the canal to the tramway, and limestone was lighter by volume than ironstone, the system was self-powered.

The shafts and tunnel belonged to the Dale Company, and the Shropshire Canal decided not to take them over when they were completed.

Despite heavy usage, with 1,801 tons of coal descending in the six weeks from 2 September 1793, the system was not a success, and was replaced by a tramway inclined plane in 1794.

[8] The company was run by industrialists, who were keen to keep the tolls low, as many of them used the canal to transport their own merchandise.

[11] The terminus at Coalport developed rapidly, with housing to create a village, two potteries, a factory making ropes, and a works manufacturing chains.

[16] In 1826 and 1827, two Prussian engineers visited Britain to look at a number of railways, and the construction and operation of the Hay inclined plane was described in some detail in their subsequent publication.

An engineman and a brakesman worked at the top of the incline, and a man was needed at each end to attach or detach the boats from the rope.

[25] By 1894, the Hay incline was no longer in use, but the section from Kemberton and Halesfield collieries was used to carry coal to Blists Hill furnaces until 1912.

The furnaces were blown out in 1912, but this section of the canal was not officially abandoned until 1944,[27] along with much of the rest of the Shropshire Union system.

From its junction with the Donnington Wood Canal, the route almost immediately ascended the Wrockwardine incline, to reach a basin and wharf at the top.

It was crossed by the road from St Georges to Oakengates, once part of the Roman Watling Street and entered Snedshill Tunnel.

Snedshill Ironworks with its furnaces stood on the western bank, and beyond them, a wharf where the Ketley Canal joined from the west.

[9] Several points along the Shropshire Canal are historical waypoints on the South Telford Heritage Trail, a 12.2-mile (19.6 km) circular route that explores the region's industrial archaeology.

[34] Much of the route has been destroyed by the building of houses and industrial development associated with the new town of Telford, but some of the larger features remain.

Nearly a mile (1.6 km) of the main line immediately above the top of the Hay inclined plane can be traced, and although full of weed, contains some water.