Talk:Pennsylvania Canal

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[edit] Logic

I changed the Pennsylvania Canal page from a redirect to Main Line of Public Works to a stand-alone page because the Main Line of Public Works is not synonymous with Pennsylvania Canal. The Main Line is a subset of a larger system, which includes several canal divisions not on the Main Line. Finetooth 00:34, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Map

I'm reluctant to use the available Main Line map on this page because it is misleading. It seems to show a canal running the full length of the Allegheny River and into New York, which is not correct. It doesn't show the northern two divisions of the Beaver and Erie Canal. I think it might have been a dated map of projected routes as well as actual routes. Also, it would be good to include the privately funded canals. Maybe they could be color-coded to distinguish them from the state canals. In any case, we need a better map. Perhaps I can make one. I'm not sure what's involved. Finetooth 00:34, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Re-reading this today, I think my criticism sounds a bit harsh. It might be fairer to say that I misinterpreted the Main Line map than to blame the map, which nicely illustrates the Main Line. Finetooth 00:58, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

I decided to use the Main Line map with a brief caveat in the caption. The canals followed rivers as much as possible, partly because the river valleys were relatively flat and free of obstacles and partly because the canals needed a reliable source of water; a dry canal is useless. Thus, a map of the Pennsylvania rivers almost works as a map of the canal routes. This doesn't rule out the possibility of adding a better canal map later. Finetooth 22:30, 11 November 2007 (UTC)