Editing British Waterways (section)

===Formation===
During the early 20th century, the canal network was in decline because of increasing competition from the railways and road transport. Until the 1950s, freight and other cargo was still carried on the canals, by then owned by the railway companies. When the railways were [[nationalised]] in 1948, the canals they owned were also incorporated into the new [[British Transport Commission]].<ref name="BW History">{{cite web|title=About Us – Company History|url=http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/about-us/company-history|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623042146/http://britishwaterways.co.uk/about-us/company-history|archive-date=23 June 2011|publisher=British Waterways|access-date=3 March 2012}}</ref> The Commission focused on encouraging commercial traffic to the waterways, but with the construction of [[motorways]] in the 1950s, and legislation such as the [[Clean Air Act 1956]] affecting the coal carriers using the waterways, that policy could not be sustained. The last regular coal long-distance narrow-boat-carrying contract, from [[Atherstone]] to the Kearley and Tonge jam factory at [[Southall]] near London, ended in October 1970,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/tv-star-joins-historic-canal-3149178.amp |title=TV star joins historic canal run |work=Coventry Live |date=4 March 2004}}</ref> although lime juice continued to be carried by narrow boat from [[Brentford]] to [[Boxmoor]] until 1981, and aggregate from [[Thurmaston]] to [[Syston]] from 1976 until 1988.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Under the [[Transport Act 1962]], the British Transport Commission was split into several new organisations, including the [[British Railways Board]] and the [[London Transport Board]], with the inland waterways of Britain becoming part of the new British Waterways Board (BWB).<ref name="BW History"/>

In the same year, a remarkably harsh winter saw many boats frozen into their moorings, unable to move for weeks at a time.<ref name="BW History"/> That was one of the reasons given for the decision by the BWB to formally cease most of its commercial narrow boat traffic on the canals. By that time, the canal network had shrunk to just {{convert|2000|mi}}, half the size it was at its peak in the early 19th century. However, the basic network was still intact, with many of the closures affecting duplicate routes or branches.