Llangollen Canal morning, a mail and goods train composed of 16 carriages and two vans, to crash into the breach, killing one and injuring two engine crew. Despite the canal being officially closed, the breach was repaired, so that water could continue to reach the main line at Hurleston. The use of the canal as a water supply channel was further bolstered by an agreement with what became the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board, who used it to supply water to their Hurleston reservoir, and agreed to maintain it. Although there had been little traffic since the end of the
Llangollen Canal to Llangollen thrived until the end of the First World War, after which it saw very little traffic. Navigation was formally abandoned under the terms of an Act of Abandonment obtained by the owners, the London Midland and Scottish Railway, in 1944, but the channel was retained as it still supplied water to the main line of the Shropshire Union, and subsequently to the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board. This arrangement was due to end in 1954, but as there was no alternative supply of water, the powers were extended. Early pioneering cruises of the waterway were made