Welland Canal Port Maitland. With the opening of the extension, the canal stretched between the two lakes, with 40 wooden locks. The minimum lock size was , with a minimum canal depth of . Deterioration of the wood used in the 40 locks and the increasing size of ships led to demand for the Second Welland Canal, which used cut stone locks, within just a few years. In 1839 the government of Upper Canada approved the purchase of shares in the private canal company in response to the company's continuing financial problems in the face of the continental financial panic of 1837.
Interlaken ship canal services responded by constructing the Interlaken ship canal to allow their vessels to reach the centre of Interlaken. The canal was built between 1890 and 1892. The VDG merged with the Thunersee railway in 1912. In turn, this new company was taken over by the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway, which eventually became part of BLS AG, the current operators of the lake shipping. Interlaken ship canal The Interlaken ship canal () is a long canal in the Swiss canton of Bern. It connects Lake Thun with a quay in the town of Interlaken adjacent to Interlaken West railway station, thus allowing shipping