While the company had hoped to have £1 million to fund improvements, there was no working capital, and the enlargement of the locks to take 300- or 500-ton barges did not take place. The largest boats that could be accommodated were 110-ton vessels, although some of the locks were lengthened to take compartment boats. The Dearne and Dove Canal was regularly affected by subsidence, causing a drain on limited resources. In 1906, the Worsbrough branch ceased to be navigable, and became just a water feeder, and in 1909, the company effectively conceded defeat, by allowing coal to be mined under the canal. The Elsacar Branch closed in 1928, and most of the rest of the canal was closed in 1934, although formal closure did not take place until 1961.