In 1941-42 the by then unused section north of Kendal Gas Works was closed because of leakage, and the owners attempted to close the whole canal in 1944, but opposition in the House of Lords resulted in a stay of execution. In later years, the main commercial traffic was coal from Preston to Kendal Gas Works, which had been built in 1824 on land bought from the canal company, and between were carried each year. As there was no railway to the gas works, this traffic had ensured the maintenance of the canal, but it was transferred to road vehicles in 1944, and the canal carried its final commercial traffic in 1947.