The boats were made of wood, and were long by wide. They were deep, and weighed about 1.5 tons, but when loaded with 5 tons of coal or iron, only remained above the water. In order to transport them along the incline, they were attached to a simple frame with four wheels, with a diameter of at the front and at the back. The rear axle carried a second set of wheels, in diameter and spaced much wider than the main wheels, which ran on a special track at the top of the incline, and prevented the frame from getting stuck when it passed over the hump. These wheels were flanged, unlike the main wheels. The main wheels are described as having an inside gauge of , presumably between their inside faces. The engine was a steam engine, and was used to draw the wagon and boat over the hump and out of the top pound. It was also used to complete the movement of an ascending boat, which would no longer be counterbalanced once the descending boat entered the water at the bottom. The engine drove a drum, which carried the rope, and which had a clutch mechanism to allow it to be driven by the engine or disconnected from it, as required.