By the 19th century the canals and their owners were facing increasing competition and in many cases being eclipsed by the ambitious and aggressively expanding railway companies. One new lease of life for the canals in latter years though were the transhipment whaves. These are where goods were taken to/from railheads to businesses situated along the canals. The Birmingham Canal Navigations had quite a few of these but the Oxford Canal had only one, at Enslow Wharf in Oxfordshire [1].
The Great Western Railway had a goods yard at Bletchingdon next to Enslow Wharf, a major trade being with the Oxford Cement Company at Kirtlington. The company had no rail or road access so everything had to be taken by boat, much of it taken to Enslow Wharf for transfer to rail. This was a steady trade in the early 20th century. The goods yard (closing in 1965), cement company and even the station have now gone though the canal and railway line remain, the latter crossing the former! The wharf survives too though these days is home to many leisure narrowboats and their support services.
[1] Hugh Compton, The Oxford Canal (David and Charles, 1976) p. 135
