A view along the soft excavation cutting of the Manchester Ship Canal at Acton Grange. A long line of mostly full waggons stretches into the distance with a locamotive on the end. Navvies with their shovels are posing for the camera, some on the waggons with others on the bottom of the canal. A final group can be seen standing on the canal bank.

The caption for the print states:
"Manchester Ship Canal, Length 35 1/2 miles, width on bottom 120 feet, depth of water 28 feet, soft excavation by hand at Acton Grange."