 The Churchbridge Branch and Rumer Hill Junction were subsequently obliterated by opencast mining.Following the amalgamation of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and the Wyrley and Essington Canal in April 1840, the company had constructed a number of extensions to their system, and as they had proved to be profitable, a further programme was begun in 1854.Included in this batch was the Cannock Extension Canal, to run from Pelsall Junction on the Wyrley and Essington to Hednesford, where there were coal mines.