The 19th century saw some major new canals such as the Caledonian Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal. The new canals proved highly successful. The boats on the canals were horse-drawn with a towpath alongside the canal for the horse to walk along. This horse-drawn system proved to be highly economical and became standard across the British canal network. Commercial horse-drawn canal boats could be seen on the UK's canals until as late as the 1950s, although by then diesel powered boats, often towing a second unpowered boat, had become standard. During the latter part of the 19th century the boat decoration of Roses and Castles began to appear. In this period, whole families lived aboard the boats.
