The new mode of power transmission was more economical and required less maintenance than the shaft-and-gear system used in the British mills. See: Line shaft  From 1823-5 Moody was the chief engineer for the Locks and Canals Company. During that time he lived in the house now known as the Moody-Whister-Francis House (currently housing the Whistler House Museum of Art). Moody suddenly died in Lowell in 1831 after a 3-day illness. He was later honored by having streets in Waltham and Lowell, Massachusetts named after him, although sections of the one in Lowell were later renamed University Avenue and Textile Avenue, as it continues into neighboring Dracut, Massachusetts.