construction

hardcore boat-lifts

regular canal locks are for wimps.

the beasts below are needed when a simple solution just won’t do and are relatively unknown examples of engineering brilliance that are still being used on our waterways on a daily basis.

in no particular order…

1. saint-louis-arzviller inclined plane, moselle, france

the saint-louis-arzviller inclined plane is used to bridge a height change of 138ft on the marne-rhine canal. pre-1969, before this machine was introduced, that same change in height was tackled using 17 seperate locks, each journey taking anywhere from 8 to 13 hours. thanks to the inclined plane it now takes a whopping 4 minutes.

boats enter the compartment at the bottom and are then dragged up the lifting ramp sideways thanks to the 900 tonne counter-balance weights.

google maps link here.

2. the falkirk wheel, falkirk, scotland

the falkirk wheel is the world’s only rotating boat-lift and was opened in 2002 by a woman called ‘the queen’. the phrase ‘engineering marvel’ definitely applies to this £17.5m monster.

it’s used to connect the union canal with the forth & clyde canal and consists of 2 water-filled compartments which rotate around a central axle that is perched 25 metres above the lower body of water. the wheel can transport 8 boats at a time (4 up & 4 down) and each compartment contains 300 tonnes of water.

by far the best way to understand how the lift works is to watch the timelapse video below.

3. big chute marine railway, ontario, canada

located at lock 44 of the trent-severn waterway in ontario is the big chute marine railway, the only inclined plane of its kind in north america. the difference between this one and most others is that the cradled used to transport the boats is free of water.

the height bridged by the ramp is 17.4 metres.

4. ronquieres inclined plane, wallonia, belgium

the ronquieres inclined plane is absolutely huge, the total length of the ramp coming in at 1432 metres. it’s even got a huge control tower at the top and each of the 2 caissons can carry a vessel weighing anything up to 1350 tonnes through a height difference of 67.7 metres.

the total time taken to get through the short journey is 50 minutes.

check out the size of one of the caissons in this clip…

google maps link here.

5. strepy-thieu boat lift, hainaut, belgium

until the three gorges dam is completed (see below) this is the tallest boat lift in the world. it lifts boats 73 metres to the next water level using 2 counterweighted caissons and was only opened in 2002, replacing the old system of locks and boat-lifts used to connect the meuse and scheldt basins.

the bulding as a whole weighs 200′000 tonnes.

google maps link here.

6. montech water slope, montech, france

this strange looking beast is called a water slope and like an inclined plane uses a slope to traverse the change in height. the difference is, with a water slope there’s a channel of water in the middle of the slope and on either side of this a track. locomotives on each track push a huge gate behind the boat through the water channel, in turn forcing the boat up the slope on a cushion of water.

to see a non-confusing animation explaining the process, click here and then click on ‘comment ca march’.

7. niederfinow boat lift, brandenburg, germany

this is the oldest working boat-lift in germany and lifts approximately 11′000 boats each year a height of 60 metres. it opened in 1934 and will soon be replaced by a new, bigger boat-lift which is planned for completion in 2012. the current lift is such a huge tourist attraction that around 500′000 people visit each year.

google maps link here.

8. three gorges dam ship lift, china

when completed, the three gorges dam on the yangtze river will be the largest river dam in the world, more than 5 times the size of the hoover dam. it will also be home to the tallest ship-lift on earth - more than double the height of any existing lift in the world - capable of lifting vessels weighing up to 3000 tonnes.

google maps link here.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

© 2007 deputydog.