Wednesday, January 2, 2008

falkirk wheel: where there's a wheel there's a way

a few months ago i was wandering through some of the channels that can very occasionally feature interesting documentaries and i came across one that showed the falkirk wheel in the north of scotland. the falkirk wheel solves the challenge of reconnecting small river borne craft travelling along the union canal with the forth and clyde canal, thereby re-establishing east to west coast access for boats.

it's a relatively attractive solution that undoubtedly contains some amazing technology.

the canals of the united kingdom have enjoyed a huge resurgence albeit primarily for pleasure use and not commercial use.

this is the homepage for the union canal which uses the falkirk wheel to effect transfers at its intersection with the forth and clyde canal.

here is some video of the falkirk wheel in action!

here are some still pictures of the wheel:











2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey steve! how is that powered? i wonder why they wouldn't build a liftlock instead, since it is powered by hydraulics? (like ours here in Peterborough) I wonder if the channels in scotland are just too high for a liftlock? Huh.

at any rate, it looks like it takes enormous energy to run it. i wonder about that.
J

steven said...

hey janice, good questions and i have to agree with your interest in the energy it takes to work this lift. apparently it doesn't use very much because somewhat like our own liftlock right here in peterpatch, it uses the weight of water as one of its built in elements to move the machine. go here for more info. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=432

i think that the design itself (as opposed to regular locks) is a function of wanting it to be a tourist attraction. there are plans afoot for a lock activated by giant horse heads. what? you doubt me!! then go here . . . http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.1834268.0.0.php?act=complaint&cid=774932

steven