Henrichenburg boat lift - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Henrichenburg boat lift facilitates a change in elevation of the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal in Waltrop

Waltrop

Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approx. 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.-Division of the town:...

-Oberwiese. The boat lift

Boat lift

A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane....

is part of the Waltrop Lock Park (Schleusenpark), which includes the old Henrichenburg boat lift built in 1899, a disused shaft lock from 1912, the new boat lift built in 1962 and a modern ship lock from 1989.

The Henrichenburg boat lift is a popular destination for cyclists along the canals of the northern Ruhr Area

Ruhr Area

The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...

The old boat lift

The old boat lift was opened in 1899. It was an important structure on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal without which it would not have been possible to navigate to Dortmund Port

Dortmund Port

Construction on Dortmund's port which terminates the Dortmund-Ems Canal connecting Dortmund to the North Sea started in 1895. It was opened 1899 by Kaiser Wilhelm. At the beginning of the 20th century it was mainly used for the import and export of wheat, coal and ore...

. The lift was the biggest and most spectacular structure on the old Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. It was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm II

William II, German Emperor

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...

on 11 August 1899.

Purpose

The lift was able to accommodate the then usual Boat on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal, 67 Metres long, 8.2 Metres wide, with a draft of 2 Metres and lift it through a height of 14 Metres to the level of the Dortmund Port. A complete descent or lift cycle, including entry and exit, took about 45 Minutes. The actual lowering/lifting only took two and a half minutes. This was much faster than possible using ordinary lock

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

s. This method of raising boats also conserved water at the upper elevation which relied entirely on water pumped from the lower elevation for its supply.

Technology

This technically very interesting construction managed to lift approximately 1000 tonnes of ship and water filled trough using a relatively small amount of power. The trough was supported by 5 cylindrical floats each immersed in 40 meter deep water-filled wells. The lift from the floats was the same as the load of the water filled trough therefore, only a small electric motor sufficient to overcome friction and viscous resistance was needed to set the trough in motion in either direction. Four steel worm gears, 20 meters long and 280 mm in diameter were used to direct the trough in the appropriate course.

The old lift was closed shortly after the opening of the new lift. A year later in 1963 an attempt was made to restart the old lift. It was found that the trough had tilted and that it could no longer be moved into either the fully up or fully down positions. The lift remains in this condition today and is conserved as part of a museum.

Museum

After the closure of the old lift it was decided in 1979 to develop the lift as part of the Westphalian industrial museum. The lift was restored and reconstructed without bringing it back into use. The lower dock of the old lift is used as a marina.

The old lift has an iron framework construction with five float chambers. The trough and the upper and lower control towers are accessible. In the former boiler and machine house, machines, models and pictures can be seen. In the lower dock are the former police and fireboat Cerberus of 1930 and the motorvessel Franz-Christian of 1929 with an exhibition of working life on board in the cargo hold. In the 400m long canal adjoining the upper dock there is a collection of historical ships and a loading dock along with other exhibits.

The Westphalian Industrial Museum is on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal cycle route, the Emscher-Way.

The new boat lift

The new boat lift was opened in 1962 and has a trough length of 90 meters and a width of 12 meters. This lift utilizes the same construction principles as the old lift but using only two floats in two float chambers.

The new lift soon became too small for the navigation's requirements and a new ship lock allowing boats 190 meters long and 12 meters wide, allowing a 4 metre displaced depth was built next to the lift in 1989.

The new lift was taken out of use in December 2005 because of technical problems. The lift may not be repaired on the grounds of cost and the decreased usage of Dortmund Port. Problems or maintenance requirements on the modern lock would, without the lift, bring about the closure of Dortmund Port.

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