Hardcore boat-lifts

he 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

Here for more amazing design.