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Falkirk Wheel construction - questions

magpie patrick

By magpie patrick
in History & Heritage

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magpie patrick Veteran II

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Posted
Posted

I get asked lots of questions in the course of my work and research, most of which I either know the answer to or know where to find it but this one had me stumped. 

 

Is the structure of the Falkirk Wheel solid or hollow, and if hollow (which I guess it is) what gauge of steel was used in it's construction?

There's loads of fascinating details out there, the number of bolts, why it's bolted rather than welded, but not this one. 

Anyone know? 

Thanks

 

MP



 

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Posted
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11 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

I get asked lots of questions in the course of my work and research, most of which I either know the answer to or know where to find it but this one had me stumped. 

 

Is the structure of the Falkirk Wheel solid or hollow, and if hollow (which I guess it is) what gauge of steel was used in it's construction?

There's loads of fascinating details out there, the number of bolts, why it's bolted rather than welded, but not this one. 

Anyone know? 

Thanks

 

MP



 

 

Lots on wiki.

 

Havent read right through.

 

I do know it wasnt constructed in Scotland but built in the Midlands and assembled on site.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

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Jen-in-Wellies Veteran II

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Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

what gauge of steel was used in it's construction?

Good that you asked about the gauge used when it was built, rather than what gauge it is now. Has it been regularly blacked? Has it been overplated? Has any one done an ultrasonic survey on it recently? Should I buy an overplated boat lift wheel for my canal restoration project?

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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magpie patrick Veteran II

magpie patrickDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Thanks - all interesting stuff - no gauge but those sources do give the weight of the structure which helps

 

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Good that you asked about the gauge used when it was built, rather than what gauge it is now. Has it been regularly blacked? Has it been overplated? Has any one done an ultrasonic survey on it recently? Should I buy an overplated boat lift wheel for my canal restoration project?

 Just imagine the size of the anodes required... ;) 

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Pluto Veteran

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Posted
Posted

I have come across all sorts of designs for lifts and inclines over the years, and there is little in the way of real innovation in recent designs. The image below comes from a Russian waterway book published in 1906. There was a competition for designs around this time for lifts for an Elbe-Oder-Danube canal which included a circular lift something like that at Falkirk. This was for the then 1000 ton standard German barges of the time; the drawback was that if just one end was in sunshine, the differential expansion would cause the lift to stick.

Russia 327.jpg

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BEngo Veteran II

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Posted
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To be fair to the folks that (occasionally) design these things, innovation is not often what is needed in a working (as opposed to vanity project or architectural statement) type of lift.  The lift needs to be reliable, cheap and  easy to maintain and available for use as much of the time as possible.  Older  designs have usually  ironed out any operational or engineering wrinkles and suit the waterway operators just fine.    Otherwise, like Foxton,  they are  closed, or replaced as with the first Anderton rebuild.   Even "obvious" modernising improvements like the computer control of modern Anderton bring problems.  Not usually in design operation and upkeep, but in rapid  obsolescence of the hardware, loss of knowledge of the software and unavailability of engineering skills needed.  

The moral probably is: "Unless you really, really have to have a lift as the only viable solution  then choose something else."

 

N

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Scholar Gypsy Veteran

Scholar Gypsy

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I had a fascinating trip recently on the Strepy lifts in Belgium, built around 1900.  Needed a lot of care and fiddling around by the operatives, eg  adding ash to make a good seal, applying a crowbar at certain points in the process. 

 https://scholargypsy.org.uk/2022/06/13/belgian-boating-part-1/ 

You could feel the whole structure swaying a bit, which was a bit disconcerting ...

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hughc Proficient

hughc

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Butterley Engineering, shortly after completing the Falkirk Wheel was sold in an ,allegedly, very dubious manner. It was then rapidly asset stripped and the site has lain vacant ever since.So ended two hundred years of British engineering excellence. As much of our heavy engineering has gone the same way any thing of a similar nature would now probably be made in China and shipped as a flat pack.

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Heartland Veteran

Heartland

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One of the sad aspects of pre Brexit Britain was the sale and disposal of many companies, it will remain to be seen if that trend can be reversed.

At the 2022 Mach Show at the NEC there was optimism that it could be done!

But Patricks question is like "how long is a piece of string"

Unless you specify a specific string it cannot be measured.

The same with the Falkirk Wheel there are many components ranging from the cogs to the gondola. The items could be cast or rolled metal and are they all steel ?

As to the rolled metal the specifications might vary as to location within the structure, and further more how many alloy metals were were used, if any?

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Jen-in-Wellies Veteran II

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Posted
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A one word suggestion for any canal restoration team looking for an innovative replacement for a long disused, or never existing lock flight. Something that will bring in charabancs of visitors to see boats negotiate it and replace the Falkirk Wheel and Ponty Aquaduct as the favourite canal visitor attractions. One way travel only, but fine if your canal will be part of a ring.

Flume!

I reckon this would be great for the River Rother link to make a cruising ring of the Chesterfield/SSYN/Trent. It would need a lot of back pumping though. 😀

 

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