Henrichenburg boat lift

The Henrichenburg boat lift facilitates a change in elevation of the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal in Waltrop-Oberwiese. The boat lift 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.The old boat liftThe 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. The lift was the biggest and most spectacular structure on the old Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. It was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 11 August 1899.PurposeThe 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. It could accommodate vessels of up to 350 tonnes. 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 locks. 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.TechnologyThis 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 metre 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 metres long and 280 mm in diameter were used to direct the trough in the appropriate course.