The Falkirk Wheel – Rotating Boat Lift in Scotland

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland. It is the world’s only rotating boatlift. It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link project. The Wheel is essentially two huge, balanced water tanks suspended on arms which rotate around a central axis like a Ferris wheel. Each tank can support up to four twenty-meter-long boats at one time. Boats move into the tanks through the lock gates, which displaces a mass of water from each tank equal to the weight of the vessels. The tanks are thus always equalized in weight, allowing the pull of gravity on the descending tank to do most of the work elevating the rising tank. his balance allows the wheel to consume very little electricity per turn despite the enormous weight involved. It uses a mere 1.5 kilowatt-hours– or roughly the equivalent power needed to boil eight kettles of water– each time if hefts a 600 metric ton load. And it does this in under four minutes per turn.

credit: paisleyorguk

credit: davidcjones

credit: davidcjones

credit: Martin Pettitt

credit: beltzner

credit: alexliivet

credit:  Neillwphoto

credit: Giuseppe Milo

credit: Vesperpiano

credit: paisleyorguk

credit: paisleyorguk