I came across this wonderful feat of engineering while starting out to search for the lyrics to a Ben Kweller song. Do not ask me how this happens, it is the magic of the internet. At any rate. This is the amazing Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. It connects two canals which once were connected by a series of 11 locks, which had fallen into disuse and been filled over. The top one has been slightly re-routed to run along an aqueduct, and boats are lifted into it by the big wheel. You heard me, lifted.
Here is a nifty time-lapse video showing the wheel in action:
Among the cooler things about the wheel, is that it only uses about 1.5 Kwh of power during each 4 minute trip, which isn't much, considering. The dedication and opening had to be delayed because vandals forced open the bolted upper locks, allowing millions of gallons of water to cascade over the structure and hillside, causing over $600,000 worth of damage. As someone who engaged in a little relatively harmless vandalism in my younger days, I can't conceive of the sort of malice that would do such a thing. We stole driveway reflectors and painted on the abandoned covered bridge--both of which certainly were wrong, but neither of which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.
Vandals aside, I am completely in awe of this marvel. If ever I am in Scotland, I will make certain to see this terrific contraption.
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