A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock.
It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, like the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, or operate on an inclined plane, like the Ronquières inclined plane in Belgium.
A precursor to the canal boat lift, able to move full-sized canal boats, was the tub boat lift used in mining, able to raise and lower the 2.5 ton tub boats then in use. An experimental system was in use on the Churprinz mining canal in Halsbrücke near Dresden. It lifted boats 7 m (23 ft) using a moveable hoist rather than caissons. The lift operated between 1789 and 1868, [1] and for a period of time after its opening engineer James Green reporting that five had been built between 1796 and 1830. He credited the invention to Dr James Anderson of Edinburgh. [2]
The idea of a boat lift for canals can be traced back to a design based on balanced water-filled caissons in Erasmus Darwin's Commonplace Book (pp. 58–59) dated 1777–1778 [3]
In 1796 an experimental balance lock was designed by James Fussell and constructed at Mells on the Dorset and Somerset Canal, though this project was never completed. [2] A similar design was used for lifts on the tub boat section of the Grand Western Canal entered into operation in 1835 becoming the first non-experimental boat lifts in Britain [4] and pre-dating the Anderton Boat Lift by 40 years.
In 1904 the Peterborough Lift Lock designed by Richard Birdsall Rogers opened in Canada. This 19.8-metre (65 ft) high lift system is operated by gravity alone, with the upper bay of the two bay system loaded with an additional 30 cm (12 in) of water as to give it greater weight.
Before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift, the highest boat lift, with a 73.15-metre (240.0 ft) height difference and European Class IV (1350 tonne) capacity, was the Strépy-Thieu boat lift in Belgium opened in 2002.
The ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam, completed in January 2016, is 113 m (371 ft) high and able to lift vessels of up to 3,000 tons displacement.
The boat lift at Longtan is reported to be even higher in total with a maximum vertical lift of 179 m (587 ft) in two stages when completed. [5]
| Name | Location | Opened | Type | Displacement | Dimensions | Vertical lift | Cycle time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goupitan ship-lifting system (second [6] lift) | Guizhou, China | 2021 [7] | Vertical caisson | 500 tons | 280 by 35 by 5 metres 919 by 115 by 16 feet | 127 metres 417 feet | Tallest boat lift in the world. | |
| Goupitan ship-lifting system (first [6] lift) | Guizhou, China | 2021 [7] | Vertical caisson | 500 tons | 72–79 metres 236–259 feet | |||
| Three Gorges Dam ship lift | Yichang, Hubei, China | 2016 | Vertical caisson | 3000 tons | 280 by 35 by 5 metres 919 by 115 by 16 feet | 113 metres 371 feet | 30–40 minutes | |
| Krasnoyarsk Dam ship lift | Divnogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia | 1982 | Inclined plane | 1500 tons | 90 m × 18 m × 2.2 m 295 ft × 59 ft × 7 ft | 104 m 341 ft | 90 minutes | |
| Ronquières inclined plane lift | Braine-le-Comte, Hainaut, Belgium | 1968 | Inclined plane | 1350 tons | 91 m × 12 m × 3.7 m 299 ft × 39 ft × 12 ft | 67.73 m 222 ft | 22 minutes [8] | |
| Strépy-Thieu boat lift | Le Rœulx, Hainaut, Belgium | 2002 | Vertical caisson | 1350 tons | 112 m × 12 m × 3.35 m 367 ft × 39 ft × 11 ft | 73.15 m 240 ft | 7 minutes | Tallest boat lift in Europe. |
| Scharnebeck twin ship lift | Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany | 1974 | Vertical caisson | 1350 tons | 105.4 m × 15.8 m × 3.4 m 346 ft × 52 ft × 11 ft | 38 m 125 ft | 3 minutes | |
| Niederfinow boat lift | Brandenburg, Germany | 1934 | Vertical caisson | 85 m × 12 m × 2.5 m 279 ft × 39 ft × 8 ft | 36 m 118 ft | 20 minutes | ||
| Niederfinow north boat lift | Brandenburg, Germany | 2022 | Vertical caisson | 2100 tonnes | 115 m × 12.5 m × 4.0 m 377 ft × 41 ft × 13 ft | 36 m 118 ft | ||
| Peterborough lift lock | Ontario, Canada | 1904 | Vertical caisson | 1300 tons | 42.7 m × 10.1 m × 2.1 m 140 ft × 33 ft × 7 ft | 19.8 m 65 ft | 10 minutes | |
| Kirkfield Lift Lock | Ontario, Canada | 1907 | Vertical caisson | 1300 tons | 42.7 m × 10.1 m × 2.1 m 140 ft × 33 ft × 7 ft | 14.9 m 49 ft | 10 minutes | |
| Rothensee boat lift | Saxony-Anhalt, Germany | 1938 | Vertical caisson | 1000 tons | 85 m × 12.2 m 279 ft × 40 ft | 16 m 52 ft | 20 minutes | |
| Falkirk Wheel | Falkirk, Scotland, United Kingdom | 2002 | Rotating caisson | 600 tons | 21.33 m × 6 m × 1.37 m 70 ft × 20 ft × 4 ft | 24 m 79 fts | 4 minutes | The only rotating boat lift in the world. |
| Henrichenburg boat lift | North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | 1962 | Vertical caisson | 600 tons | 67 m × 8.2 m × 2 m 220 ft × 27 ft × 7 ft | 14 m 46 ft | 25 minutes | |
| Geheyan Dam ship lift | Hubei, China | 1987 | Vertical caisson | 300 tons | ||||
| Longtan Dam ship lift (first lift) | Hechi, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China | 2020 | Vertical caisson | 500 tons | 73.0 m × 12.2 m × 3.5 m 240 ft × 40 ft × 11 ft | 62.4 m 205 ft [9] | ||
| Longtan Dam ship lift (second lift) | Hechi, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China | 2020 | Vertical caisson | 500 tons | 73.0 m × 12.2 m × 3.5 m 240 ft × 40 ft × 11 ft | 93.6 m 307 ft [9] | ||
| Canal du Centre boat lifts | Hainaut, Belgium | 1888–1917 | Vertical caisson | 360 tons/350 tons | 40.1 m × 5.06 m × 2 m 132 ft × 17 ft × 7 ft | 16.93–15.4 m 56–51 ft | Three lifts each 16.93 m high plus one 15.4 m high. | |
| Fontinettes boat lift | Arques, Pas-de-Calais, France | 1881–88 | Vertical caisson | 300 tons | 39 m × 5.2 m × 2 m 128 ft × 17 ft × 7 ft | 13.13 m 43 ft | 5 minutes | Replaced by a single lock in 1967. |
| Anderton boat lift | Cheshire, England, United Kingdom | 1875 | Vertical caisson | 250 tons | 22.9 m × 4.7 m × 2.9 m 75 ft × 15 ft × 10 ft | 15.25 m 50 ft | ||
| Montech water slope | Montech, Tarn-et-Garonne, France | 1974 | Water slope | 443 m × 13.3 m × 6 m 1,453 ft × 44 ft × 20 ft | 13.3 m 44 ft | 6 minutes | Oldest water slope. | |
| Fonserannes Water Slope | Hérault, France | 1980–83 | Water slope | 272 m × 13.6 m 892 ft × 45 ft | 13.6 m 45 ft | |||
| Big Chute Marine Railway | Ontario, Canada | 1917–78 | Patent slip | 30.4 m × 18 m × 7.9 m 100 ft × 59 ft × 26 ft | 18 m 59 ft |
The Anderton Boat Lift is a two-caisson lift lock near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in North West England. It provides a 50-foot (15.2 m) vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The structure is designated as a scheduled monument, and is included in the National Heritage List for England; it is also known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands End. An additional purpose of the canal was the supply of limestone and coal to lime kilns along with the removal of the resulting quicklime, which was used as a fertiliser and for building houses. This intended canal-link was never completed as planned, as the coming of the railways removed the need for its existence.
An inclined plane is a type of cable railway used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings.
The Foxton Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough, named after the nearby village of Foxton. The plane was built in 1900 as a solution to various operational restrictions imposed by the Foxton Lock flight. However, it was not a commercial success and only remained in full-time operation for ten years. The plane was dismantled in 1926. A project to re-create the plane commenced in the 2000s because the narrowbeam locks remain a bottleneck for leisure boat traffic.
The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Cornwall and Devon border territory in the United Kingdom, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The Bude Canal system was one of the most unusual in Britain.
The Chard Canal was a 13.5 miles (21.7 km) tub boat canal in Somerset, England, that ran from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St. Michael, over four aqueducts, through three tunnels and four inclined planes to Chard. It was completed in 1842, was never commercially viable, and closed in 1868. The major engineering features are still clearly visible in the landscape.
The Ketley Canal was a tub boat canal that ran for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Oakengates to Ketley works in Shropshire, England. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone. The inclined ceased to be used in 1816, when Ketley Works was closed, but the upper canal was not finally abandoned until the 1880s. A few traces of the canal are still visible in the landscape.
Elbląg Canal is a canal in Poland, in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, 80.5 kilometres (50.0 mi) in length, which runs southward from Lake Drużno, to the river Drwęca and lake Jeziorak. It can accommodate small vessels up to 50 tonnes displacement. The difference in water levels approaches 100 metres (330 ft), and is overcome using locks and a system of inclined planes between lakes.
The Strépy-Thieu boat lift lies on a branch of the Canal du Centre in the municipality of Le Rœulx, Hainaut, Belgium. With a height difference of 73.15 metres (240.0 ft) between the upstream and downstream reaches, it was the tallest boat lift in the world upon its completion, and remained so until the Three Gorges Dam ship lift in China was completed in January 2016.
The Canal du Centre is a canal in Wallonia, Belgium, which, with other canals, links the waterways of the Meuse and Scheldt rivers. It has a total length of 20.9 km. It connects the artificial lake Grand Large near Nimy, with the Brussels–Charleroi Canal near Seneffe.
The caisson lock is a type of canal lock in which a narrowboat is floated into a sealed watertight box and raised or lowered between two different canal water levels. It was invented in the late 18th century as a solution to the problem posed by the excessive demand for water when conventional locks were used to raise and lower canal boats through large height differences. Such locks, each of which would only raise and lower boats through small height differences of a few feet, would not suffice when large height differences had to be tackled nor when water was in short supply. The caisson was thought to be one solution, although it transpired that the technology of the day was not capable of achieving this type of construction economically.
The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is an inclined plane on the Marne-Rhine Canal that enables the canal to cross the Vosges Mountains. It is located in the commune of Saint-Louis, between the towns of Saint-Louis and Arzviller in the département of the Moselle.
The Ronquières Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal in the province of Hainaut in Wallonia, Belgium. It opened in April 1968 having taken six years to build. It is in the municipality of Braine-le-Comte and takes its name from the nearby village of Ronquières.
The Rothensee boat lift is North of Magdeburg and connects the Mittellandkanal with the Elbe via the Elbeabstiegskanal.
A tub boat lift is a type of boat lift designed to lift tub boats between different elevations of a canal. Tub boats are small boats used to transport coal and other minerals, sometimes working singly, sometimes in long trains. A tub boat lift lifts the boat out of the water. Most other types of boat lift such as locks or inclined planes are designed to move the boat afloat in some kind of water-filled tank, and, apart from maximum dimensions, are not restricted in the type of craft transported. Tub boat lifts and tub boats are designed to work together as a system. A given lift will only be able to lift boats designed for the lift.
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. It ran from a junction with the Donnington Wood Canal ascending the 316 yard long Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane to its summit level, it made a junction with the older Ketley Canal and at Southall Bank the Coalbrookdale (Horsehay) branch went to Brierly Hill above Coalbrookdale; the main line descended via the 600 yard long Windmill Incline and the 350 yard long Hay Inclined Plane to Coalport on the River Severn. The short section of the Shropshire Canal from the base of the Hay Inclined Plane to its junction with the River Severn is sometimes referred to as the Coalport Canal.
The Brussels–Charleroi Canal, also known as the Charleroi Canal amongst other similar names, is an important canal in Belgium. The canal is quite large, with a Class IV Freycinet gauge, and its Walloon portion is 47.9 kilometres (29.8 mi) long. It runs from Charleroi (Wallonia) in the south to Brussels in the north.
James Green (1781–1849) was a noted civil engineer and canal engineer, who was particularly active in the South West of England, where he pioneered the building of tub boat canals, and inventive solutions for coping with hilly terrain, which included tub boat lifts and inclined planes. Although dismissed from two schemes within days of each other, as a result of construction problems, his contribution as a civil engineer was great.
The ShuiKou shiplift was built in Fujian province, on the Min River. It can lift vessels displacing 500 tons. Its caisson's dimensions are 124 metres (407 ft) × 12 metres (39 ft) × 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). The ShuiKou Dam's maximum height is 101 metres (331 ft).
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