Ronquières inclined plane
The Ronquières Inclined Plane is a Belgian canal inclined plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal in the province of Hainaut in Wallonia that opened in April 1968[1] after a six year construction period. It is located in the municipality of Braine-le-Comte, and takes its name from the nearby village of Ronquières.
The purpose of the construction was to reduce the delays imposed by the fourteen locks (already reduced from sixteen in the nineteenth century) which had hitherto been needed for the canal to follow the local topography.
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[edit] Description
The Ronquières Inclined Plane has a length of 1,432 m and lifts boats through 67.73 m[2] vertically. It consists of two large caissons mounted on rails. Each caisson measures 91 m long by 12 m wide and has a water depth between 3 and 3.70 m. It can carry one boat of 1,350 tonnes or many smaller boats within the same limits.
Each caisson has a 5,200 tonne counterweight running in the trough below the rails, which permits the caisson to be moved independently of the other.[2] Each caisson is pulled by 8 cables (each of which is 1480m long) wound by winches located at the top end of the inclined plane.
Each caisson can be moved between the two canal levels at a speed of 1.2 m/s, taking about 22 minutes.
It takes 50 minutes in total to pass through the 1800 m of the entire structure, including the raised canal bridge at the top end.[2]
[edit] Photo gallery
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Boat waiting before the inclined plane
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Lower control tower and machine hall
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Caisson leaving lower lock
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Caisson en route
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The inclined plane
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Caisson en route
[edit] Further reading
- Gallez, Alfred (1998). Ronquieres:where boats go on rollers. Tourist Federation of Hainaut (Mons).
- Tew, David (1984). Canal Inclines and Lifts. Sutton Books. ISBN 0-8629-9031-9.
- Uhlemann, Hans-Joachim (2002). Canal lifts and inclines of the world (English Translation ed.). Internat. ISBN 0-9543-1811-0.
[edit] References
- ^ "Travel Talk". Autocar vol 128 (nbr 3774): page 50. date 13 June 1968.
- ^ a b c "The inclined plane of Ronquières". http://services-techniques.met.wallonie.be/en/waterways/the_inclined_plane_of_ron/. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
[edit] See also
- Ronquières, the non official site
- Strépy-Thieu boat lift
- Article on the French-language Wikipedia from which this article was translated
- Falkirk Wheel
- Official Site
- Plan incliné de Ronquières at Structurae — with photos
Coordinates: 50°35′52″N 4°13′18″E / 50.597786°N 4.221582°E
