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Guessed what this was before I opened it, here’s a video of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n61KUGDWz2A
It’s also elegant!
I couldn’t get the slideshow to work, but the YT clip more than makes up for it.
I don’t recall ever hearing about the Falkirk wheel before. I find it hard to believe that the boat traffic will ever pay for what this wheel does. It strikes me as more the sort of project that gets built in good times just to prove that it can be done.
For all that, it’s a pretty marvelous sight.
djm
just few miles from me its braw looking
The wheel isn’t there to generate profit, it’s there to connect two waterways which are an important part of the country’s transport and leisure infrastructure.
http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/scotland/scot_home/index.html
http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/scotland/leisure_development/falkirk_wheel.html
The wheel isn’t there to generate profit
That’s what I meant. It doesn’t pay for itself directly. It’s there to draw the tourist dollars/pounds/euros. The web site you linked says as much.
That’s not a knock. I just meant that it’s a wonder in itself, and doesn’t need to pay its way. Things like the Falkirk wheel would never get built if they had to pay for themselves directly, and how much poorer would we be without them?
djm
Beautiful!