Ronquières inclined plane on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Ronquières Inclined Plane is a Belgian canal inclined plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal in the province of Hainaut (province), Hainaut in Wallonia that opened in April 1968 after six years of construction. It is 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 14 lock (water transport), locks (already reduced from 16 in the 19th century), which had hitherto been needed for the canal to follow the local topography.
Image:Ronquières JPG02.jpg, Boat waiting before the inclined plane
Image:Ronquières JPG03.jpg, Lower control tower and machine hall
Image:Ronquiières Schëffslift.JPG, Caisson leaving lower lock
Image:Ronquières JPG04.jpg, Caisson en route
Image:Ronquières JPG05.jpg, The inclined plane
Image:RonquièresPlanIncliné1.jpg, Caisson en route
Ronquières, the non official siteOfficial Site
* — with photos {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronquieres inclined plane Transport infrastructure completed in 1968 Canal inclined planes Locks of Belgium Buildings and structures in Hainaut (province)
The Ronquières Inclined Plane is a Belgian canal inclined plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal in the province of Hainaut (province), Hainaut in Wallonia that opened in April 1968 after six years of construction. It is 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 14 lock (water transport), locks (already reduced from 16 in the 19th century), which had hitherto been needed for the canal to follow the local topography.
Description
The Ronquières Inclined Plane has a length of and lifts boats through vertically. It consists of two large caisson (engineering)#Boat lift caissons, caissons mounted on rails. Each caisson measures long by wide and has a water depth between . 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. Each caisson is pulled by 8 cables wound by capstans located at the top end of the inclined plane. Each cable is long. Each caisson can be moved between the two canal levels at a speed of , taking about 22 minutes. It takes 50 minutes in total to pass through the of the entire structure, including the raised canal bridge at the top end.In popular culture
* The film ''Brussels by Night (1983)'' takes place (in part) at the inclined plane of Ronquières.Photo gallery
Further reading
* * *See also
*Strépy-Thieu boat lift *:fr:Plan incliné de Ronquières, Article on the French-language Wikipedia from which this article was translated *Falkirk WheelReferences
External links
Ronquières, the non official site
* — with photos {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronquieres inclined plane Transport infrastructure completed in 1968 Canal inclined planes Locks of Belgium Buildings and structures in Hainaut (province)