17 - 18 September Yesterday we went along the new Canal Du Centre and descended the Strepy-Thieu Ascenseur. This is boat lift that takes boats up or down almost 74 m. The largest in the world. We arrived just before 1pm and were told that we had to wait until 2pm. After lunch we entered the tank and were joined by a tourist boat. Then we went down. The boat is in a sort of tank (like a bath tub) and the whole tank is moved down as in an elevator. There are two tanks 112m long, 12m wide and around 4m deep, each moves independently with 4 massive concrete counter-weights. There are 144 cables which bring each tank up and down. The ride was so smooth, it felt like the tank was still and the roof going up. They say that it takes 6 minutes for the tank to travel the 74m, but there was a lot of waiting as we had to wait for the other boat to join us, then for the doors to close and then at the bottom for the levels to be aligned with the outside, and the doors to open again. All up, it took us about an hour. But it was a great trip. Really interesting. The Ascenseur and the New Canal du Centre was built to allow larger vessels to travel between the Meuse and the Schelt valleys. As well as the Ascenseur, they built a whole new canal including a very large 500m long viaduct that was an engineering marvel in itself, and also a flood control gate (that could also stop the water if there was ever a problem at the Ascenseur). In 1917 the original Canal du Centre was opened. Now known as the Historic Centre Canal, it has 4 hydraulic boat lifts and 2 locks. Each of the boat lifts have 2 tanks that are 40.8m long and 5.2m wide that could take 300 ton boats– too small for modern day commercial barges. We have been told that you can travel the historic canal on the weekend if you arrange it in advance. We’d love to do that sometime. Lift number 4 was near our mooring so we were able to walk up and see it. We also went back in the evening to see it all lit up. This morning we returned to the Ascenseur to visit the museum which was interesting. Having done the trip it was great to see it all from the outside too, as well as see the views, which we couldn’t really see from within our tank when we descended. We are now in Mons where we will stay 2 nights so that we can have a look around.
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AuthorWe are sharing stories about and travels on our barge Moondance. Archives
August 2023
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