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Pumping station "de Vier Noorder Koggen" - B&W version.

Pumping station "de Vier Noorder Koggen". Built in 1869 to replace some polder mills for the draining of the polder land to the former Zuiderzee. The pumping station consists of two parts: the old pumping station from 1869 and on the left the new pumping station from 1907.

 

The old pumping station worked well, but that was not enough. The pumping station, and also the mills, were running at full power, but the area behind the dike remained too wet. There were also votes to build another pumping station, but the high costs were feared. The farmers complained of stone and bone. After a lot of talking, while meanwhile wet years caused a lot of damage, it was finally decided to expand the old pumping station with a new section in which a gas engine would be placed. The new building was completed in 1907. The mills were no longer needed. The millers were fired and had to leave their home and workplace. The windmills were sold for five hundred guilders each. Of the twenty mills, which were managed by the Vier Noorder Koggen, only the West-Uit 7 mill at Aartswoud was spared. The appearance of the Brakepolder changed considerably when fourteen windmills disappeared from the landscape there in just a short time.

During World War I, opponents of steam were proved right when the pumping station ran into problems because the coal supply stopped. It was decided to keep a large stock of coal available at all times.

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Uploaded on June 22, 2020
Taken on June 21, 2020