_DSC2198
Cruquius pumping station near Haarlem NL.
The Cruquius pumping station is a beautiful neo Gothic building. The building, the engine and pumps were never modernized or modified. The drainage station is just as it was built in 1846-1849. The Cruquius gives an impression of the Dutch struggle against the water. Without enclosure and drainage, more than half of the area of the present-day Netherlands would be flooded with every high tide, every wet season, or permanently. The main attraction is the large engine, the steam engine with the largest cylinder diameter in the world, almost 3.5 m. The steam cycle of the Cruquius engine is virtually the same as that of a regular Cornish engine. The Cornish mine-pumping engine is characterized by a beam, pivoted on a massive wall, with the vertical steam cylinder under one end of the beam and the pump rod suspended from the other. The Cornish pumping engine is a descendant of the Newcomen engine, via the engines of James Watt. The Cruquius engine has a peculiar and ingenious valve control system, the valve gear. It is a complex set of rods and handles. It is interesting to see how, at the time, the designers managed to 'automate' the control of Cruquius with this valve gear. Thanks to the efforts and support of many persons the large Cruquius engine has been restored to movement by the Steam Team volunteers. Research and activities to make this possible started in 1982. Since the beginning of 2002 the large Cruquius engine moves again. Using steam drive to move the engine was impossible because the steam engine has been demolished after the pumping station was replaced by a modern unit. Various other ways to drive the engine were compared and modern hydraulic techniques were chosen to move the pumps now.
In medieval times there were numerous lakes in the peaty land between Amsterdam, Haarlem and Leiden. As a result of erosion and peat digging, several of these lakes merged to form the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem Lake). In the late 16th century, this growing inland sea became a threat. But, it was also useful to the nearby towns for shipping and fishing, and for draining sewage. Over the next two centuries more than 200 schemes for partial or complete drainage of the lake were proposed. Due to conflicting interests, jealous local administrations, and high cost none of these schemes came to anything. However over the years increasing amounts had to be spent on building and maintaining structures to reinforce the banks. In the long run these were not satisfactory solutions for control of such a vast expanse of water.
In the 19th century government became centralized, gained real power and became capable of enterprises on a national scale. Two heavy storms in 1836 drove home the continuing menace of the `water wolf´. King Willem I appointed a committee to draw up proposals for draining the Haarlemmermeer at very short notice. The report called for drainage by 79 large windmills with Archimedean screws and scoop wheels, supplemented by three small steam-powered Archimedean screws. The King was not satisfied, and he ordered a closer look at the feasibility of steam-powered drainage. A second committee was formed, but internal disagreement on drainage by wind or steam resulted in deadlock. In 1840 renewed government intervention finally resulted in a report with clear recommendations, and soon the decision to use steam power alone was taken. This was a bold step: steam power had never been used on this scale before, and earlier applications on a smaller scale had met with mixed success. There was also reluctance to experiment with such an important provision as polder drainage. In addition, expensive coal would have to be imported, unless peat could be used (but experiments with that failed).
A visit to Cornwall GB had convinced the committee of the reliability and efficiency of the Cornish pumping engine. This type of engine was used for pumping relatively small quantities of water out of deep mines. To make them suitable for land drainage, i.e. large quantities at relatively low lift, considerable adaptation of the standard design would be required. In addition, the proposed scale of the three pumping stations exceeded anything previously built. One of the three stations, Leeghwater, was built and tested first to make the risks more manageable. This caused some delay, but it permitted design adjustments for the remaining two: Lynden and Cruquius. The initial drainage took from 1849 to 1852. All three pumping stations worked continually at maximum capacity, with a few interruptions. Later they kept the polder dry, and were idle during long periods. As agricultural needs changed, the water-table had to be kept within stricter limits, with shorter, intense pumping periods. It turned out that Cruquius, even with more boilers, could power only seven pumps at full lift, so one pump remained permanently disconnected.
The other pumping stations of the Haarlemmermeer, Leeghwater and Lynden, were modernized over the years, and have provided the polder's drainage to this day. After a period on stand-by Cruquius finally became redundant in 1932. An initiative was taken to preserve it. In 1933 pumping station became one of the first industrial monuments in the Netherlands. After 1932 the boilers were removed and scrapped. Otherwise the drainage station is just as it was built in 1846-1849. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the Cruquius steam drainage pumping station the 33rd International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1991. The ASME Landmarks Program recognizes our technological heritage and serves to encourage the preservation of the physical remains of historically important works.
_DSC2198
Cruquius pumping station near Haarlem NL.
The Cruquius pumping station is a beautiful neo Gothic building. The building, the engine and pumps were never modernized or modified. The drainage station is just as it was built in 1846-1849. The Cruquius gives an impression of the Dutch struggle against the water. Without enclosure and drainage, more than half of the area of the present-day Netherlands would be flooded with every high tide, every wet season, or permanently. The main attraction is the large engine, the steam engine with the largest cylinder diameter in the world, almost 3.5 m. The steam cycle of the Cruquius engine is virtually the same as that of a regular Cornish engine. The Cornish mine-pumping engine is characterized by a beam, pivoted on a massive wall, with the vertical steam cylinder under one end of the beam and the pump rod suspended from the other. The Cornish pumping engine is a descendant of the Newcomen engine, via the engines of James Watt. The Cruquius engine has a peculiar and ingenious valve control system, the valve gear. It is a complex set of rods and handles. It is interesting to see how, at the time, the designers managed to 'automate' the control of Cruquius with this valve gear. Thanks to the efforts and support of many persons the large Cruquius engine has been restored to movement by the Steam Team volunteers. Research and activities to make this possible started in 1982. Since the beginning of 2002 the large Cruquius engine moves again. Using steam drive to move the engine was impossible because the steam engine has been demolished after the pumping station was replaced by a modern unit. Various other ways to drive the engine were compared and modern hydraulic techniques were chosen to move the pumps now.
In medieval times there were numerous lakes in the peaty land between Amsterdam, Haarlem and Leiden. As a result of erosion and peat digging, several of these lakes merged to form the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem Lake). In the late 16th century, this growing inland sea became a threat. But, it was also useful to the nearby towns for shipping and fishing, and for draining sewage. Over the next two centuries more than 200 schemes for partial or complete drainage of the lake were proposed. Due to conflicting interests, jealous local administrations, and high cost none of these schemes came to anything. However over the years increasing amounts had to be spent on building and maintaining structures to reinforce the banks. In the long run these were not satisfactory solutions for control of such a vast expanse of water.
In the 19th century government became centralized, gained real power and became capable of enterprises on a national scale. Two heavy storms in 1836 drove home the continuing menace of the `water wolf´. King Willem I appointed a committee to draw up proposals for draining the Haarlemmermeer at very short notice. The report called for drainage by 79 large windmills with Archimedean screws and scoop wheels, supplemented by three small steam-powered Archimedean screws. The King was not satisfied, and he ordered a closer look at the feasibility of steam-powered drainage. A second committee was formed, but internal disagreement on drainage by wind or steam resulted in deadlock. In 1840 renewed government intervention finally resulted in a report with clear recommendations, and soon the decision to use steam power alone was taken. This was a bold step: steam power had never been used on this scale before, and earlier applications on a smaller scale had met with mixed success. There was also reluctance to experiment with such an important provision as polder drainage. In addition, expensive coal would have to be imported, unless peat could be used (but experiments with that failed).
A visit to Cornwall GB had convinced the committee of the reliability and efficiency of the Cornish pumping engine. This type of engine was used for pumping relatively small quantities of water out of deep mines. To make them suitable for land drainage, i.e. large quantities at relatively low lift, considerable adaptation of the standard design would be required. In addition, the proposed scale of the three pumping stations exceeded anything previously built. One of the three stations, Leeghwater, was built and tested first to make the risks more manageable. This caused some delay, but it permitted design adjustments for the remaining two: Lynden and Cruquius. The initial drainage took from 1849 to 1852. All three pumping stations worked continually at maximum capacity, with a few interruptions. Later they kept the polder dry, and were idle during long periods. As agricultural needs changed, the water-table had to be kept within stricter limits, with shorter, intense pumping periods. It turned out that Cruquius, even with more boilers, could power only seven pumps at full lift, so one pump remained permanently disconnected.
The other pumping stations of the Haarlemmermeer, Leeghwater and Lynden, were modernized over the years, and have provided the polder's drainage to this day. After a period on stand-by Cruquius finally became redundant in 1932. An initiative was taken to preserve it. In 1933 pumping station became one of the first industrial monuments in the Netherlands. After 1932 the boilers were removed and scrapped. Otherwise the drainage station is just as it was built in 1846-1849. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the Cruquius steam drainage pumping station the 33rd International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1991. The ASME Landmarks Program recognizes our technological heritage and serves to encourage the preservation of the physical remains of historically important works.