RONQUIERES INCLINED PLANE
A sluice operating on the principle of a ramp, on which cassettes of water move on the rails, carrying barges and other inland sailing vessels.
The construction started in March of 1962 year, and the work lasted until April 1968 year, when the official opening took place. This ramp is located on the Brussels-Charleroi channel, in the province of Hainaut. It owes its name to a small town near which it was built. The lift was constructed to carry boats weighing up to 3150 tons. It was supposed to replace fourteen old locks and thus shorten the time needed to travel this section of the canal. |
vertical divider
|
Technical data:
|
The sloping part of the Ronquieres sluice consists of two concrete channels with a length of 1432 meters. Each channel is equipped with cassettes and counterweights, which are connected with each other by eight steel ropes, each with a diameter of 55 mm.
Both cassettes operate independently and can simultaneously transport one barge weighing up to 1350 tonnes or a few with a smaller tonnage. Each of the two panels consists of 236 rolls (70 cm in diameter each) and a counterweight with 204 rollers. |
The rollers of each wagon are grouped in two rows with 59 axes. The 5 tonal counterweight of the coffer moves in the trough below the rail line. Usually, the panels move on the sluice at 1,2 m/s. All maneuvers on the sluice are controlled by the sluice service, which manages from a six-story tower at the top of the sluice.