Not just big; the biggest steam engine in the world! 3.66 Meter bore! Here's the description: "During my visit to Madurodam I saw the attraction "Waterwolf", based on the "Cruquius" steam pumping station. This was one of the 3 pumping stations that pumped the Haarlemmermeer dry from 1849 to 1852. The real Cruquius is still there today and is now a museum. The steam boilers have been removed from the boiler house. This is now an exhibition space. The engine room from 1849 is still present. It contains the world's largest and best-preserved steam engine, the Cornish Engine with a cylinder of 3.66 meters in diameter. This machine drives eight balance arms of 10,000 kg each that protrude like tentacles. Pistons hang on these arms and act as water pumps. Together, they raised 64,000 liters of water with each stroke of the steam engine to the wooden dumping floor around five meters above the engine room, which then entered the ring canal through locks on both sides of the boiler house." Many Thanks for the pick, Merle!
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1 comment:
I'd never seen this before, and I followed up with a bit of internet research.
If I got the math right, the pumps moved 84,535 gallons of water each minute when they were working at full speed.
Pretty amazing for something that they fired up in 1849.
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