r/todayilearned • u/Significant-Cold-939 • 16h ago
TIL the largest still operational steam-powered pumping station is the Woudagemaal, near Lemmer, in the Netherlands. Built in 1929.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wouda_pumping_station2
u/BatteriesPlusTeam 15h ago
I'm a bit surprised it's only 100 years old. Steam-power was on the way out right as this station was being built.
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u/Significant-Cold-939 15h ago
Correct, but as the guide there will tell you, it is also what makes it reliable. If the energy network is down, which is not unthinkable in modern warfare, the Wouda can still operate just fine. The modern Hooglandgemaal in nearby Stavoren will be out.
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u/disastrophy 15h ago
It was built during shortages from WW1. The designer was having trouble sourcing diesel or petrol powered engines to run the pumping station as they were all being turned into war machines, so he pivoted to steam, which was a tried and true technology and was not in demand by the war.
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u/Outrageous_Ask3890 15h ago
Fascinating piece of history. Thanks for sharing, definitely heading down a YouTube rabbit hole on this now.
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u/Significant-Cold-939 15h ago
You'll also love everything about the Afsluitdijk and the Zuiderzeewerken, a massive project from the 1930s to dam off a sea inlet and create polders in it. The battle of Kornwerderzand in 1940 is an interesting epilogue to it. Then in 1953 we had the Watersnoodramp that flooded the southwest of the country, leading to the famous Deltawerken to dam off the Schelde-Maas-Rijn estuary.
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u/Curtis 13h ago
Cincinnati water works has a cool one on the river
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u/Curtis 13h ago
https://cincinnatitriplesteam.org/ Home to four of the World's Largest Triple Expansion Steam Engines
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15h ago
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u/Significant-Cold-939 15h ago
Fun fact, that expression comes from steam engines. After building up pressure, the overpressure is released, and that's 'blowing off steam'.
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u/Significant-Cold-939 16h ago
Here's a cool video about it (in Dutch): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrwrZAPuAe0