A really big wheel!

 

 

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THE LAXEY WHEEL

by Michael Barratt

Water wheels, or water mills, have been around for over 2000 years. Various improvements have been added and uses expanded, from grinding grain to powering automatons for amusement. An explosive growth of water wheels in the 10th and 11th centuries fueled much of the industry of medieval Europe. The classical water wheel may be said to have reached its pinnacle in the Laxey Wheel located near the town of Ramsey on the Isle of Man. I recently was treated to a hands-on tour of this engineering marvel.

The bright paint and pastoral setting make her a sight indeed.

In the early 19th century, the Laxey mines were rich with lead, zinc, and other metals for which there was a heavy appetite. But a problem — as the miners followed the richest veins deeper underground, water accumulated in the mine shafts and hampered their efforts. A means of removing the water to get at these deeper deposits was needed. With the industrial age in full swing, the ready answer was the use of a coal-fired steam engine. But on the Isle of Man, coal was not to be found, and the cost of importing it was prohibitive. Water, however, was abundant.

Self-taught engineer Robert Casement was tasked with the solution. He applied the modern technology of the day to the ancient concept of the water wheel. Casement created a system of channels, or lades, that diverted water from hillside streams into a cistern. From here, a pipe carried this water across a bridge and into a tower that reached above the great wheel. The flowing water then fell onto the top of the wheel into the buckets built into the rim, allowing the weight of the water to turn the wheel. And what a wheel! 72 ½ feet in diameter, 6 feet wide, mounted in a beautiful and castle-like housing. A crankshaft transferred its 3 revolutions per minute into a long mechanism; that mechanism drove pumps 600 feet away. The pumps in turn lifted water from the nearly 1500 foot depth of the main shaft to the surface. This drained 250 gallons per minute into the Laxey River below.

This series of timbers transferred the horizontal motion up the hillside to main shaft of the mine. The whole train oscillates back and forth with a swing of about eight feet.

After 4 years of construction and with much fanfare, the Laxey Wheel was opened in September of 1854 and christened Lady Isabella, after the wife of the current governor. The wheel became a major tourist attraction, and continued to serve the mine until it closed in 1929. It was preserved largely through the efforts of a local builder until purchased by the Manx government in 1965, and is now maintained by the Manx National Heritage. In 2004, the lady celebrated her 150th birthday.

Although Lady Isabella no longer pumps water, she still runs continually and remains the largest operating water wheel in the world. And she teaches some great lessons. A good idea is a good idea, no matter how ancient; endurance over time is the test. Progressive technology lets us take an old idea and use it better and smarter. This bucolic high technology was the final step on the way to the modern water turbine. And, ingenuity pushes us to make the best use of in situ (on site) resources, using methods both old and new.

 

 

 :o)