CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S 



JOURNAL. 



THE LEEGHWATER STEAM ENGINE. 



DRAINAGE OF THE HAARLEM LAKE, HOLLAND. — Engineers: Messrs. J. GiBBS and A. Dean. 

 CTVith Two Engravings, Plates 1 and 2.) 



The geographical changes which are produced near the embou- 

 chures of rivers by deposition of alluvial matter are in no part of the 

 world exhibited in a more remarkable manner than in the delta of the 

 Rhine. The natural operations of that river interest the antiquarian 

 by the remoteness of their date, the geologist by their extent and 

 physical character,* and the engineer by the grand artificial works 

 undertaken to resist or modify their effects. 



The Rhine on entering the Low Countries divides into sev eral 

 branches : the southernmost of these, the Whaal, reaches the sea near 

 Kampen ; the most northern branch is nearly at right angles to the 

 former, and empties itself into the "rolling Zuyderzee," and another 

 branch passes Rotterd.im. The Rhine proper continues its enfeebled 

 course to Leyden and Utrecht, and, nearly exhausted by the numerous 

 canals which are connected with it, finally reaches the sea by a small 

 artificial sluice. Its fate lias been aptly compared to that of a de- 

 throned monarch, who is deprived even of the satisfaction of attracting 

 admiration and sympathy by the grandeur of his exit. 



It is very interesting to observe how this delta has been altered 

 even in the historic period. In the time of the Romans the Rhine 

 had but two branches; Virgil calls it 6icorn!S, and Tacitus says that 

 the largest of these branches, that nearest to Gaul, is called f^ahalum.f 

 Even in the days of Charlemagne, the Rhine communicated with the 

 Escaut, by abranch of theMeuse, which has since entirely disappeared. 

 A great inundation, a.d. 830, destroyed the regularity of the mouths of 

 the river. But perhaps the most remarkable alteration of all has been 

 the conversion of the Zuyderzee from an inland fresh-water lake, such 

 as it is described by Pomponius Mela, into a gulf of the sea. This 

 change took place in the 13th century, and was the result of violent 

 storms, during which the sea destroyed the barrier between itself and 

 the lake. Traces of this barrier still exist in the islands and shoals 

 between the Helder and Ter-shelling. 



The natural division of the R hine into two branches was first dis- 



* It is calcuUted (\nsted'3 Geology, 1.7), that sevea or eight thousand millions of tons 

 of alluvial mud are carried down by the stream annually. The greater part of this soil is 

 deposited in Holland. 



t The passage in Tacitus (Aon. IL 0,) seems somewhat inconsistent with anotlier in 

 Cfesar (De Bell. Gall IV. 10), where, after a sentence of which the text is evidently cor- 

 rupt, and the meaning [to us at least), obscure, it is said, *' Ubi Oceano appropinquat, in 



plures diffluit partes, multis, ingentibnsque insulis effect's multisqne capitibus in 



Oceanum influit." It has beeu supposed, however, that Ceesar speaks merely of the 

 subordinate streams and mouths near the coast. 



No. 112.— Vol. X.— January, 1SJ7. 



tuibed by the Roman legions under Drusus, who,in the 12th year before 

 the Christian era, dug a canal from the Rhine to the small river Sala, 

 as a military defence. This canal soon became enlarged by the force 

 of the current into a third branch of the Rhine. A fourth branch, the 

 Leek, was created subsequently, in a similar manner, during an insur- 

 rection under Claudius Civilis. 



In our own times another important change is about to take place. 

 The L ike of Haarlem is a large fresh water lake, between Leyden and 

 Amsterdam, and communicates with the Zuyderzee. The project of 

 draining this lake has been long entertained. The bottom consists of an 

 alluvial deposit, well suited for agriculture. It was at the end of the 

 last century, when steam engines began to be used for drainage, that 

 the idea of emploving them in draining the Lake of Haarlem was 

 first entertained. The idea was but the extension of that which had 

 already been practically exemplified in the drainage of the Beilm and 

 Diem, in Holland. The longest side of the lake of Haarlem is parallel 

 to the sea, and is separated from it by a very narrow strip of land. 

 Moreover, the level of the lake is some twenty feet below that of the 

 sea. When, therefore, the drained country is covered with villages 

 and farms, it must be well protected by dikes, or the sea may some 

 day perhaps pay the sober Dutchman a visit for which even their 

 amphibious nature has not sufficiently prepared them. 



In order to ascertain the most approved method, and at the same 

 time the most economical manner, of draining the lake, the Dutch 

 Government appointed a Commission of Engineers to report upon the 

 best means and to examine the various plans of drainage adopted in 

 England. After examining a great variety of schemes and proposals, it 

 was determined to adopt the plan submitted by Mr. Josepli Gibbs and 

 Mr. Arthur Dean — who have, by close attention to all the details, pro- 

 duced an engine which is working with great effect and astonishing 

 economy of fuel. It is proposed to have three engines of the same 

 power, and three sets of pumps. 



The first of these engines is now in operation, and the engineers 

 have furnished us with the following description, which is replete 

 with valuable and interesting iufurm ition, and is accompanied by 

 ample illustrations of the details. The means taken to avoid shocks 

 or impulses in an engine of this magnitude are especially worthy of 

 attention. 



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