April 12th Quiz Question Answer

You'll find the quiz question in an earlier post, below.
As an astute reader (you might call him a cheater, in that he lived only a few miles from this odd building for four years!) has correctly noted, this strange contraption is a barge elevator, for lifting or lowering large ships over 250 feet from one canal in central Belgium to another.  Traditional lock-system canals over time could not handle the new, massive ships carrying coal and other cargo across central Europe.   Enter the elevator.  The concept seems just too simplistic to possibly work, but it does: a ship enters a small, deep pool on one side of the elevator, then is lifted/lowered (the water stays in the pool, keeping the ship afloat) well over a dozen stories in just under three minutes.  The gates open up and the barge heads along its merry way once again, no worse for the wear.  Boat traffic actually seems to flow far better via this complicated water route than any cars possibly can on all major roads in Belgium.  I wish I could travel to work every morning via canal...