The ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station () is a

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and the largest still operational

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

pumping station in the world. On 7 October 1920

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as ...

opened the pumping station. It was built to pump excess water out of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, a province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1967, the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

furnaces were converted to run on

heavy fuel oil Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is a category of fuel oils of a tar-like consistency. Also known as bunker fuel, or residual fuel oil, HFO is the result or remnant from the distillation and cracking process of petroleum. For this reason, HFO contains seve ...

. It has a pumping capacity of . The pumping station is currently used to supplement the existing pumping capacity of the ''J.L. Hooglandgemaal'' in

Stavoren Stavoren (; ; previously Staveren) is a city in the province of Friesland, Netherlands, on the coast of the IJsselmeer, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Hindeloopen, in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Stavoren had a population of 950 in ...

in case of exceptionally high water levels in Friesland, which usually happens a few times each year. The pumping station has been listed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site list World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage ...

since 1998

History

The station was named after ir. D.F. Wouda, the chief engineer of the Provincial Water Authority of Friesland. He designed the building in a traditional style with influences of rationalism. During the construction, a

lightning storm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

struck the newly built (but not yet protected)

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

, necessitating its complete reconstruction. A special canal, the "Stroomkanaal", was dug to feed the station, designed to handle the large volume of water.

Power and engines

The engines, designed by prof. J.C. Dijxhoorn and built by Machinefabriek Jaffa in Utrecht, consist of four tandem-compound main steam engines of 500 IHP and eight double-sided suction

centrifugal pumps Centrifugal (a key concept in rotating systems) may refer to: * Centrifugal casting (industrial), Centrifugal casting (silversmithing), and Spin casting (centrifugal rubber mold casting), forms of centrifigual casting * Centrifugal clutch * Centr ...

. Each main steam engine is connected to two pumps. In 1955, six coal-fired Piedboeuf

steam boilers Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

were replaced with four flue-pipe boilers from

Werkspoor Werkspoor N.V. was the shortened, and later the official name of the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel. It was a Dutch machine factory, known for rolling stock, (ship) steam engines, and diesel engines. It was a successo ...

, which were converted to heavy fuel oil in 1967. The chimney serves not only to expel smoke gases but primarily to induce

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

in the boilers, essential for both the

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

air intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...

and the effective heat exchange in the boilers.

Operation

Until 1966, the station was used to lower the water level of Friesland's

polders A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

. It now operates approximately once a year, supplemented by planned operations twice a year to keep the staff skilled. The station operates four tandem compound, reciprocating steam engines, with

poppet valves A poppet valve (also sometimes called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of petrol (gas) or vapour flow into or out of an engine, but with many other applications. It consists of a hole or open-ended ch ...

: *Single acting high pressure cylinder; 0.5 meter diameter. *Double acting low pressure cylinder, uni-flow exhaust; 0.85 meter diameter. *

Stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

; 1.0 meter. *500 horsepower, 373 kilowatt. The steam engines drive eight horizontal, double suction, centrifugal pumps, each with a pumping capacity of 500 m³ per minute. The pumps have a rotational speed of 85 to 115

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

and an

impeller An impeller, or impellor, is a driven rotor used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid. It is the opposite of a turbine, which extracts energy from, and reduces the pressure of, a flowing fluid. Strictly speaking, propellers are a sub-clas ...

diameter of 1.70 metres.

Heritage and recognition

Listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

since 1998, the pumping station is also a

Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

and is on the list of

Top 100 Dutch heritage sites The Top 100 Dutch heritage sites is a list of rijksmonuments in the Netherlands, established in 1990 by the Department for Conservation (Monumentenzorg, today the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed). The Top 100 was a selection of historical mo ...

created by

Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) often abbreviated as Cultureel Erfgoed, is a Dutch cultural heritage, heritage organisation working for the protection and conservation of National Heritage ...

. The station

centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

was commemorated with the issuance of a five

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

commemorative coin featuring

King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

. The station is open to visitors, with regular tours available.

Gallery

Woudagemaal van de zijde van het IJsselmeer.jpg, Woudagemaal, IJsselmeer side Woudagemaal zijde stroomkanaal.jpg, Side of the canal Woudagemaal 7.jpg, Steam boilers Woudagemaal detail ketel met rookkanalen.jpg, Detail of the boiler with round smoke channels Woudagemaal_4.jpg, Working steam engine Woudagemaal tandemstoommachines rechts centriguaalpompen en vliegwielen.jpg, Tandem steam engines with centrifugal pumps and flywheels to the right Lemmer - Woudagemaal-088.JPG, Screw centrifugal pumps and flywheels Woudagemaal_2.jpg, Oil cans File:Woudagemaal.jpg, Aerial view

External links

*
Official websiteVisit site in 360° panophotography

References

{{World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands Water supply pumping stations Buildings and structures in Friesland