Falkirk Wheel, Scotland

December 1969 Issue

Falkirk Wheel, Scotland

Just west of the town of Falkirk in central Scotland is where you’ll see the unusual structure shown in the photo in the March 2014 issue. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world. It connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal near Falkirk, transporting narrowboats 115 feet between the different levels of water.

When the lift opened in 2002, it was the first time the two canals had been connected since the 1930s, when the locks were dismantled after the canals fell into disuse. Located halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, the lift also reopened the water route between the two cities. Prior to 1933, boats traveled through a series of 11 locks between the canals.

Actually, the picture shows the aqueduct that connects the Union Canal to the Falkirk Wheel’s upper gondola. (Karl Snepp of Redmond, WA, and the Lathens of Occidental, CA — who were among those who guessed correctly — pointed this out.)

Twenty-three correct answers were submitted, and MARIE T. MURR of Mooresville, NC, won the drawing. We thank Judy Spielman of Philadelphia, PA, for contributing the photo.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Stephen O. Addison, Jr., Charlotte, NC; Thomas Beam, Great Falls, MT; Jerry Coleman, Sebastopol, CA; Jan Foster, Seattle, WA; Signe Haugen, San Carlos, CA; Jeffrey Henn, Tinton Falls, NJ; Allan Hodgson, Lakeway, TX; Lee Lamond, North Wales, PA; Sue Larson, Mountain View, CA; Melanie & Gary Lathen, Occidental, CA; Nancy A. Logan, Jamestown, RI; Phil Lutzi, St. Pete Beach, FL; Cynthia E. Lyle, San Antonio, TX; Alexander McDonald, Dana Point, CA; WINNER: Marie T. Murr, Mooresville, NC; Raymond Prince, Maple Valley, WA; Donna Pyle, Boulder, CO; David Riegert, Reno, NV; Karl Snepp, Redmond, WA; Jill Sullivan, Waynesboro, VA; Robert P. Townley, Columbia, CA; Dr. Joseph Whitehouse, Oakland, CA; Janet D. Sheridan & DeWitt (Dee) Whittington, Richmond, VA.