The Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal of 1920 is a World Heritage Site and can still be called into action when the water in Friesland rises too high. The rest of the year it is a museum: boilers, flywheels, an engine hall of cast iron and brick on the IJsselmeer. On average, the pumping station rarely runs. The days on which it really is under steam depend on the water level and on the water board’s programme. Come then and you will see pistons and cranks that make the building shudder. Come on an ordinary opening day and you will see the same machines at rest. Both visits are true to the place. Only the running scene belongs to the running moment.
Even at a standstill, the pumping station tells you enough. This was no ornament. Today it supplements the other pumping stations when extra capacity is needed. The scale of the flywheels makes that tangible. Making steam takes fuel, time and people. Since 1967 the boilers have been fired with oil. That is why it remains an insurance policy, not a daily routine. Check in advance whether there is a steam session. Don’t expect a turning wheel on any given Tuesday.
When the machines are at rest, follow with your eye the path from boiler via steam engine to centrifugal pump. The line is the explanation. When they are running, listen first, then look.
