Vier Noorder Koggen steam pumping station

West Friesland has been drained by windmills for centuries. In the second half of the nineteenth century, steam pumping stations were introduced. Many windmills and steam pumping stations were demolished in the last century, but not the Vier Noorder Koggen pumping station near Medemblik. Between 1869 and 1977, it kept the polders of the water board of the same name dry.

By the time the pumping station was built, wind power had been used for pumping here for almost three hundred years. Fifteen windmills pumped the polder water up into a whirlpool. From there, it was allowed to flow into the sea through four sluices at low tide. Without windmills, it would have been impossible to get rid of the water, because by the end of the Middle Ages, the ground had sunk below sea level.

A windmill also had disadvantages. If the wind was too weak or too strong, it could not turn. In addition, drainage caused the soil to sink even faster. Wet, windless periods were every farmer's nightmare. By the mid-19th century, farmers had had enough: it was time for steam. In 1866, the Vier Noorder Koggen water board decided to support the mills with a steam pumping station. Three years later, it was ready. 

Since coal was expensive, the pumping station only operated when wind drainage was insufficient or impossible. But even with steam, it remained wet. To improve water level control, the pumping station had to be reinforced. To begin with, the old steam engine was replaced by two new ones in 1897. In addition, four powerful centrifugal pumps were installed. In 1907, another pump was added (photo), powered by a suction gas engine. The windmills were no longer needed and were demolished. 

The water board swore by steam from then on, even after a looming coal shortage during World War I (1914-1918). It took until 1972 before all steam power was phased out. That year, the last steam engine (from 1924, photo) was replaced by a diesel engine. In the meantime, many steam pumping stations had already been demolished. The same fate threatened Vier Noorder Koggen. 

This was due to land consolidation, whereby farmers were given larger, contiguous plots. The redevelopment of the landscape was accompanied by changes to the network of ditches. Many small ditches were filled in, for example. In 1975, the land consolidation committee decided to build a new pumping station that would run on diesel and electricity. This pumping station (photo), also known as Vier Noorder Koggen, is located a few kilometre the south. Since 2015, it has been running entirely on electricity.

The days of the old pumping station seemed numbered. If it were up to the water board, it could have been demolished. Steam enthusiasts managed to prevent this. The building was given the status of a national monument and in 1985 the Dutch Steam Engine Museum opened its doors there. The large pump from 1907 (red arrow in the photo) and the steam engine from 1924 (blue arrow) can be used in times of need.