Four Noorder Koggen Steam Pumping Station

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

By the time the pumping station was built, windmilling had been done here for nearly three hundred years. Fifteen mills ground the polder water up into a gully. From there it flowed into the sea through four sluices at low tide. It was impossible to get rid of the water without mills because the ground had sunk below sea level by the end of the Middle Ages.

A mill also had disadvantages. If it blew too softly or too hard, it could not turn. Moreover, drainage caused the ground to sink even faster. Wet, windless periods were the terror of every farmer. Halfway through the nineteenth century, the farmers had had enough: it was time for steam. In 1866, water board the Vier Noorder Koggen decided to support the mills with a steam pumping station. Three years later it was ready. 

Since coal was expensive, the pumping station worked only when wind drainage was inadequate or impossible. But even with steam it remained wet. For better 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 strong centrifugal pumps were installed. In 1907 another pump was added (photo), driven by a suction gas engine. The mills were no longer needed and were demolished. 

The water board swore by steam from then on, even after an impending coal shortage during World War I (1914-1918). In fact, it took until 1972 before all steam was blown off. That year, the last steam engine (from 1924, photo) made way for a diesel engine. Meanwhile, many a steam pumping station had already gone to ground. The same thing threatened to happen to Vier Noorder Koggen. 

This was related to land consolidation, in which farmers were given larger, contiguous plots. The reorganization of the landscape was accompanied by changes in the network of ditches. For example, many small ditches were filled in. In 1975, the allotment committee decided to build a new pumping station, which would run on diesel and electricity. This pumping station (photo), also called Vier Noorder Koggen, stands a few kilometers to the south. It has been running entirely on electricity since 2015.

The old pumping station's days seemed numbered. If it were up to the water board, it could be demolished. Steam enthusiasts managed to prevent it. The building was given National Monument status 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 emergency if necessary.