Machine of Marly

The machine of Marly , located in fact on the French commune of Bougival in the department of the Yvelines (seen with Google Maps), was the first link of a whole of installations bringing the water of the the Seine until the Château of Marly and with Versailles, for the food of the many basins and fountains of the park of the castle. This general device to feed out of water the park of Versailles is called the Rivière of the Sun king.

Water was brought to 163 meters above the level of the Seine by three successive rises to the tanks of Marly while passing by two intermediate sumps with 48 and 99 m above the river. The flow is of 1800 to 1500 m ³ /jour. Actuated by the current of the Seine, 14 large Roue S toothed involves driving back Piston S. This uneven was exceptional at the time; leathers of the pistons would not have resisted the pressure of 15 bars; from where the idea to of course practice three stages of 50 Mr., one needs upstream a ice-breaker and a screen cleaner to avoid the degradation of the blades of the wheels.

Water carried out its last increase in the tower Raising, high 23 meters, of the aqueduct of Louveciennes and was thus conveyed for 640 meters towards the tower of the Juggler, high 12 meters, from where it was poured in the tanks of Marly known as of the Battery , on the plate of the Flying Cœur which dominates Versailles of 33 meters.

This enormous installation was designed by the Wallon, originating in old the Principauté of Liege, Rennequin Sualem under the crook of the chief engineer of the project Arnold de Ville (also of Walloon origin and inhabitant of Li2ege), included/understood 14 waterwheels 12 meters in diameter installed on the Seine. These wheels actuated 221 Pompe S suction and pressing: 64 bellow, 30 and 49 with the first sump, 78 with the second, all actuated by beam since the energy of the 14 wheels of the Seine. The building site, started in 1681 was completed the June 16th 1684. The machine will be inaugurated by King Louis XIV.

Alas, not only the machine is noisy and is expensive, but, made up to wood 90%, it worsens. One finally stops repairing it in the current of the 18th century before destroying it in 1817.

One then replaces it by a Steam engine, built by the architect Cécile and engineer Martin. But the costs of exploitation are always too large. One again changes the machine into 1859. This third machine, hydraulics, are conceived by Dufrayer, director of the service of Water.

To face the increasing requirements out of water, one modernizes the machine of Dufrayer, but in 1968, one entirely dismounts it, to replace it by increasingly powerful electric pomps groups, until our days.

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