John Rennie

约翰·伦尼

In the era of “Canal Mania”, this pioneering Scottish civil engineer created a wealth of iconic canals, bridges, pumps and lock flights, still used and admired today.

在“运河热”的时代，这位具有开拓精神的苏格兰土木工程师建造了众多标志性的运河、桥梁、水泵和梯级船闸，这些工程至今仍在使用并备受赞誉。

Rennie started his own business in London, expanding into civil engineering. It was the dawn of “Canal Mania”, a prolific period of canal-building driven by speculators and investors. Rennie was in the right place at the right time. Over the next 30 years, he designed many of the iconic canals, bridges, pumps and lock flights still working on our network today.

伦尼（Rennie）在伦敦创办了自己的企业，并逐步把业务拓展到了土木工程领域。当时正值“运河热”的开端，那是一个由投机者和投资者推动的运河建设高峰期。伦尼恰逢其时。在接下来的30年里，他设计了许多标志性的运河、桥梁、水泵和梯级船闸，这些设施至今仍在我们的交通网络中发挥着作用。

One of Rennie’s first canals, the Rochdale, begun in 1791, traverses the Pennines via an impressive series of locks; the Grade 1 listed Lune Aqueduct, which he designed in 1794, carries the Lancaster Canal in style, and Staffordshire’s tranquil Rudyard Lake was created in 1797, to feed the Caldon Canal.

伦尼最早参与设计的运河之一——罗奇代尔运河（Rochdale Canal），始建于1791年，它借助一系列船闸穿过奔宁山脉，令人赞叹不已；他于1794年设计的一级建筑——卢恩高架桥（Lune Aqueduct），承载着兰开斯特运河（Lancaster Canal），别具一番风格；而1797年建成的斯塔福德郡宁静的鲁迪亚德湖（Rudyard Lake）则用于向卡尔登运河（Caldon Canal）供水。

However, it was on the Kennet & Avon Canal that Rennie really made his mark, defining its route and building three major structures between 1794 and 1810. The first of these, Dundas Aqueduct in Somerset, was designed in 1797. Constructed of local Bath stone, the daring width of its central arch became a signature feature of his later designs, taken to extremes in his bridges across the Thames.

然而，真正让伦尼声名远扬的是建设肯尼特和埃文运河（Kennet & Avon Canal），他确定了这条运河的路线，并在1794年至1810年间建造了三座主要建筑。其中第一座是位于萨默塞特郡的邓达斯高架桥（Dundas Aqueduct），始建于1797年。它采用当地的巴斯石建造而成，其中央拱门大胆的跨度成为了他后来设计的标志性特征，并在他的泰晤士河桥梁设计中发挥到了极致。

Rennie’s iconic lock flight at Caen Hill near Devizes is one of the “Seven Wonders of the Waterways”. Upon completion in 1810, it was described as “a most curious and striking instance of the wonderful perfection to which the art of engineering has been carried in this country.”

伦尼在迪韦齐斯（Devizes）附近的凯恩山（Caen Hill）设计的标志性多级船闸被誉为“水上七大奇迹”之一。1810年完工时，它被描述为“英国土木工程艺术达到完美境界的最奇特、最引人注目的实例。”

Both Dundas Aqueduct and Caen Hill have been designated as Scheduled Ancient Monuments, on par with Stonehenge for heritage protection. However, the Kennet & Avon Canal would not have been navigable without Crofton Pumping Station and several others along the route, which literally push water uphill.

邓达斯高架桥和凯恩山都已被列为古迹遗址，在遗产保护等级与巨石阵（Stonehenge）相当。然而，如果没有克罗夫顿泵站（Crofton Pumping Station）以及沿途的其他几座泵站，肯尼特和埃文运河就无法通航，这些抽水站实际上是将水向上输送的动力来源。

Crofton was Rennie’s clever solution to the problem of low water levels at the summit. Its two steam-powered beam engines, built in 1812 and 1845, are amongst the world’s oldest still in operation. In 2009, they even stepped in when the electric pumps at Crofton failed. These pieces of living history are well worth a visit.

克罗夫顿泵站是伦尼为解决运河顶部水位过低问题而想出的巧妙方案。该泵站的两台蒸汽动力横梁式发动机分别建于1812年和1845年，是世界上仍在运行的最古老的发动机之一。2009年，克罗夫顿泵站的电动泵出现故障时，这两台发动机甚至还派上了用场。这些鲜活的历史遗迹非常值得一游。

Rennie’s illustrious career led to worldwide fame, particularly for his bridges. Opened in 1819, Southwark Bridge featured cast-iron arches “the largest of the kind ever constructed” and was lauded by Robert Stephenson.

伦尼辉煌的职业生涯为他在世界上赢得了声誉，尤其是他设计的桥梁。1819年开放的南华克桥（Southwark Bridge）采用了“当时世界上最大的铸铁拱形结构”，并受到了罗伯特·斯蒂芬森（Robert Stephenson）的高度赞誉。

Rennie’s work continued through his sons George and John, who oversaw the posthumous completion of New London Bridge in 1831. Incredibly, by 1968 it was sold and its façade reassembled in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

伦尼的事业在他的儿子乔治（George）和约翰（John）手中得以延续，他们监督完成了新伦敦桥（New London Bridge）的收尾工程，并于1831年竣工。令人难以置信的是，这座桥直到1968年才被出售，其外观在亚利桑那州的哈瓦苏湖城（Lake Havasu City）被重新组装。

Despite his success, Rennie remained a man of integrity. His biographer Samuel Smiles described him as “calm, serene, and solid, like one of his own structures”. John Rennie died on 4th October 1821 and was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, a fitting honour for one of the greatest engineers of his age.

尽管取得了巨大的成功，伦尼始终是一位正直的人。他的传记作者塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯（Samuel Smiles）形容他“冷静、沉着、稳重，正如他自己设计的建筑一样”。约翰·伦尼于1821年10月4日去世，被安葬在圣保罗大教堂（St Paul’s Cathedral），这是对那个年代伟大工程师的一种恰到好处的荣誉。

来源：Canal & River Trust

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/canal-history/canal-pioneers/pushing-water-uphill-the-genius-of-john-rennie

发表时间：2024年10月22日

Date: October 22, 2024

检索：江文灿

翻译：黎明优

一审：沈怡洁，杨雨茹

二审：彭 莉

三审：罗玲娟

上传发布：姜 浩