This was the original concept, a Victorian style wheel. As this never got past the concept stage there is little material available. There is a good picture, and details of wind tunnel testing of the Ferris Wheel available, the rest of the material on this page was taken from http://www.falkirkweb.co.uk/millenni.htm in September 2001, this website no longer exists, and had not been maintained since <1998. The following fragments are however of interest, as they give some details of the "Ferris Wheel" design that was rejected in favour of the actual final design. It also shows initial plans to build the canal straight through the Antonine Wall, petitions regarding this resulted in the plans changing to include 2 locks south of the wall, and a tunnel under the wall.

Conceptual drawing of Falkirk Millennium Wheel. Barges would be enclosed in gondolas, and then lifted hydraulically between canals.

The latest conceptual drawings of the Falkirk Wheel, prepared by Kenneth Grub Associates, show four gondolas or "moving locks". Boats would be taken on board and then hydraulically lifted to the next canal within 15 minutes.

Located within the proposed "Falkirk Wheel Park" and Marina, the Wheel will replace the flight of eleven locks which operated until the 1930's to transport the boats to and from the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The Falkirk Wheel is a world's first and the single largest engineering project in the £78 million scheme to reconnect the two canals.

The Falkirk Wheel is a fully funded project and will be completed by Easter 2001 to coincide with the completion of the Millennium Link.

Details of the current proposal are impressive: the wheel is the equivalent height of a nine story block of flats; it will weigh 1300 tonnes and contain a central engine room within its hub.

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