In addition to two conventional descent structures with locks, five rolling hills serve to overcome the elevation difference from 99.5 m above sea level to 0.3 m above sea level on a 9.5 km section.[12][13] Each rolling hill is equipped with a funicular railway, which transports the ships to the next canal section using rail cars. The funicular railways are each equipped with a machine house containing the winding machine. The cable drum is driven by a reduction gear through an undershot water wheel. The later-built rolling hill at Całony Nowe (Neu-Kussfeld) has an electric drive powered by a water turbine.[14]
In order to avoid excessive bending stress on the ships' hulls when entering and exiting the water, the winding cars are kept horizontal in these sections despite the track gradient. For this purpose, the running wheels are each equipped with two running surfaces. The inner treads of the upstream wheels run on the running rails, while the outer treads of the downstream wheels run on the running rails. Where the cars enter the channel sections, additional auxiliary rails are laid at a different height. The unused wheel treads on the line run onto these. The difference in height between the main and auxiliary rails aligns the cars horizontally in the channel sections. Source: Wikipedia