Hydraulic Platform Collection

Hydraulic Mining During The Gold Rush
Hydraulic mining at French Corral, the first historic mining camp to appear along the San Juan Ridge, during the California Gold Rush era, circa 1849. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

Leather hammer
Antique illustration of a leather hammer machine

Hydraulic press
Antique illustration of a Hydraulic press

Boat-lift no. 1 on the Canal du Centre, Hainaut, Belgium (Unesco world heritage)
The four hydraulic boat-lifts on a short stretch of the historic Canal du Centre are industrial monuments of the highest quality

Women working heavy machinery at an aircraft assembly plant. circa 1942
Women operating some of the heaviest machinery tools at the North American Aviation plant in Inglewood, California. Day and night

Hydraulic Machinery
circa 1895: The main shafting of the hydraulic machinery at Tower Bridge, London. (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)

Mechanic working on underside of car

Boatlift on the Canal du Centre in Thieu, Belgium
The four hydraulic lifts of the Historic Canal du Centre form some of the highest quality industrial monuments and offer a remarkable well-preserved example of an industrial landscape from the 19th

Riveting Work during the construction of the Cunard luxury liner Aquitania
circa 1911: Construction workers using hydraulic riveting machinery during the construction of the Cunard luxury liner Aquitania at the Clydebank shipyard owned by John Brown & Company

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From the gold-rich rivers of the Gold Rush to the industrial powerhouses of the 20th century, hydraulic machinery has shaped our history. Witness the might of a leather hammer, a relic from the gold mining era, and the hydraulic press, a game-changer in manufacturing. Travel to Belgium and marvel at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Boat-lift No. 1 on the Canal du Centre, demonstrating the engineering prowess of hydraulic technology. In the aircraft assembly plants of the 1940s, women worked tirelessly on heavy machinery, riveting together the wings of giants like the Cunard luxury liner Aquitania. Today, mechanics continue to harness the power of hydraulics, as evidenced by the intricate systems beneath the hood of your car. The legacy of hydraulic machinery endures, shaping our world in ways both grand and subtle.