[2] The mitre sill of the gates on the Meuse side is 2.70 m below Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (AOD).

This construction allows lower lock chamber walls, which can therefore be lighter and cheaper, and are also more convenient for ships.

Each lock head has three rabbets which allow the insertion of beams which can safely withstand the pressure of very high water levels.

This system is named for Anatole de Caligny (1811-1892) and allows for rapid opening and closing.

At the time of commissioning, the sewer and caligny closures allowed for a very quick operation, even though the lock was very large.

When closed, this is 4.30 m. On each side of the lock there are breaking and waiting facilities of interconnected dolphins with a walkway.

In 1826 the Zuid-Willemsvaart was opened, making the city an important hub in water transport from the sea to Liège and further up the Meuse.

One of these was the 1861 opening of a big twin lock at Fort Crèvecoeur, where the Dieze exits into the Meuse.

In summer, this would not leave enough water on the Meuse sill of Crèvecoeur Lock, which was at 0.75 m below AOD.

The society for the promotion of steam propulsion was very pleased with the big lock chamber, but noted that it was not ideal for commerce.

It was less suitable for the many freighters which carried higher value breakbulk cargo, and would lose money because larger locks were slower.

Another problem which the society feared, was the water loss that operating such a big lock chamber would cause.

It noted that in the summer of 1894, Crèvecoeur Lock had been closed down, because otherwise the water level would have made navigation impossible upstream.

[8] On 2 December 1896 construction of the Dieze Lock, canal dikes and some connected works, estimated at 825,000 were tendered.

Engelen Lock was transferred to the municipality of 's-Hertogenbosch, because the Dieze was no longer part of the system of national waterways.

The 2021 European floods would again show that Engelen Lock is part of the Meuse dikes.

For some days, this would lead to a very high water level on the Meuse side of the lock.