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Great pics and vids Philip. I have not been to the pumping station since 1979, even though now, I only live 5 mins drive away. Seeing the large beam engine running, bought back memories as they started it up when I was there all them years ago.
Thanks for showing them. _________________ Ian
It's good to let off a little steam once in a while !
Thanks guys, i must admit i did have a blast and it is the first time i have really got 'hands on' with any full size steam engine. Starting the big beam engine was fun as two of us had to 'kickstart' the flywheel with a crowbar to start it and it does go really fast to begin with.
I'm looking forward to the April 15th event as the engines will be running again during the day. _________________ My Website: http://swiftfoxsteamco.webs.com/
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:38 pm Post subject: architecture
I was at APS today to setup for the steam day that is tomorrow (i hope to do a report on here of that) and i thought i'd share a closeup photo that i took of the masonary that is above the front entrance of the station:
Here is a shot i took earlier in the year of the front of the station:
I hope to take some more shots of the architecture soon and hopefully of the basement too. _________________ My Website: http://swiftfoxsteamco.webs.com/
One word beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!! That was back when not only functional but a work of art. THANKS for sharing!
When was this place built????
Thanks
Jeff _________________ Jeff Member of the Georgia Steamers Association.
My YouTube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jeff46u/videos
Thanks for the comments guys, whilst i would always recommend people to come and visit in person, one of the reasons for me posting this up was so that our overseas members could get an in depth look at the station. _________________ My Website: http://swiftfoxsteamco.webs.com/
This area is very rarely open to the public for obvious reasons(dark, damp, confined space, access. etc), Fred very kindly shown me down here before but i struggled to get decent photos but i managed to succeed today.
Pump tanks.
The basement is on two floor levels and this is the space directly underneath the massive cylinders of the beam engines.
Sewage pump rod connected to the HP tail rod, the air pump for the condenser is behind it.
Pipework.
Valve gear.
Eccentric rod.
Valve gear for the cylinder which you can see.
This is the bottom of the basement and that is the passageway to the other engines and staircase.
The passageway to the space underneath the two flywheels.
Each flywheel is 22 ton.
Top of the pump plunger.
The sewage pump of No2 engine.
The gears on the inside of the flywheel are for operating the valvegear on the engine.
That is about all of the photos of the site and it's engines and i hope that has given you all an insight to the station, it is a great privilege to volunteer here and play a small part in keeping these engines alive for the next generation of steam enthusiasts and members of the public. _________________ My Website: http://swiftfoxsteamco.webs.com/
Great photos and it's good to see the bits not normally accessible. _________________ Regards
Roly Williams
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." (Mahatma Gandhi)
Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 4:25 pm Post subject: Basement video
I did a very short video of the view from the basement of No 2 engine running, i hope to do a longer one when i get another chance but this will do for now:
I am amazed by how much effort in the "old days" went into decorating machinery. You would not expect something as prosaic as a water/sewage pumping station to contain engines that are lined out as elaborately as a restored narrow-gauge locomotive; or have polished brass, shiny wood, decorative tiles and carved masonry.
It really shows the workmanship and pride that went into these things. It's nice to see, but I wonder: was it all futile, and are we more sensible now, or has our society lost some of its beauty and intrinsic value? It's hard to imagine a modern sewer worker taking time to polish wood and brass, or a manufacturer being willing to spend time and money doing elaborate lining jobs. Of course a lot of this maintenance was probably down to the "engineer" and of course powered machinery nowadays seldom has a dedicated engineer to look after it. Compare to a modern pumping station:
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:14 am Post subject: Making History.....
Had a very exhausting (barring engines is hard work!!) but productive day at APS last night, in preparation for the Vintage Festival this weekend we did a test run of all four beam engines. We also managed to get all four running at the same time for just over one minute until the boiler gave in.
I managed to get a very short clip but it was a bit rushed, i think David also captured some more video.
I must say it was a fantastic sight to behold and i think everyone involved deserves a big pat on the back for making it happen. _________________ My Website: http://swiftfoxsteamco.webs.com/
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