Ryhope Pumping Engine

[RobWilson]

Afternoon Lads ,

Wile cycling through the East Durham countryside yesterday I realized me and the lad I was cycling with were heading for Ryhope ,being a bank holiday weekend the Pumping station engine is usually steamed up .So we headed over for a look see , I have seen the engine running many a time , but it was the first for the lad I was with . Anyway I was glad for the stop/rest as my arse was killing me and I  needed a cup of tea . 

http://www.ryhopeengines.org.uk/
   













A few wee spanners ,reminds me of work lol 


















Boiler room,just a tad warm .
 





http://www.ryhopeengines.org.uk/

And a wee bit video to finish 






All in all a canny day out 


Cheers Rob

[PixMan]

(08-31-2015, 11:58 AM)RobWilson. Wrote: Afternoon Lads ,

Wile cycling through the East Durham countryside yesterday I realized me and the lad I was cycling with were heading for Ryhope ,being a bank holiday weekend the Pumping station engine is usually steamed up .So we headed over for a look see , I have seen the engine running many a time , but it was the first for the lad I was with . Anyway I was glad for the stop/rest as my arse was killing me and I  needed a cup of tea . 


Cheers Rob

Aye, it's yer face that's killing me mate!

Seriously, that's really cool. I find it fascinating that the engineering of the day could last through 100 years of population growth, and all on the back of two 100HP pumps. Machinery of today would have minimum requirements of 10 times that HP and energy to do the same job, the only difference being that with modern machinery you wouldn't need a full time engineer, fireman and oiler to keep it running for the 10 years it would last.

And the volume level of modern pumps would also be so much higher. The newer pumps would be smaller in size, but the building housing them equal or  larger to accommodate the "administration" side of the facility.

What progress we've had eh?

I just LOVE the fit and finish of everything from the building to the control handles. Incredible.

[stevec]

Never mind

.

[Roadracer_Al]

What I love is that things from "back in the day" were built with aesthetic considerations in mind. For example, on the gland, all the bolts had their "show ends" above the nuts rounded over into a pretty dome shape. And I love the tie rods on the white-handled controls, how the craftsmen managed the transition from square to octagonal to round sections.

[RobWilson]

(08-31-2015, 02:21 PM)stevec Wrote: Never mind

.

Yes just move along Steve . 


Hi lads , 

Yeah 100Hp , its nothing now a days  but they sure did make a nice looking 100 Hp  back then   


Rob

[f350ca]

The UK seams to have enough pride to preserve past. Over here most things that can't go for scrap are left to rot.
There's a very similar pumping engine in Hamilton Ontario, forget the build date. The boilers are all gone, apparently the engine was left only because there wasn't enough metal in it to cover the cost of tearing down the brick building to get at it. They have it rolling over with an electric motor, nice but certainly not the romance of actual steam.

[EdK]

I wish we had stuff like that over here. They took pride in their work, for sure.

Ed

[f350ca]

Hope its alright to jump in on your thread Rob
We had some Ed but seams most of it was scrapped.
Like I said it was too much trouble to get to this in Hamilton, now its a museum.




Interesting technology on this one, the flywheels were cast in sections with dovetails. They were assembled and iron filings packed in and wet with water to form a rust weld.

[EdK]

Hell, I'd settle for a museum full of this stuff. At least I could see it then.

Ed

[RobWilson]

(08-31-2015, 07:55 PM)f350ca Wrote: Hope its alright to jump in on your thread Rob

Interesting technology on this one, the flywheels were cast in sections with dovetails. They were assembled and iron filings packed in and wet with water to form a rust weld.

No worries Greg ,,,,,,,,,,,,if its about engines or engineering CRACK ON 


Common practice to have built up flywheels back in ye oldie days , producing large cast iron flywheels can be fraught with problems . 

 


Even earlier (pivotal engine ,well I think so   )






And all is not what it seams with this atmospheric engines flywheel

 

Looks solid , but the rim has been cored 






And something for you Greg   ,It would just squeeze into the beam of your alligator,   the German museums are belting , engineering history porn. 







And a few photos of a good example in Vienna .Slightly larger   







Ed you would love the engineering museums in Europe , German and Austrian museums  are probably the best in the world for content ,layout and not being dumbed down . 


Sham there was not a Historical section to post such so it would not be lost in the mix . 


Rob