TEES COTTAGE. PT.1. (12/10/13)

A dull damp day accompanied the wonders at Tees Cottage today. You’ll be pleased to know that I have eighty five usable images. I also have some video but my internet is so slow I can’t watch any movies so I’m not even going to try and upload one.  I’ll serialise this visit over the coming week as there is far too much for one post. For many of you there is probably far too much.

Tees Cottage, this is the beam engine pumping house. The red cylinders are accumulators and even out the pressure surges from the pump, without them the shock and surge would soon destroy the mains water pipes.

Built in 1903 it finally finished supplying Darlington with water in 1986 and is the last remaining pumping station with a beam engine, a gas engine and electric pumps, all of which still work.

The images are still lacking expertise. I was hoping to use at least two strobes but there just wasn’t room to operate them so I managed with a 50mm lens and a 24mm. The flash was on a bracket and fired through a small soft box. All metering was ETTL. Space is very limited in the engine house so an overall view of this wonderful giant is impossible.

  Steam is generated in one of two Lancashire Boilers this is boiler Number One and is not in commission.

  This is boiler Number Two and is the one in use. Lancashire Boilers can in an emergency raise steam in about six hours from cold but to be kind and considerate these are heated gradually over five or six days. These boilers are 28’ long and 7’6” in diameter and supply wet steam at 100psi. Water capacity is 5,500 gallons and they burn 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tons of coal a day. Either boiler is capable of running the beam engine on it’s own.

  I like a good fire and this is an excellent blaze.

   This is the engine valve chest. the steam from the boiler passes through here on it’s way to the engine cylinders. The levers are for controlling matters. What exactly I’m afraid I don’t know. I’m sorry about the view but it is the only one available to mere mortals.

  There is this aspect but it really doesn’t do it justice.

  This is the mezzanine floor that provides access to the tops of the engine cylinders.

The cylinders, the further is the high pressure cylinder and the one in the foreground is the low pressure one, steam passes from the high directly to the larger low. the shiny rod next to the pillar is the connecting rod to the condenser pump. This unit is about as sophisticated as beam engines got. She develops 140 IHP at 16 rpm.

  The flywheel is 21’ in diameter and weighs 14 1/2 tons. The contraption next to the chief engineer is the governor. It shuts of the steam automatically if the engine speed increases beyond 16rpm.

This is the beam it is 33’ long and weighs 25 tons. It is a wonderful experience to wander round this engine. There is next to no noise and no vibration at all. Stunning it is.

That is all for today I hope it wasn’t too much.