I’m really quite annoyed with myself. Today, we visited an amazing museum; The Kempton Steam Museum. The museum hosts two giant steam engines, that from 1929 to the 1980’s was used to pump drinking water that had been filtered through various processes in to London. Each steam engine was capable of pushing 19 million gallons of water into the city per day.
Let’s get that annoyance addressed – I haven’t got a picture of the building in which the engines are housed. Most frustrating because like a lot of things from those times are very different to some of the functional monstrosities that have been constructed since, the building really is quite attractive. It has that sense of grandeur, with its curving brisk work and high windows.
We were lucky today, which was quite an arbitrary day for a visit, as it was a ‘Steam Day’ which meant that the one engine that is full operational would be running under steam.
Watching this 60 foot tall piece of magnificent machinery being brought into operation was a piece of art in its own right, the little engine that is brought up to pressure and then engaged with one of the giant fly wheels to start the pistons turning was fascinating.
The people who volunteer there clearly love the place, and that comes across in their eagerness to talk. Of the people who visit the museum, I suspect may of them are regulars. There’s a tea shop, and a row of seats from where you can watch the engine working. A definite feeling of calmness, as the giant engine (actually, the same size as Titanic’s engines – parts of various films were shot there).
There’s even a small narrow gauge railway that gives rides. At the moment you get three times round a very small loop, but there are some magnificent plans that I really hope will come to fruition.
All in all, a really delightful day.
Bills Posts 