Ryhope Pumping Station - steam pumping engine
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Ryhope Pumping Station - steam pumping engine by Chris Allen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Ryhope Pumping Station - steam pumping engine
Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 28 May 1989
This shows part of one of the two Woolf compound beam engines built in 1868 by R & W Hawthorn and in use until 1967. The cylinders are 27.5" x 5'4" and 45" x 8'. The beams are 33' between end centres and weigh 22 tons. The flywheels are 24' diameter and weigh 18 tons. The engines used steam at 35 psi, ran at 10 rpm and delivered 40,000 gallons per hour against a 243' head. This is a view down the main well with the 4' throw crank in the foreground. Beyond is the drive to the main well pump with its 10' 8" stroke. This pump lifted the water from about 250' below the engine house floor to 130' below the floor from where it flowed to the staple well at the opposite end of the engine. A pump at the other end of the engine then lifted it to the reservoir at ground level. Having pumps at each end balanced the loading across the engine's centre.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
54.865387
Longitude
-1.372242