IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Brandon Road, BRANDON, IP27 0PT

This modern Roman Catholic church stands just to the north of the railway line.

This timber yard and creosoting plant is long gone. The creosoting process involved a closed pressure vessel that the creosote was pumped into and then drained off with vacuum applied to remove the excess. The pressure pumps were in a separate shed and were non-rotative duplex steam pumps. In a shed of its own was this single cylinder steam driven rotative vacuum pump. This was built by Frank Pearn of Manchester and installed in 1948 when it was presumably second-hand. The steam cylinder is c7" x 8" and the flywheel is 36" diameter. The vacuum cylinder is at the back (closest to the photographer in this context) and also has a slide valve. Compressors have self acting valves but for vacuum pumps to be really effective they need independently driven valve gear. This can cause confusion with steam engines and indeed they will run if supplied with steam. I have seen several so-called steam engines that were almost certainly (if not unequivocally) vacuum pumps. This particular engine is now preserved at Fengate Farm, Weeting and demonstrated at the annual steam rally there.

This is an improved version of my earlier photograph. This works has now gone so this is a historic photograph. This was the part of the timber yard that did creosoting with pressure in the cylindrical retort in the centre. The little shed with side windows contained the Pearn vacuum pump and the larger shed contained several non-rotative steam pumps. The locomotive boiler was separate and was behind the photographer for this shot. The sign on the end of the shed is a 'no smoking' sign - seems reasonable. Life was more interesting in the 1980s - more industry, less health and safety.