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Hazeley Road, WINCHESTER, SO21 1QA

The road outside Twyford Waterworks.

On-site signpost with a grid reference.

Re-erected in the former filter house is this ensemble of Lister engine driving a Tangye pump. This preserved site has much of interest for those interested in water supply infrastructure and pumping machinery. Although there is currently no steam on site, there remains much to see and steam is expected to return in 2015.

In 1950 Twyford Pumping Station was upgraded with electric pumps in 1950. These replaced one of the earlier steam engines and comprised W H Allen DC motors at ground level driving centrifugal pumps down the well. One of the green-painted motors is on the right and its control cabinet is on the left.

This is a Scheduled Ancient Monument that incorporates both Southern Water's operational site and the Twyford Waterworks Trust's preserved steam and diesel elements. This was a special invitation only event to celebrate the site's return to steam operation after an absence dating back to late 2003. Some 300 invitees were expected and it was a very successful event from 11:00 to 15:00. A faint wisp of smoke is seen from the chimney.

Firing the 1902 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boiler for the site's special return to steam event. The boilers have under fire steam injection and that makes the boiler house more than usually noisy for hand-firing. Apparently the boiler doesn't steam at all well without the steam blowers so they run continuously. You might think injecting steam would put the fire out but it doesn't - it makes water gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) that adds to the party. It's been a bit much all work and not enough play recently so this was a really welcome special event.

Hathorn, Davey & Co Ltd of Leeds built this inverted vertical triple expansion steam engine in 1913 as works No. 6579. The Corliss valve cylinders are 16", 28" & 46" bores by 36" stroke. The engine ran at 25 rpm on superheated steam at 150 psi and developed c150 horsepower. The engine has a crank between the flywheel and the photographer that operated a pair of well pumps via opposed bell cranks and a pitman rod. This apparatus was removed to make way for electric pumps but is preserved in the boiler house. Under the three cylinders are three force pumps that delivered the water to the consumers. This was seen during the special event to commemorate the engine's return to steam following an absence of nearly 15 years. There were about 300 invited guests and dignitaries and it was a bit crowded on occasions.

Seen during the special invitation only event to commemorate the return to steam after a major restoration project with Heritage Lottery Fund money. Left foreground is one of the Amos and Smith duplex non-rotative boiler feed pumps. The horizontal black cylinder beyond is the surface condenser that replaced the pumping engine's scrapped condenser. The motor driven circulating and air pumps are hidden towards the back of the view in front of the big black tank that is the hotwell. The white cylinder with the vertical white pipes is the main steam manifold that can be fed with superheated or saturated steam and supplies all the steam required on site. The supplies include the pumping engine, feed pumps, generator engine, under-fire steam for the boilers, a vent and the steam whistle. The plant ran beautifully and I was most impressed with the quality of the work and the detailed instruction manual.

This is a Westinghouse non-rotative steam air compressor with a water cooled compressor cylinder at the bottom. This is not operable but is in situ and was formerly used to charge the air vessel on the main pump discharge main. In the right background the black cylinder is the main pumping engine's surface condenser that replaces the scrapped original.