The First Public Steaming Of All Four Gimson Beam Engines At Abbey Pumping Station 2014

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  • Опубликовано: 27 июл 2014
  • With the kind permission of the museum all four engines were filmed from multiple angles in high definition video and stereo sound to produce a record of this grand event on 27/6/2014 - 40 years in the making - when all four engines were steamed together for the first time. The soundtrack is best played on speakers able to reproduce the fantastic bass sound of the engines in full flight. The film begins quietly with just number 3 engine purring away slowly but soon numbers 2, 4 and then number 1 engine are started and soon the engine hall is filled with a cacophony of sound and motion - immerse yourself in the experience!
    It may be a long time until all four engines are steamed together again but all are in working order and individual (or in pairs) of engines are steamed on special occasions. See the museum website to plan your visit at www.abbeypumpingstation.org
    The Great Central Railway is close by and run regular steam trains throughout the year - their timetable is at www.gcrailway.co.uk

Комментарии • 53

  • @ianmcphail1430
    @ianmcphail1430 6 лет назад +13

    Sometimes the word "awesome" is simply inadequate.

    • @johnhili8664
      @johnhili8664 4 года назад

      That is what I call poetry in motion simply fantastic:-)) You have to keep in mind that when this pumping station was built in 1890 there were no computers no calculators and they managed to do a great job!!!!

  • @tonikeep4420
    @tonikeep4420 8 месяцев назад

    SYNCHRONICITY......and the joy engendered by looking upon superb workmanship that worksp like a graceful dance.mesmerising.i could watch it all day.the best stress reliever ever.😊😊😊😊

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  8 месяцев назад +2

      Glad you are enjoying the film. It was a wonderful experience to make the film - totally unscripted - just happened to be in the right place at the right time!

  • @ichabodon
    @ichabodon 4 года назад +2

    Every time I come across the YT videos I see something wonderful each time. Beautiful. Many thanks

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  4 года назад +1

      Many thanks, it was a joy to be there to make the film - totally unplanned!

  • @neildelaney5199
    @neildelaney5199 5 лет назад +3

    That film and sound track could win an Oscar in the short subject section,, superb many thanks

  • @MagnetOnlyMotors
    @MagnetOnlyMotors Год назад +1

    Sooo much quiet power, so nice to watch.😊
    10:34 looks like temporarily permanent repair. 😢

  • @RolyWilliams
    @RolyWilliams 10 лет назад +8

    Excellent video of four wonderful engines. Pity it can't be done every day!

  • @bean210666
    @bean210666 3 месяца назад

    really good video, thank you for sharing.

  • @ronfrost7587
    @ronfrost7587 6 лет назад +6

    Beautiful photography, many thanks for sharing.

  • @SwiftFoxSteamCo
    @SwiftFoxSteamCo 9 лет назад +5

    Fantastic video Andy, it was a very historic day and it is great you captured it so well.

  • @bethsheeba1198
    @bethsheeba1198 Год назад

    Beautifully done. Love these engines. The tiles and columns are so decorative.

  • @womersleydanny1178
    @womersleydanny1178 4 года назад +1

    thanks andy.loved it.

  • @fredwood1490
    @fredwood1490 Год назад +2

    (Number 2 pump seems to be running slow, why's that?) It must have been amazing being a designing Engineer in those days, inventing as you went, making things never made before. All the compromises and all the advantages, a babbitt bearing will work, a fiber packing will work, an oil pot will work...if you have world class machining, even of parts like these, huge, ungainly, and complex because of the state of the technology at the time. No CNC, just men with calipers and fine sand paper and really good brains working with lathes and milling machines. I suspect the designing Engineers would be in grease up to their armpits, just like the operating Engineers, to keep these mighty beasts running. It would be like stepping into a whole new dimension of thought. Good on you all for keeping these pieces of art running.

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  Год назад +3

      I wasn't directly involved in the running of the engines but am aware that providing enough steam was a key issue. The usual on-site boiler is only sufficient to provide steam to run two engines but even then its a challenge to keep them both turning over for lengthy periods of time. For this special event an additional mobile steam generator was hired in to provide sufficient steam for all four engines to be run simultaneously. Even then the speed of the engines had to be held back to avoid over-stretching the available supply so none of the engines were turning an anything like the rate that would have been the case when the pumping station was active. I believe that even then not all four engines would be running at the same time.

    • @fredwood1490
      @fredwood1490 Год назад

      @@andybennett5570 WoW!!! I thought that sedate churn was normal! It would make sense to keep one or two pumps in reserve, because of the limits of the materials of the time. What must it have been like, when it was "Balls out" and everything was humming, for a little while.

  • @oldgiapetto
    @oldgiapetto 4 года назад +1

    Great video!! Thanks for sharing.

  • @olivvapor4873
    @olivvapor4873 4 года назад +2

    Thanks for that amazing video ! 😊

  • @cncshrops
    @cncshrops 2 года назад

    Beautifully shot and edited. Brings out the mesmeric qualities of repeated motion.
    2022 is going to be a difficult year for lots of us, and steaming these engines may be problematic for a while, so thanks for this record.

  • @johnarmstrong7709
    @johnarmstrong7709 5 лет назад +2

    Fascinating video. Great subject, great camerawork, and well produced.

  • @jameswest8280
    @jameswest8280 Год назад

    What beautiful craftsmanship, everything is so utilitarian now days.

  • @nialpollitt3410
    @nialpollitt3410 4 года назад +1

    Superb, that's real engineering.

  • @R.A.K.W.
    @R.A.K.W. 3 года назад +1

    Incredible.

  • @MrFuchsiamagic
    @MrFuchsiamagic 6 лет назад +1

    Simply mesmerizing. I wonder what sort of force those things exert?

  • @DoSLG
    @DoSLG 2 года назад +1

    damn i love this

  • @oldsteamguy
    @oldsteamguy 6 лет назад +2

    wonderful

  • @alangilbert1299
    @alangilbert1299 7 лет назад +3

    Perfect.

  • @steamontheweb
    @steamontheweb 10 лет назад +3

    Thanks Andy, excellent video and what a spectacle! It is ironic that these magnificent machines were used for pumping sewage!

    • @johnv341
      @johnv341 5 лет назад +2

      More lives have been saved by pumping sewerage than any other activity, including medicine.

  • @SimonSozzi7258
    @SimonSozzi7258 3 года назад +1

    Hypnotic

  • @fredwaining5752
    @fredwaining5752 8 месяцев назад

    fantastic

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  8 месяцев назад

      Glad you enjoyed the film. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able tofilm behind the scenes with all four engines running.

  • @mananmaskkk359
    @mananmaskkk359 5 лет назад +1

    สวยงามมีพลัง

  • @SteamCrane
    @SteamCrane 8 месяцев назад

    Puts to rest the myth that all old machines had square nuts. All we see on these 1890 engines is hex nuts.

  • @catmansell2987
    @catmansell2987 2 года назад

    15min:24 sec of how the Victorians moved things. The lads who restored them are to be congratulated. CAT MANSELL.

  • @boulder89984
    @boulder89984 4 года назад +1

    A ballet of elegance and engineering genius. Or green house gas factory? You decide. I'll pick A.

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  4 года назад +1

      I'd definitely pick "A" as well. OK the coal fired boilers will have generated some exhaust gases but that has to be balanced against the fact that before these pumping engines started their work parts of Leicester were a stinking cesspit . It was the removal of untreated sewage from the low-lying areas of the city that made it habitable and laid the foundations for making Leicester one of the most prosperous cities in the UK exporting hosiery and finished goods to Europe and beyond.

  • @fredwood1490
    @fredwood1490 2 года назад

    And every Wiper and every Engineer in that place will be listening, through all that din and roar, for the tiny sounds of a dry bearing or a leaky seal! I wonder if running those pumps without any water to pump would hurt them?

    • @mikesolejazz
      @mikesolejazz Год назад

      Indeed we all were. It took a lot of drivers, although, I had both No.3 and 4 under my watchful eye. No.4 suffered a bit later on the Saturday with a warm beam pivot bearing, the oilway was blocked with fibres of worsted yarn. They'd been on it for 5/6 hours a day, that's the most we've ever run them. The noise in there was terrific, and made communication difficult at times. All in all, an incredible long weekend of a never to be repeated event.

    • @mikesolejazz
      @mikesolejazz Год назад

      In answer to your question about running pumps "dry", we regularly poor oil down the pumps, and they are checked from time to time by removing the large inspection covers with the gantry beam above.
      No.1 engine' flywheel end pump (there's another direct off the high pressure piston tail rod) was seized solid in the bore. It took months of flushing a mixture of cola and old engine oil down it, with our hand cranked main crane chained up to it. Some side jacking with some 16 tonne hydraulic cylinders and some encouragement from yours truly up on the crane, the old gal broke free from it's seal, first time in 50 years. As you can see, No.1 ran in time for the four engines, pumps bore is immaculately polished from running. She's a sod to keep happy tho, and needs some further time spent on her. But yeah, only place in the UK with all four operational beam engines. Crossness is not far behind!! 💪💪🤞🤞🤞

  • @bradley-eblesisor
    @bradley-eblesisor 3 года назад +2

    Are the engines pumping against a fluid or freewheeling?

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  3 года назад +4

      The engines would originally have been pumping sewage(!) but this is now done by electric pumps at a new location. When the beam engines are now run for demonstration purposes they are not actually pumping anything other that "fresh air". Water is however used in the condensing process as can be seen in the basement scenes towards the end of the film. However as the fly-wheels weigh around 20 tons apiece and the associated beams and con-rods weigh a similar amount on top there is still plenty of work for the engines to do which is why the sight and sound is so impressive.

    • @bradley-eblesisor
      @bradley-eblesisor 3 года назад +2

      @@andybennett5570 Thank you sir. I absolutely love steam power. Beautiful machinery, elegant even!

  • @michaeldargan7290
    @michaeldargan7290 4 года назад +1

    Can someone tell me how long it took for the engines to in stall and to get running? Back in the days when they didn't have the technical knowledge that we have today?

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  4 года назад +2

      The technical knowledge needed to build the pumping station and the engines was certainly there back in the 1890's when this type of technology had already been perfected. Ironically you'd struggle to find a manufacturer here in the 21st century capable of manufacturing the enormous parts necessary to build engines on this scale. More details about the construction can be found here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Pumping_Station

    • @michaeldargan7290
      @michaeldargan7290 4 года назад +1

      @@andybennett5570 Thanks for that cheers mike

  • @eliotreader8220
    @eliotreader8220 Год назад

    do they have a modern boiler to supply steam to the engines

    • @andybennett5570
      @andybennett5570  Год назад

      I'm not sure if it could be called "modern" but the on-site boiler is gas-fired and was relocated to Abbey Pumping Station from the public swimming baths at Leicester's Vestry Street pool. For the special event which took place in 2014, when all four beam engines were steamed simultaneously, a large lorry carrying a portable boiler was hired in to supplement the on-site boiler to provide enough steam to power all the engines.

  • @kpkndusa
    @kpkndusa 2 года назад

    Almost overwhelming to watch. Are these engines single or double acting?

    • @micheldilly8531
      @micheldilly8531 2 года назад

      Kpkndusa les machines sont à double effet.

  • @fredwood1490
    @fredwood1490 2 года назад

    Now we're beginning to see what one of these Victorian engine houses were really like when they were in actual use, hot, steamy, loud, oily and without all those modern guardrails, extremely dangerous. There might be fifty men working in that shop, twenty four hours a day. I wonder if they had electric lights or gas lights or even lamps? Were they beautiful? Yes! Were they awesome? Yes! Were they works of genius? Absolutely! Were they man eaters? You betcha!