Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum: Facilities Extension Phase II and other progress!

With a new year well and truly started and spring around the corner (we hope) thoughts have turned to how we can progress our building project at the museum.

Due to the lack of volunteers and the physical effort required to roof the extension it has been decided that a builder should carry out this vital task. So work should begin at the end of February. This doesn't mean that volunteers can sit back and relax! With the need to erect scafolding the timber sheds that are within a meter of the end of the extension have to be moved/removed! We have decided that short term one of the sheds will be kept and relocated whilst the rest will be cut up for boiler foder. Initial work was spent clearing our existing traverser shed so that parts could be moved into here from the doomed sections. A timber store along the side has now been removed ready for the sheds to come down.

On other news the exhibition hall is to get a new steam exhibit. An Evans steam pump is to fitted alongside the robey engine. It will then be connected to a tank outside for pumping demonstrations. This will bring our collection up to 31 working steam engines by far the largest collection in Great Britain (awaiting challenge!)

With all these steam engines needing steam Bill is working on testing an idea for a forced blower in the chimney to try and increase draw and therefore oxygen through the fire. This in turn will hopefully make the fire burn quicker and hotter producing more steam. It is being trialled with a Diesel engine but would eventually be driven by a steam engine should it prove workable.

On the railway we have taken delivery of the last load of steel sleepers. These all need stripping of bolts and clips, sorted and will need to be dry stored ready for building new track panels. A job for the warmer weather!