London Water and Steam Museum (Kew Bridge)

On Wednesday June 17, the EIL students along with Profs. Berry and Dickerson visited the London Museum of Water and Steam at Kew Bridge. They witnessed the startup of the three-story Boulton & Watt engine, the oldest engine on site (built in 1820) and ceased working in 1943 before being restored to working order in 1975. That engine was built by Boulton & Watt of the Soho Foundry, Birmingham in 1820, the year after the death of James Watt. In 1848 it was converted to work on the Cornish cycle, using higher pressure steam. Richard Albanese, chief engineer and our visit's host, allowed two of the EIL students to handle the shutdown of the engine.  Richard and his staff also started all four of the large rotative engines in the Steam Hall for the visit. The tour this year also included the boiler room, tool and parts shop, and the Victorian (belt-driven) tool workshop.  The group photo was between the Hathorn Davey Triple Expansion Engine and the James Simpson (Waddon) Engine in the Steam Hall. The Hathorn Davey engine was built in Leeds in 1910 by and was previously in service in a pumping station at Newmarket. It reflects the transition toward internal combustion engines in that the cylinders are inverted and placed in a line directly over the crankshaft in much the same way as a modern car engine. The Waddon Engine is a historic horizontal cross-compound steam pumping engine built in 1910. It holds the distinction of being the very last steam water-pumping engine to operate in regular service in the UK, officially retiring in 1983.  Before leaving the Museum, the students competed in an outdoor bubble relay under very windy conditions.