This museum is now the London Museum of Water and Steam but was for many years known as Kew Bridge Steam Museum. In addition to the site’s five Cornish cycle engines, the volunteers have been steadily re-erecting other engines to tell the story of steam pumping engines and this beautiful machine was the latest addition to the flock. It is an inverted vertical triple expansion rotative pumping engine, built in 1910 by Hathorn, Davey of Leeds for Southfields Pumping Station, Newmarket. It ceased work in about 1964 and was removed to Kew in 1978. It was returned to steam in 1981. The Corliss valve cylinders are 12″, 20″ & 31″ bores by 30″ stroke. The two flywheels are 7′ 6″ diameter. It took superheated steam at 160 pounds per square inch and has two interstage reheaters. The operating speed was about 30 rpm and it developed 110 horsepower. The re-erection did not include the below floor pumps but the condensing plant was included.
TQ1878 : Kew Bridge Steam Museum – triple expansion engine
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