Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology

[RobertInOntario]

The original water pump is a most impressive and ornate piece of Victorian metalwork. I don't believe there are any straight plain pieces of metal. The pump house is 3 stories high (IIRC) and the pump section is way below ground level. When it was operating the flywheel ran at very few rpm (or even slower) and you could see the mechanism work and watch the valves being changed over on each rev. Unfortunately, they lost their steam source years ago. (I haven't heard that they got it back :cry: ) One of the pumps was damaged and couldn't be operated.

Hi David,

The steam engines are actually working! You are pretty much right about the height and depth though. A tour guide took a group of us right into the pump house and turned on one of the steam engines and it was really impressive -- even my boys were in awe! Watching the mechanism and flywheel turn was very cool. The guide said that she was running it at a very slow speed -- back in the 1800s, it would have gone about 5x faster.

Also, when they first started restoring the two steam engines back in the 1970s, the volunteer crew could only get one of the engines to work. They had to get professional contractors in to get the other one working. And now, both engines work. They were demonstrating the steam engines every 30 minutes during March break.

At any rate, it's a great place for a railway enthusiast to visit because of the steam engines and steam power -- not to mention the outdoor garden railway.

Rob