Manchester Hydraulic Power Co
Subsidiary of General Hydraulic Power Co
1894 System commissioned, equipped by Ellington's company; it used the higher pressure of 1,120 psi, maintained by six sets of triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 200 hp each. Two accumulators with pistons of 18-inch diameter, a stroke of 23 feet, and loaded with 127 tonnes were installed. The hydraulic station was built on the east side of Gloucester Street, by Oxford Road railway station. It was later supplemented by stations at Water Street and Pott Street.
At its peak in the 1930s, the system consisted of 35 miles of pipes, which were connected to 2,400 machines, most of which were used for baling cotton.
1910 Photo of Pott Street pumping engine house here.
1914 The system was commissioned in 1895, when 11 3/4 miles of mains were laid, and 47,294,000 gallons of water were pumped, the machinery in use aggregating 840 HP. In 10 years the power had increased to 2520 horse-power, the length of mains to 20 1/4 miles. and the gallons of water pumped to 213,816,900. In 1914 the machinery was rated at 3570 HP, the mileage of mains to 26 1/4, and the water pumped 374,022,000 gallons. Water from any one of the three stations could be delivered at all points of the system. Two Galloway pumps, were to be added, capable of delivering 9,000,000 gallons of water per week. The plant in use at the Whitworth Street West pumping station included six steam punping engines of the triple-expansion surface-condensing type, with direct-acting pumps, and capable of indicating 210 HP each; two hydraulic accumulators, five Lancashire boilers and economisers; and an air water-lifting plant, capable of raising 20,000 gallons per hour. The Pott Street and Water Street stations having very similar equipment , but the air-lift plant at the latter had a capacity of 40,000 gallons per hour. At the Water Street station two additional pumping engines were being installed by Galloways, the water being raised from a borehole 521 ft. deep , reducing in diam eter by steps from 18in. at the top to 12in. at the bottom. The compressed air was conducted down the borehole to the air-injector at a depth of 311 ft., through a pipe 2 in. internal diarnetor placed inside the water delivery pipe. The water was first discharged into a tank placed above the level of the main storage tanks. It then passed into the storage tanks, partly direct and partly indirect, through the surface condenser and the coolers of tbe air compressor. The indicated horsepower of the compressor at normal speed was 40.[1]
1972 The system was shut down.
The Water Street Pumping Station now houses part of the People's History Museum, Manchester.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer, 27 March 1914
- Wikipedia [1]