A couple of weekends ago Sophie and I had a long day out visiting the pumping station at Tees Cottage in the morning, and Hardwick Hall Country Park in the afternoon. I’ll leave the park for a later pos and start with the pumping station.
The History Bit
Tees Cottage Pumping Station is a Victorian waterworks in Darlington in the North East of England which began supplying water to Darlington in 1849. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument with two completely original pumping engines in full working order. These are displayed running under their pumping load on about four weekends each year. One engine is a two-cylinder compound steam beam engine, still supplied from its original Lancashire boilers and driving its original pumps. The other engine is a two-cylinder gas engine, the largest preserved example in Europe, also driving its original pumps.
The engines are housed in their own purpose built buildings, dating from 1847 to 1901, in themselves superb examples of Victorian architecture. The engines and buildings are carefully maintained, preserved and run by volunteers, supported by the site owner, Northumbrian Water.
I have no idea what any of this is, or does 🙂
chain gang
I think Frankenstein could have been made here
fraggle ~ rocking a camera across the Universe 
Know what it is or not, it’s fun to look at. I love old machinery, especially the type that was made to last! Thanks for posting this.
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Glad to meet another machinery nut 😊 it is so photogenic! Loads more to come, had a bit of a fest there!
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Perfect choice to use B&W, FR. It suits the industrial machinery perfectly. And who needs to see colour, where none exists?
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete, though there are a few colour bits to come. 😊
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Neat machinery. I like the B&W.
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Thanks John 😊
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Great photos…love machinery…especially when I dont know what its for! 😀
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Cheers Clare 😊
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Marvellous monochrome machinery meditations
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🙂 Thanks Graham
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Hmm, see what you mean about Frankenstein!!
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😊
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This would be me as well: “And here’s a machine. And here’s another machine. They do…something.”
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There was an old boy who took the trouble to explain it all to is but it was all gobbledegook to me!
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B&W, perfect 🙂
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🙂
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Wow, love these, like you ..who knows what they are for, but I love seeing them, you make me want to go out today and find some machinery 🙂 fantastic B&W
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Well take some photo’s if you do!
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I do I do:0 rally I do. planning a trip with a few other photogs.. to Bflo.. youll b surprized
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Look forward to that! 🙂
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Greats shot. I do love old machinery, especially as it generally lends itself well to photography. I reckon I can guess what the mug does 🙂
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😊 cheers Stevie
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You’re right.
It does look like the place where the 1931 Boris Karloff film Frankenstein was made.
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I’m far too young to have seen that one 😂
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