• Following an assessment by Visit England under the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme, Claymills has been accredited as a Quality Assured Visitor Attraction.
• The steam winch has now been moved to the boiler house with some help from MWH's telehandler. The winch has been mounted on a trolley which runs on the railway tracks. This will allow it to be positioned to give demonstations of moving the coal wagons in the boilerhouse.
• More parts for B engine are being manufactured. Here is a bearing which will be located inside the governor pedestal. The pattern for the governor weights has also been turned.
• After years of patient negotiation, the Claymills Pumping Engines Trust now leases the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station from Severn Trent Water.
• At a ceremony held on Saturday October 19th the Chief Executive of Severn Trent Water, Mr Tony Wray officially handed over the 60 year lease to the chairman of the Trust, Dr Chris Allen.
"It is fitting that we celebrate the long history and heritage of the site which underscores the importance of clean and safe water over the years. In renovation terms, the Claymills’ team of dedicated volunteers have brought this site through its teenage years and now are ready for adulthood and a bright future."
• Chris Allen said: "The anniversary weekend is a testament to the generosity, ingenuity and hard work of the Trust’s many supporters and volunteers whose ages range from pre-teens to people in their 80s.
"We also thank Severn Trent Water and our local MP Andrew Griffiths who was instrumental in helping us secure the lease which will enable us to move forward for the next 60 years and attract the funding we need to deliver our exciting plans to develop a bigger and better visitor attraction."
• Making his first public appearance with his new wife Kate, Burton MP Andrew Griffiths thanked Severn Trent and praised the ingenuity of the Trust’s supporters.
"This dedicated group have rescued an important part of Burton’s history and embody David Cameron’s Big Society by showing what can be achieved by volunteers. This site is not only part of our past, it is will also play an important role as part of our future in bringing people into Burton and the work here will inspire the engineers of the future."
• Alan Taylor, Inspector of Historic Buildings in the West Midlands office of English Heritage congratulated the Trust for its first class conservation and sound business management skills.
"It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Claymills Pumping Engines Trust whose dedication and skill not only with steam engines but also in painting, brickwork and woodwork have led to an exemplary restoration."
• Photo-1 Photo-2 Photo-3 Photo-4
• The cooling water supply pipe that was installed last month will be connected to a new manifold to split the supply to each engine (although the connection to A engine will be blanked off for the time being).
• Castings for several missing or replacement parts for B engine and Boiler No. 5 have been received. This picture shows 2 brackets for B engine being machined on our side arm planer.
• The pipe drug wheels have now been fitted to the pipe drug. Photo-1 Photo-2
• With experience of the problems with the cooling water supply to CD engine house, testing of the pipework to AB revealed a similar problem, so a new supply pipe has been installed with the assistance of MWH.
• The iron tyres have been fitted to the pipe drug wheels. The tyres were heated in a fire and then lowered over the wheel which was fastened to the large wheelwright's platform. The wheel is then cooled down to shrink the tyre onto the wheel.
• Claymills has received an award "In recognition of their invaluable contribution to the STEM Ambassadors scheme within Staffordshire". (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programme) Thirty volunteers have become STEM Ambassadors and have enhanced CRB clearance to work with school pupils.
• Abbotsholme School year 6 children had a fantastic morning at Claymills on ‘Steam Up Day.’ It was awesome to see, touch, hear and feel the enormous steam beam engines. There was really far too much to do in such a short visit, so, parents, please take your child back again and enjoy a family visit together, it really is an amazing place to visit; and so much to learn too!
• Claymills has featured in the BBC programme Crossing England in a Punt: River of Dreams by Tom Fort. The clip featuring Claymills can be found here.
• Fitting the brass bands around the cylinders and pipes of D engine has progressed such that C and D are now at the same stage - just the top and bottom wider bands to be done...
•The Buxton & Thornley stand-by boiler feed pump (which is mainly used to supply the auxiliary cooling water to C & D engine condensors) has been overhauled and is ready for the new season.
• A major long term project reached a milestone in February - completion of installing the lagging and mahogany cladding on C and D beam engines. Ever since the original cladding was removed, as part of the asbestos disposal works completed by Severn Trent before the Trust was allowed on site, the intention has been to replace this. New mahogany strips were purchased with the aid of a £4,000 grant and work commenced in 2000. The final job will be adding the brass bands around the cylinders and pipes.
• Another woodworking job is continuing in the back of the boilerhouse - the railway coal wagon is being repaired with the intention of giving demonstrations of how the steam winch was used to move the wagons through the boilerhouse.
• When it snowed this month, the wind was blowing such that the snow stuck to one face of the chimney. Here is a picture. The cat (see July 2012) was feeling a bit chilly too!
© Claymills Pumping Engines Trust
Meadow Lane
Stretton
Burton upon Trent, DE13 0DA
Registered Charity No. 1030331
Accredited Museum No. 2334
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