SHREWSBURY STEAM TRUST, COLEHAM PUMPING STATION, SHREWSBURY

We were recently contacted by Keith Rees from the Shrewsbury Steam Trust. 

Keith and a dedicated group of volunteers are currently renovating a Worthington duplex steam driven water pump which maybe 80+ years old.  Over this time a lot of corrosion has taken place especially on the water side.  Having read about the virtues of Milliput on our website the group considered using Milliput to repair the corrosion.

Here is a photograph of the corroded valve plate.  The light brown colour is scale and had to be removed.   Keith started the application by putting on a base coat then built the Milliput up to the level required and both sides of the valve plate had to be done.  The use of a little water after the initial application of the Milliput allows you to blend and taper the edges.

The repair to the valve plate for the steam pump is now completed.   As you can see from the photographs there is now plenty of flat ‘land’ in between the ports to successfully use a gasket.

The next stage of the restoration will involve building up the corrosion on the face of the main pump casting.   We will update you on the progress in the next few weeks. To follow the work go the the dedicated restoration page for this pump at http://colehampumpingstation.co.uk/projects/worthington-steam-pump/

“I am really impressed with Milliput.  It would have cost us a lot of money to get this plate repaired professionally.  The other members of the Steam Trust are equally impressed.  I’m sure we will find other uses for it down at the pumping station

The Shrewsbury Steam Trust, Coleham Pumping Station in Shrewsbury run several stationary engines including Listers, Petter, Ruston Hornsby and Wisconsin as well as vintage beam engines and are open to the public several times a year.  Please visit their website for more information http://colehampumpingstation.co.uk

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