Introduction
After seeing @mingerocket's post on this site a couple of years ago, I decided to take a look myself while in the area. I’ve always liked the look of it with the electric motors and pumps being in great condition, and I like the pipes coming out of it going into the river.
Information & History
The purpose of this pump house was to provide river water to the Moneystone Quarry which has been largely demolished. Sibelco Group ran operations here up until 2011. Planning permission was refused to expand the quarry which resulted in the company selling the site to Laver Leisure. Laver planned to construct a large-scale leisure facility which never materialised. A large portion of the site is now home to a solar farm, with other parts being repurposed as a rail yard.
The pump house itself is equipped with two pumps manufactured by Weir Pumps Limited. Each of these were powered by electric motors manufactured by Liverpool-based Central Electrical. Other notable pieces of equipment within the building include pressure gauges and some electric control panels to the rear including an inverter drive and supply changeover system.
The Explore
A bit of a mixed bag with this one, I started walking towards the site and the end house had a dog just barking at me as I ascended up the hill into the woods, then as I got closer to the site there was a strong smell of gas. It was also a little bit of effort getting in as I had to balance on the slippery pipes that go into the river, and I banged my head in the process. Then once I finished inside it was pissing down with rain outside. Other than that, all good
Photos
Starting with a couple of externals:
The metal frame above is what I banged my head on, not pleasant:
Heading inside, it was a fair bit darker than expected, good job I had the tripod on me:
One of the pump and motor setups up close:
Pressure gauge:
Electrical bits and pieces, control panels etc:
Heading outside again, a small motor & gearbox by the river which operated a small sluice gate to keep debris out (info from Mingerocket's report):
And a bit of a bonus, further down the pathway there were a few old railway buildings. Nothing too interesting, but I really liked the colours and peeling paint in here so I had to get a couple of shots for good measure!
Overall, nothing groundbreaking but another nicely equipped pump house ticked off the list! Thanks for looking.
After seeing @mingerocket's post on this site a couple of years ago, I decided to take a look myself while in the area. I’ve always liked the look of it with the electric motors and pumps being in great condition, and I like the pipes coming out of it going into the river.
Information & History
The purpose of this pump house was to provide river water to the Moneystone Quarry which has been largely demolished. Sibelco Group ran operations here up until 2011. Planning permission was refused to expand the quarry which resulted in the company selling the site to Laver Leisure. Laver planned to construct a large-scale leisure facility which never materialised. A large portion of the site is now home to a solar farm, with other parts being repurposed as a rail yard.
The pump house itself is equipped with two pumps manufactured by Weir Pumps Limited. Each of these were powered by electric motors manufactured by Liverpool-based Central Electrical. Other notable pieces of equipment within the building include pressure gauges and some electric control panels to the rear including an inverter drive and supply changeover system.
The Explore
A bit of a mixed bag with this one, I started walking towards the site and the end house had a dog just barking at me as I ascended up the hill into the woods, then as I got closer to the site there was a strong smell of gas. It was also a little bit of effort getting in as I had to balance on the slippery pipes that go into the river, and I banged my head in the process. Then once I finished inside it was pissing down with rain outside. Other than that, all good
Photos
Starting with a couple of externals:
The metal frame above is what I banged my head on, not pleasant:
Heading inside, it was a fair bit darker than expected, good job I had the tripod on me:
One of the pump and motor setups up close:
Pressure gauge:
Electrical bits and pieces, control panels etc:
Heading outside again, a small motor & gearbox by the river which operated a small sluice gate to keep debris out (info from Mingerocket's report):
And a bit of a bonus, further down the pathway there were a few old railway buildings. Nothing too interesting, but I really liked the colours and peeling paint in here so I had to get a couple of shots for good measure!
Overall, nothing groundbreaking but another nicely equipped pump house ticked off the list! Thanks for looking.
