The National Museum of Science and Technology for Catalonia,
Terrassa
Click on pictures to enlarge
The museum is based in the old Modernista textile factory of Vapor Almerich which is an architectural knockout in itself. No expense has been spared to create a fine modern museum which iluminates the industrial history of Catalonia. The collections are comprehensive and wide ranging, from aeroplanes to radios, with a permanent woollen industry exhibition that goes from fleece to haute couture. This webpage will be focused on the steam engines displayed in and around the museum.
Although photography is permitted in the museum the use of tripods and flash is banned. The idea is perhaps to avoid damage to delicate textiles and pigments. Fortunately there are plenty of useful handrails, notice boards etc about the place. I have found in similar situations that a monopod steadies the camera efficiently and can pass as a walking stick. It can be helpful to look a little elderly and decrepit like myself.
The engine house contains a large horizontal Corliss engine that was recovered from a Barcelona textile factory. It is regularly demonstrated in motion, the drive belt to the original overhead shafting in the factory passing over a discreetly mounted electric motor. The engine was built by La Maquinista of Barcelona in 1897.
The belt drive to the factory overhead shafting.
Two large Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers are in situ. One has been converted back to demonstrate coal firing , the other retains the later oil burners.
Tucked away in a dark corner behind the boilers is this little boiler feed pump. Duties seem to have been shared with an electrically driven centrifugal pump. Unfortunately it was too dark to obtain any details of the maker or size.
There is a small but interesting selection of stationary steam engines in the main museum.
The light blue engine is a high speed compound by Willans & Robinson of Rugby England. Each section is an independent vertical compound engine driving to a common crankshaft.
The vertical engine and boiler is by Alexander Hnos of Barcelona, the little horizontal by Nuevo Vulcano. The latter is running on compressed air.
The compound overtype semi-portable (locomobile) is by R Wolf of Magdeburg, the rather unusual boiler by Nuevo Vulcano.
Wheeled vehicles include three steamers, a dainty little tandem road roller, a very primitive looking portable and a portable boiler used for flushing out the condensed naptha from the gas mains in Barcelona.
Outside there is a classic British steam roller by Ruston
The official website is at http://www.mnactec.cat
To Stationary Steam Engines Websites Website