Thinktank, Birmingham
With a vibrant and exciting new name and splendid new premises in a development area on the edge of Birmingham city centre Thinktank is a splendid example of what a lavish infusion of lottery money can do to reinvigorate an old and well loved museum. The trek out through the windswept wastes of modern town planning is not too bad, a reasonable proportion of the old exhibits seem to have made the transition, and the sunlight streaming through the huge plate glass wall doesn't make it totally impossible to appreciate the exhibits but the combination of health'n'safety controls, state of the art signing and gritty, in your face, plumbing makes for a visit far from restful. Still, the exhibits are what one goes for and so far as stationary steam engines are concerned Birmingham has some of the best. Sadly, two of my favourites, the little Fowler Beam Engine and the ex-Morrells Brewery Table Engine have both been confined to a store but on the positive side a large inverted vertical compound engine by James Watt has appeared to replace them. Narrow gauge railway enthusiasts will be pleased to know that although the three locos previously on display could not be found room for at Thinktank they have all found new homes on long term loan and one of them, Leonard, is now steamed regularly at the Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester.
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The Stationary Steam Engines Websites Website