Hamilton Steam & Technology Museum
Hamilton was in trouble. Cholera outbreaks were occurring and the city needed a fresh water supply. The answer was the construction of this rather unique structure that included a boiler room which fed two massive 100 hp steam engines that drew water from Lake Ontario and pumped it 1.9 Km and up 150 feet to a reservoir located on the escarpment adjacent to the city.
No expense was spared in its construction and the entire structure was overbuilt. The smoke stack only needed to be 50 feet but was increased to 150 feet simply so that it would serve as a landmark. In fact this was the reason for its preservation. In the mid 60's plans were made to demolish it but they found because it was so overbuilt demolition was prohibitively expensive. Ultimately it was decided to preserve it as a heritage site and operate it as a museum.
The pumps are still in working condition and the tour is quite informative and fun. Well worth exploring.
www.therecord.com/life/travel/2013/03/01/out-for-the-day-...
_DSF3004
Hamilton Steam & Technology Museum
Hamilton was in trouble. Cholera outbreaks were occurring and the city needed a fresh water supply. The answer was the construction of this rather unique structure that included a boiler room which fed two massive 100 hp steam engines that drew water from Lake Ontario and pumped it 1.9 Km and up 150 feet to a reservoir located on the escarpment adjacent to the city.
No expense was spared in its construction and the entire structure was overbuilt. The smoke stack only needed to be 50 feet but was increased to 150 feet simply so that it would serve as a landmark. In fact this was the reason for its preservation. In the mid 60's plans were made to demolish it but they found because it was so overbuilt demolition was prohibitively expensive. Ultimately it was decided to preserve it as a heritage site and operate it as a museum.
The pumps are still in working condition and the tour is quite informative and fun. Well worth exploring.
www.therecord.com/life/travel/2013/03/01/out-for-the-day-...
_DSF3004