MYSTERY OBJECTS

[PanBiker]

Smoking Herring?

[Stanley]

It's a coal exporting port from the look of all the rail trucks. Was it a steam powered pump to supply a head of water for a hydraulic power system to run the coal drops?

[Tizer]

Stanley's answer is bang on target. It's the steam engine house at Burntisland, Fife, which generated hydraulic power for the dock gates and the coal hoists. The 50 foot high building alongside the engine house is the hydraulic accumulator tower which provided a pressure of 800psi to the installations. Two of the coal hoists can be seen in the photo, towers with drawbridge-like structures for feeding the coal into the ships' holds. Well done Stanley!

[Stanley]

I remembered the one at Grimsby. Closely related, what is this?

[Gloria]

Some sort of steam power, but don't really know.

[Pluggy]

A reciprocating pump, possibly for feed water ?

[Marilyn]

No idea, but love the photo...beautiful pipe wok...elegant and Art Deco looking...( quite sexy)
Panelling to wall and light fitting suggest quality, as does the cleanliness of the floor. I would say central heating system for some posh American Building?

[Tizer]

Following on Maz's `posh American building' is it the machinery for operating the lifts (elevators) in such a building?

[Stanley]

Gloria is closest at the moment.... Thanks for the comment about the pic Maz.... there's a clue there, it is extremely well housed and taken care of.

[plaques]

Don't know where your mystery object is but it brought to mind the Crossness pumping station in London. Some of these You Tube pictures are worth watching.Link.

[Stanley]

Got to give you that one P. It's not Crossness but Kew Bridge pumping station, now a museum.



Next for shaving?

[Stanley]

I've got the message! Here's one for you to have a stab at.... What is it and why does it have a hole in it?

[Wendyf]

Is it a weight? The hole being a fine adjustment.

[Tizer]

I'll go with Wendy's suggestion - lead added to the hole to get the correct weight.

[Stanley]

Dead right, it's the 5lb weight for my kitchen scales. The Weights and Measures Inspector put his stamp on any lead added to adjust the weight. This was only done on weights used for retailing so this weight must at one time have been used on shop scales.
Next one?

[Tizer]

Can you work out what's going on and where and when it might be?

[Stanley]

Looks like an early experiment in mass transit using a road/rail way. Not sure why, but the jack-booted official looks continental to me....

[Pluggy]

An early theme park ride ? The period between the wars at a guess.

Not sure why, but the jack-booted official looks continental to me....

The Hitleresque moustache perhaps ?.

[Tizer]

Pluggy's suggestion is a bit closer than Stanley's. It's earlier than `the period between the wars'.

[Stanley]

Visitor transit for something like the World Fair at Chicago in 1893?

[Tizer]

Along the right lines with `world fair' but it's not for visitor transit around the fair, it's not America and it's later than 1893.

[PanBiker]

I think the official and the vehicles look French, the tiered seating suggests that the transport is for observation or tour purposes. Could it be something to do with the Eiffel Tower?

[Tizer]

Sorry, no!

[PanBiker]

One of the innovative transport exhibits from the British Empire Exhibitions 1924-1925?

[Stanley]

That struck me as well Ian. It's a showground of some sort.....